Birkholz takes second in poetry

The speech and debate team travelled to Worland this week for a two-day competition. Thirteen went to the meet, which coach Deb Fink thought was a great learning experience for all.[caption id="attachment_2708" align="alignright" width="458" caption="Lovell speech team members (front row) Bailey Dugan, Mary Schwope, Michaela Werner, Marie Cruz, Emily Birkholz and Liz Birkholz. (middle row) Leslie Emmett, Austin Brost, Randy Carter, team coach Deb Fink, (back row) assistant coach Jason Zeller, Colton Wardell, Wray Krei, Adam Larson, Chase Aagard, Cole Moncur, Mesa Matthews and Dylan May travelled to Worland this week to compete at a speech and debate tournament. Patti Carpenter photo"][/caption]“The kids are doing really good so far,” said Fink.According to assistant coach Jason Zeller the congressional debate team learned a valuable lesson, “get up and talk more!”Jessica Emmett, Bailey Dugan, Mary Schwope, Wray Krei, Austin Brost, Adam Larson and Chase Aagard participated on the congressional debate team at the event.“The students learned that the more they speak, the better they are at placing and that the more confidently they speak, the more credible they sound to the judges,” said Zeller.For the congressional debate, students write speeches both for and against a bill. Some of the topics are made up, and some are topics seen in the news. The competition is set up like a legislative session, where a topic is introduced and students compete by standing up and giving their point of view on the subject. Some examples of topics include lowering the student driving age to 14 and getting rid of the “happy meal” at McDonald’s.Student Jessica Emmett likes this kind of competition because she loves to argue all sides of an argument. She thinks it helps her to stay current on issues.“It’s a whole lot of fun and I really like it,” said Emmett. “I might use this someday to go into politics or to become a lawyer.”Emily Birkholz placed second in the poetry contest reading poetry by human rights activist Andrea Gibson.Birkholz received feedback this time that her renditions were too similar and plans two different readings in her next competition. Students like Birkholz will typically perform the same material each meet and will make modifications based on the judges’ comments. Birkholz hopes that this strategy will take her to a first-place win in future competitions.The team consists of students from both Lovell and Rocky Mountain High Schools.The Lovell group presented some of their more child-friendly pieces at Lovell Elementary school this week, which provided good practice before a highly receptive young audience.“It was a lot of fun performing for the younger kids,” said Fink. “I think the students who participated really enjoyed it.”Next up, the students will travel to Jackson Hole where 385 are entered to compete and 185 students sit on a waiting list hoping to fill any spot that opens up.“We can only enter four students per event in this meet, so students won’t be able to compete in as many events as they would like,” said Fink, who anticipates that this will be a very competitive atmosphere and a good learning experience for all who attend. Teams from throughout Wyoming and some from Idaho are expected to attend.By Patti Carpenter