Top of their game

Four is the magic number for speech students at Clarke Community High School.

In June, Clarke will have four of its students compete at the National Speech and Debate’s Association’s (NSDA) national tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah.

These are the four students and the areas they qualified to compete in:

• Nicholas Johnston (domestic extemporaneous speech)

• Parker Smith (program of oral interpretation)

• Zach Smith (informative speech)

• Timber Kent (international extemporaneous speech)

“You meet people from all over different parts of the United States, talk about all sorts of different things, what speech is like for them and their state,” Johnston said. “Or, it could be not speech related at all. It can be just anything. Just talking with people from all over is really cool.”

Looking forward

Johnston and Kent have attended nationals before. This year will be the first time for Parker Smith and Zach Smith.

Zach Smith said he’s looking forward to being around a bunch of new people. Parker Smith also elaborated on excitement of going to the competition for the first time.

“I’ve heard it’s a lot different than everything else,” he said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s like.”

Johnston had some advice for the first-time attendees.

“The competition can be brutal,” he said. “It’s definitely a different setting than at anything you would find at the state or local level.”

Kent said it’s best to try not to take people too seriously.

“They’ll be really aggressive because they’re trying their best, which is understandable. So, try not to take anything personally,” he said.

Johnston nodded his head in agreement with Kent’s advice.

“At nationals, it’s the cream of the crop. It’s the best of the best. Everyone is good who gets there,” he said. “So, getting last place at nationals is still an accomplishment — to be at nationals, anyway. It’s not anything to be upset about.”

However, Johnston added jokingly, “But, don’t get last.”

Getting there

It takes a lot of effort and funding to get to compete at nationals — $4,000 to be exact. If people would like to know more about donations, helping to fundraise or attending the competition as a judge, contact Don May, Clarke’s speech coach.

This year will be the first year Clarke has sent four speech students to national competition, and the school district is one of the smallest schools associated with NSDA.

“The number and everything is great,” May said. “I wish that more people could go and be involved and/or just go and see nationals. Once you are there, you would be biting and scratching to get back again. To compete with the top people in the nation, it’s a tough competition.”