Photo by Angelica Martinez
As Forensics team walks into the Hopewell High School cafeteria they are surprised by what they see. Around a hundred students fill the cafeteria, some from local schools, and others from places like Virginia Beach. There are contestants all around practicing for their categories. They are all here for the same reason, to win their chosen category.
The Forensics team had its first competition on Saturday, November 22 at Hopewell High School. There were nine competitors competing in categories including poetry, storytelling, impromptu, and original oratory. Kamren Sullivan, a junior in the Forensics club, competed in the impromptu category.
“[I have been in Forensics for] two years now. [I joined Forensics because] I love theater and public speaking sort of goes hand in hand with it,” Sullivan said.
There is more to Forensics than just the competition. Like any other event, the competitors make friends with the people from other schools, making the events more fun.
“[My favorite part about Forensics is] meeting the people from all around and having fun,” Sullivan said.
Senior Nick Tritschler did not compete in this competition, but has been a part of the club since February of 2014.
“I joined Forensics because I was looking for an extracurricular activity to do, and it was something new that I had never heard of so I decided to give it a try,” Tritschler said.
There are many reasons to join Forensics, whether it is to spend time with friends, make new ones, or just to find a different avenue to express yourself.
“I want people to know that Forensics is a great way to have fun and express oneself, and because there as so many different categories one can enter in there really is a way for anyone to express [themselves]. My favorite part about the club is being able to work with my friend Riley Rakes in the humorous duo category, because we have been friends for a long time so we always have fun together,” Tritschler said.
Mrs. Andersen, the AP English 12 teacher, is the sponsor of the Forensics club.
“This is my fourth year [sponsoring Forensics]. I did Forensics when I was in high school and really enjoyed it so I thought I would be fun [to sponsor the club],” Andersen said.
Andersen is an obvious advocate for students joining the Forensics club, however, the reason is not to add numbers to the club.
“[I think students should join Forensics because] it is a fun activity and it does not necessarily require consistent time commitment like daily practices, but it allows students to experience something different in a competitive environment,” Andersen said.
In a Forensics competition, each category has an unlimited number of competitors. The contestants go through three rounds of judging, each time by a different judge. After these three rounds, six contestants from every category are chosen to go to the finals. From these six, a winner is chosen in each category.
Going through all this makes it difficult to make it to the finals, especially if there are a large number of people in the category. The competition on Saturday did not have the expected result, but this competition was many of the competitors first time ever competing in a Forensics competition. Of the nine contestants, only one, Lindsay Pugh, made it to the finals in storytelling. However, going to the competitions is not only about winning, sometimes it just about expressing oneself.
“I like to see the opportunity to see students express themselves in different ways. I like to see when students who are usually quiet in the classroom go out in public and show their [true] colors,” Andersen said.
