Judges needed for Bobcat speech and debate tourney

Hot Springs County High School’s Speech and Debate team is gearing up for their home tournament, the Bobcat Invitational, Sat., Dec. 9.

Coach Cindy Glasson said there are 11 schools registered for the meet, from Kemmerer and Casper Kelly Walsh to Cody, Powell, Torrington, Newcastle and others from the Big Horn Basin.

“We are full,” Glasson said. “It’s going to be a great meet with kids from all over the state. We have 203 registered as of Monday.”

The Bobcat meet is always a mixture of JV and varsity, one of the few JV tournaments left before the varsity part of the season starts in January.

“Our meet is generally well attended,” Glasson said. “Its kind of a last chance for the novice kids to compete on their own level before being tossed in with the varsity kids.

“That’s what’s so unique about speech and debate. Not only do JV and freshmen compete head to head with varsity students, they are all competing against each other from 1A-2A to 4A. You can have a room full of extemporaneous speakers and one kid might be from a 4A school, two from a 3A school and the other four may be 1A-2A.”

While the Bobcats do not perform at their own tournament, the public is encouraged to come and see what speech and debate is all about. Guests are always welcome to sit in on a debate, a duet performance or any of the other events that are offered.

“We’re always looking for folks who would like to judge, too,” Glasson said. “No experience is necessary and its always good for the kids to have a variety of judges. It’s kind of funny to watch the kid’s reactions when they walk into their room and their judge is a priest one round and a sheriff’s deputy the next.

“It really keeps them on their toes and teaches them to adapt quickly to the situation.”

The tournament will begin at the high school at 9 a.m. with an awards assembly in the auditorium about 5:30 p.m.

If you are interested in judging at the tournament, please give Glasson a call at 307-331-0566.