2,800 top prep students debate up a storm in S.L.

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jun 19, 2004 by Tiffany Erickson Deseret Morning News

Salt Lake welcomed more than 2,800 cream-of-the-crop high school speech and debate students from all 50 states and about 15 other countries this week to what some students call "the big dance."

The National Forensic League National Debate Tournament -- or as coined for this year's competition, the Beehive Nationals Tournament - - brought some of the most confident and eloquent to compete for national titles.

"Suitably for Salt Lake City, this tournament is like the Olympics for speech and debate," said Ron Kendler, a high school participant from Massachusetts.

Throughout the academic year more than 91,000 students from more than 2,700 schools competed to earn a chance to participating in the national tournament.

"This is the longest, most arduous, most competitive speech tournament all year," said Kendler. "But whether you do well or don't, it's just a celebration of talent from across the country."

Gillian Sorenson, senior adviser to the United Nations Foundation and former assistant secretary general of external affairs for the United Nations, made an appearance on Friday and applauded the NFL's efforts in sponsoring the tournament.

There is no better place to learn than by participating in debate, which forms opinions and decisions that lead to action, said Sorenson.

"Speaking well is a gift. Few are born with it, but all of us can learn."

She said that of all the areas of study, speech and debate can serve students best and stay with them the longest while opening the door to opportunities in all directions -- law, politics, diplomacy, teaching, business and journalism.

"When I see you, I see leaders. The transforming power of words is infinite, and you, my friends, are becoming masters of that art," said Sorenson.

New to the tournament this year was an international division of Ted Turner Public Forum Debate, which featured students from outside the United States debating against American students. This year's topic was "Resolved: All young adults in every nation should be required to perform one year of national service."

Students competed in other categories such as extemporaneous speaking, original oratory, policy debate and dramatic interpretation.

For many students, making new friends and seeing the sights of Salt Lake were as rewarding as the competitions.

"The greatest thing about speech is that by the time you're done, you can say you've almost got a friend in every state in the country, and that's one of the biggest merits to this activity," said Kendler

The tournament is hosted annually by cities that bid for the honor, similar to the Olympics. The Utah Speech Arts Association hosted this year's event. Debates were held throughout the week at various schools around the Salt Lake area, with main events held in the LDS Tabernacle on Temple Square.

E-mail: terickson@desnews.com