Gold Plastic for Oct. 21st 2026

Beach Social Recap 

By Thomas Woods, Staff Writer

Flow paper, a well-constructed argument or a sunny day at La Jolla Shores — three ways to summarize the speech and debate team’s week off from tournaments, or, as football players might say, a “bye week.”.

Upon arriving at the beach, the team encountered a plethora of activities, prompting such overwhelming decision fatigue that a quick ocean swim became the only reasonable option.

After recovering from their momentary exhaustion, team members turned their attention to an assortment of sports: monkey in the middle, soccer edition, spikeball and volleyball. To ensure the festivities continued, the team also enjoyed an assortment of food and refreshments, including chips, pizza and drinks

Although a tournament-free weekend may not determine the team's competitive success, it serves as a reminder that the bonds formed through speech and debate extend well beyond the fire on the flow.

Preparing For The First Tournament

By Gavin Claprood, Staff Writer

With the Sunset Cliffs Classic at Point Loma approaching, many new members of the UC San Diego Speech and Debate Team will be attending their first collegiate tournament. For some, it might be the first experience speaking competitively in front of an audience or judge. While this is incredibly exciting, it can also understandably be a little nerve-wracking. To help ease some of that uncertainty, we spoke with several of our coaches about what newcomers should expect and how they can make the most of their first competition.

For one of our assistant coaches, Julian McKenzie, the first tournament is best understood as "the warm-up for everything you need to do.". Rather than worrying about getting to the elimination rounds, McKenzie encourages competitors to pay attention to what they can improve. A first tournament gives competitors a better understanding of their event, and even a disappointing round can be useful preparation for the next one. 

Abhinav Krishna, the team's Lincoln Douglas (LD) coach, shares a similar perspective. His biggest piece of advice is simple: "Don't be afraid to fail.". Mistakes are inevitable when learning something new, and he reminds competitors that "the results don't define you.". It's worth keeping in mind that many of the other competitors at Sunset Cliffs are just as new to public speaking.

Olivia Buhler, an original speech coach, encourages competitors to approach the tournament with excitement. Original speech especially gives students the perfect opportunity to talk about something they genuinely care about. "Just look at it as an opportunity to spread your ideas to other people," she advises. Rather than looking at the speech as something they need to get through, she encourages students to take joy in giving the speeches.

For students competing in parliamentary debate, preparation with a partner is especially important. Giana Ferrero, one of the team's NPDA coaches, recommends that beginners "focus on partnership dynamics.". Practicing together can help partners recognize their respective strengths, whether that's case construction, delivering rebuttals, etc. This also gives competitors the chance to work out how they'll divide preparation time before the tournament begins.

Of course, preparation cannot eliminate all the nerves. Buhler recommends arriving early and getting to know other competitors before the rounds begins. She's found that speaking in front of people you've already met can make the experiences much less intimidating. Mckenzie also emphasizes the importance of taking care of yourself throughout the day. He recommends stepping away between rounds to get water, have a snack, or simply reflect on how things went.

Ultimately, the first tournament is only the first tournament. There will be plenty of opportunities to improve, and nobody expects anyone to have figured everything out immediately. Take the advice you find useful, and don't be afraid to ask questions when you need help. We hope all our competitors have an enjoyable tournament!