By Lindsay Newfeld
On the Thursday before Presidents’ Day Weekend, the senior members of Tempe Prep’s Speech and Debate Team found themselves freezing cold and knee-deep in snow. And thus began the adventure known as the 2016 Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament. Seniors Erin Guiney and Enrique Favaro traveled across the country to Boston, Massachusetts to compete in this highly prestigious tournament along with members of speech and debate teams from Scottsdale Prep, Mountain View High School, and Mesquite High School.
Enrique competed in Extemporaneous Speaking while Erin competed in both Original Oratory and Extemporaneous Speaking, breaking to quarterfinals in Original Oratory. This means she was one of the top 27 competitors in this event, which had a total of 280 entries. Additionally, Erin placed fourth in her quarterfinal round, which means she was the next person in line to break to semifinals. Considering only nine students from Arizona broke in any event at the tournament, this was an amazing accomplishment at such a large tournament.
So while Erin did bring home a trophy from Harvard, she said that winning wasn’t the most important thing about this tournament for her. In comparing this tournament to any other local Arizona tournament, Erin said, “At local Arizona tournaments, every school is pitted against each other and though I have many friends from other schools, there is always an underlying element of competition and wanting to beat the other schools. At Harvard, pretty much the only people you know are from in-state, so the tournament becomes more about Team Arizona and supporting other schools’ success than about wanting to beat them. I’ve come to realize that the main benefit I get from speech and debate is the friendships and life lessons, not the trophies, and Harvard definitely reinforces that message.”
Along the lines of building friendships and learning life lessons, this trip wasn’t all about the tournament. Coach Wolnisty led the team around Boston to a number of historical sites, such as the Freedom Trail, the USS Constitution, the Old North Church, and even a couple of graveyards. The students also engaged in a playful snowball fight at Bunker Hill before taking a boat across Boston Harbor. The team bonded over the famous cannolis from Mike’s Pastries and even met up with alum Lyubov Kapko for dinner.
With the frigid weather, the beauty of Boston, and great competition at the Harvard Tournament, great memories were formed on this trip and great friendships grew stronger. This long-standing tradition of the Tempe Prep Speech and Debate Team is sure to continue for many more years!