The Lewiston High School Speech Team talked their way through a productive, memorable, and successful season this year. The team had top finishers at every tournament. In post-season competition, the team set new LHS records and qualified seven students to compete in national tournaments to be held later this spring.
The year started with the team doubling in size to 14. “It was a nice problem to have,” says the team’s coach, John Blanchette. “We worked hard to bring in new people. There was a definite overlap between this activity and many others, such as Drama, Mock Trial, Civil Rights Team, and others, so it was rewarding to have so many people express interest and want to get involved.”
Maine speech teams compete in 13 different categories ranging from dramatic and humorous interpretation to storytelling. Other categories include duo interpretation (two people work together to present a comic or serious scene), oratory (students write about a topic of interest in order to inform or persuade the audience), and extemporaneous speaking (students address current political events with only one-half hour of preparation). Blanchette says, “Believe me when I say we can find a speaking style to showcase any student’s individual talents. But beware; it is a long season! We start working in September, and regular competition runs into February. Then, some students participate in post-season competition, which can run until the end of June.”
On tournament Saturdays, students travel to the host school and compete against roughly 150 students from other schools. They must present each selection four times throughout the day and are compared to other students from across the state within their particular event. At the end of the day, ballots are tallied and the awards for top performers are distributed. Competition can be grueling for both the students and the judges. Maine averages ten tourneys per year, and the LHS team occasionally competes out of state as well.
At this year’s State Speech Tourney, the LHS Speech Team entered 11 students in 17 events, 14 of which made the final round. Blanchette exclaims, “It was an unparalleled success for us. It quite literally put us on the map as a team to be reckoned with!” The team went on to earn numerous state finalist, state runner-up, and state champion awards, as well as the State Runner Up Sweepstakes Award (which recognizes the performances of the team as a whole) – a total that was second to first-place Skowhegan by only four points!
National tourneys will be held in Arlington, Virginia, in late May, and in Atlanta, Georgia, in June. Lewiston High School students who qualify for national competition are: Thomas Fales, extemporaneous speaking; Cara Gaumont and Samantha Fletcher, duo interpretation; Amanda Bergeron and David Baril, duo interpretation; Jennifer Robustelli, original oratory; and Allison Bleakney, oral interpretation (prose and poetry). “Our success is both exhilarating and daunting,” say Blanchette. “It’s exhilarating to have so many of our students recognized for their outstanding abilities and performances, but daunting to know that we are looking at some considerable fundraising.” The total cost for these trips is nearly $7,000. The team has already begun fundraising activities, including various sales, bottle drives, private solicitations, and a showcase in which members of the team performed for the public.
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