This weekend, ten members of the Fairmont Speech Team competed at the Southern District National Qualifying Tournament for Speech hosted by Woodbury and Eagan High School in the Twin Cities.
Fairmont Freshman Leon Yang was the Champion in Humorous Interpretation and qualified for the national tournament.
Fairmont Juniors Grace Simpson and Oliver Thedens placed 3rd in Duo Interpretation and qualified for the national tournament.
Fairmont Junior Grace Simpson placed 4th in Dramatic Interpretation and qualified for the national tournament. Grace Simpson elected to take Duo Interpretation with Oliver Thedens as the NSDA only allows for a student to take one main speech event to Nationals.
Fairmont Junior Oliver Thedens was a non-advancing Semifinalist in Program of Oral Interpretation.
Fairmont Sophomore Bel Lutterman was a non-advancing Semifinalist in Dramatic Interpretation.
Since 2016, Fairmont Speech has qualified for Nationals at this Southern District Tournament in the years of 2016, 2020, 2021, and 2022.
The Last-Chance National Qualifying Tournament is held virtually on April 25-27, 2024.
The National Speech & Debate Tournament will be held on June 16-21, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa.
The National Speech & Debate Association was created in 1925 to provide recognition and support for high school students participating in speech and debate activities. To the school communities that participate in the NSDA, this association serves over 3,000 schools and 140,000 students and coaches across the country. Every summer, the weeklong National Tournament is held holding competitions in speech and debate. Last year, over 6,000 students competed at nationals.
