Competitors are flocking to Plant City for the upcoming National Christian Forensics and Communication Association Qualifier.
Approximately 150 students from all over Florida, Georgia and South Carolina will be showing off their debate and speech skills in the three-day competition that will essentially run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to ensure every student has an opportunity to showcase their talents.
“These competitions are a way for students to really grow,” Laurie Curtis, NCFCA regional director for Region VIII, said. “This is my tenth year doing it. I’m a mom of five and when my oldest was 12 — he’s about to turn 23 now — we went and watched a competition. I was a community judge for the first time and I didn’t know what to expect. Let’s just say I was blown away. The level of talent, of passion that comes from these students, it’s such a blessing to be a part of.”
NCFCA is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to bringing communications-based competitive activities to high schoolers. The upcoming Plant City competition is one of approximately 50 tournaments throughout the country, only two of which are in Florida. The majority of the competitors are homeschooled and they hope to incorporate a variety of local judges into the tournament.
It will literally take hundreds of judges who volunteer to pick up one or two small shifts to ensure the competitors can quickly move through the variety of shifts. The good news is the abundance of shifts mean there is always a time slot that can fit someone’s schedule. Curtis said its important the community get involved so the children can have a diverse set of judges to communicate with throughout the process.
“We really value community judges because we want to train students to be able to talk to anybody about any topic,” Curtis said. “Even if the judge isn’t familiar with the debate topic they should be able to tailer their topic to a conversation that will keep the judge informed and captivated with what their saying.”
The Plant City competition will be held at City Pointe Church and the other Florida contest is held in Sarasota. The students will compete with speeches and debates. The debates will be on: Should the United States reform its policy toward international terrorism and Fair Trade vs. Free Trade. The students will not know prior to the event which side they will argue.
It’s as much an educational experience as it is a fun competition as the students have to heavily research each topic to be able to argue both sides with fervor.
The speeches have a variety of topics including two religious focused speeches as well as many where the students pick their own passion to discuss.
“The very first speech I ever saw was history on the Twinkie,” Curtis said. “My daughter’s speech this year is the eight great smarts… Goodness, sometimes they’re biographies on people they admire, a history paper, or perhaps something persuasive. It can vary and be nearly anything, which is why we want judges from every background so there is a broad spectrum of topics and judges.”
One of the more unique aspects of the competition is the Duo Interpretation Speech where two speakers create a unique, original performance based on a piece of literature. You may see renditions of Charlotte’s Web, Shakespeare or Dr. Seuss acted out in a pseudo theater of the mind. The two orators cannot touch or even make eye contact, but together they bring the written word to life for their judges in a 10-minute presentation.
Curtis said from these debates have sprung many communication and lawyer majors as the youth become comfortable verbalizing their beliefs and talents.
“The point that my husband makes is it doesn’t really matter what career you decide to pursue, the only profession you can pursue where you don’t have to be comfortable talking to people is to be a professional hermit,” Curtis said. “The old adage is the only thing more feared than death is standing up in front of people to talk, but you get over that by talking. These students are walking out of the competition with a skill set many their age simply don’t have. It’s a wonderful opportunity.”
Part of the allure of the NCFCA tournaments is the encouraging and hospitable environment fostered within each competition. The very first competition Curtis ever attended she saw to teenagers — one approximately 17 years old and the other around 12 years old — debating each other over a topic.
Age isn’t really a factor in the competition as the teens all tend to develop their skills at such a fast rate. This time the older boy won by a quite a stretch and after the competition ended the judges left the room. Curtis excited as well and then stopped when she heard movement from inside.
Instead of simply shaking hands and heading their separate ways the older competitor sat down with the younger boy and went point by point though each step sharing what the other student could have said to successfully argue back. He took the time to help him grow even though he assumed no one was watching.
“As a parent, that was it for me, I was hooked,” Curtis said. “Of course you want everyone to succeed, but it’s a competition so that obviously can’t happen. What matters more is that these students are genuinely pouring into each other, they’re here to support each other, not tear each other down.”
Curtis has watched her own children go through the program and said they have all come out on top due to the experience. Her family is not the exception to the rule. Across the board the word has begun to spread about NCFCA. Pockets of the competitions are exploding with interested contenders.
“With homeschoolers — well any student, really — anytime you gather a whole group of teenagers together there’s a whole opportunity to socialize,” Curtis said. “There’s this unique benefit from the competition no one really talks about. You make friends from all over the place. It’s made a difference in how we even travel as a family. There’s hardly anywhere we can go where we don’t know someone. Their network just continues to grow the longer they compete.”
If you’re interested
in helping judge the competition head to ncfca.org/plant-city-fl to pick a slot on the calendar. If something comes up and you suddenly have an open window feel free to swing by City Pointe Church, 503 N. Palmer St., to see if a shift is available.