MISSOULA – Fourteen speech and debate students from Missoula’s three high schools will compete at the Nationals tournament in Dallas in June.
This is the highest number of students who qualified in the past six years and they need your help to get there.
Ten students from Sentinel, two from Hellgate and two from Big Sky High school have worked hard all year long to get to Nationals as they will compete with the best in the country.
The combined teams are hosting a spaghetti dinner fundraiser on Saturday to help with travel and lodging expenses, which is very expensive.
For some of the competitors, speech and debate have given them more than just an understanding of politics and world events. It’s also given them family and mentors to look up to.
“I’ve made some of my best friends through this community of speech and debate. Even some from other schools I’ve become really good friends with just because of speech and debate,” said Maxwell Nordquist, a freshman member of the Sentinel Speech and Debate Team.
“Meeting people who have become just so good at their events and just learning from them I think that’s been incredible,” added teammate Ethan Seller who is a junior at Sentinel.
The Missoula Speech and Debate Showcase Dinner will take place Saturday, May 11 from 5 pm. to 7:30 p.m. in the Sentinel High School Cafeteria
There will be a spaghetti dinner and ice cream as well as a student showcase, auction items and baskets.
The National Speech & Debate Tournament will be held from June 18 until June 21 in Dallas and is billed as “the largest academic competition in the world.”
