Go Watch State Speech

Every two years, Waukee High School gets the honor of hosting the State Large Group Speech. This year is one of those years. Speech team is an ongoing activity that begins at the end of fall and continues through winter. It has a large variety of events that students can perform in. The main differences between district and state competitions are who is allowed to compete, how many judges are in each event, and how you move onto the next level for your performance.

To qualify for a state competition, the performers have to compete at districts and get the overall score of a 1 from the judge. Speech uses the scoring method where 1 is the highest score and it descends from there until 3. A 4 indicates you were disqualified for breaking a rule. During districts, you have one judge who decides your score based on the structures of each individual event and gives you verbal and written feedback. However, in a state competition you have three judges who separately write their scores and feedback so that you have more than one person’s point of view. As well as having more judges, at state competitions getting a 1 does not automatically mean that you get to go to all-state, which is the next competitive level up. In order to have your performance move up, you have to be chosen specifically by your judges. Usually judges pick only 2-5 out of the 40-something performances they see.

But what attracts people to the speech team in the first place? Junior Abby Welch, who competes in Choral Reading and Musical Theater, said that she joined the team “in ninth grade because I had friends in the grade above me who told me to join.” In fact, many people join speech for the reason of being able to spend more time with people they know. Another junior Sam Gifford, who participates in Group Mime and the One Act Play, joined because of his sister. “I began last year in Large Group Mime as a Sophomore in order to connect with her and spend some time with her before she went to college.”

Senior Liv Simons, who chose to do Musical Theater, gave another popular explanation which is the environment. She explained that, “it is a fun way to connect to my friends and do what I love to do in a way that is lower pressure and more intimate!”.

There is a lot of preparation that goes into an event so that it is ready for a competition. Sophomore Avea Courtright, who competes in Radio Broadcasting and Short Film, emphasized, “for radio we do quite a bit of research and writing just so we can have a good product for competition.”
With the many different events and the dedicated community speech team offers something for everyone.

Whether you are interested in joining the speech team or just want to go watch something entertaining, this year is the perfect opportunity to go watch State Large Group Speech at Waukee High School so you can see talented performances from all different schools. Go see this special experience with your own eyes on February 8th!