The Speech team brought eight ninth graders to compete at the Western Bay Forensics League (WBFL) IE Quals, hosted by Culver City High School on Feb. 28. In order to be eligible to compete, students were required to attend at least one of the monthly WBFL events throughout the school year. Competitors attended weekly practices, worked with mentors on drills and refined their pieces leading up to the tournament. This event serves as a qualifier for the California High School Speech Association (CHSSA) tournament on Apr. 17, where top speakers from across California compete.
Students competed in rounds that lasted from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Alyssa Xie ’29 and Dylan Kaw ’29 competed in Humorous Interpretation (HI), Ellie Oh ’29, Anny Du ’29 and Max Friedman ’29 competed in Impromptu (IMP), Eva Chang ’29 and Jaimee Lee ’29 competed in Original Advocacy (OA) and Isaac Fujikawa ’29 and Kaw competed in National Extemporaneous Speaking (NX).
Kaw qualified for the championship by placing fourth in NX and second in HI. Fujikawa also qualified in NX by placing second and Xie qualified in HI by placing third. Lee placed seventh in OA, making her an alternate for the tournament. Oh, Du, Friedman and Chang did not advance to elimination rounds based on judge points.
Speech Coach Sarina Wang said despite the challenges of speech, the success of the students has been rewarding to see.
“I always feel proud of all the speech team students, regardless of how they perform at tournaments,” Wang said. “Public speaking is considered one of the top fears, so competing in it is an achievement in itself. We had twelve 9th graders compete this year, and ten of them received an award. This is not an easy activity, so it’s clear that their hard work and talents are paying off!”
Xie said she initially faced difficulties with her speech under time constraints.
“One of the biggest challenges with my preparations was the amount of time that I had until each competition,” Xie said. “My speech wasn’t fully done at first, so I was grateful to have weekly practices that gave me a chance to work with my mentors and coaches to refine my piece.”
Fujikawa said managing pressure during each round helped him perform more confidently throughout the tournament.
“I was proud of the way I worked under stress and nerves,” Fujikawa said. “Even with difficult questions and limited time, I stayed calm and focused. Once I managed my nerves, I enjoyed experimenting with jokes, tone, and pacing. Even if a round wasn’t perfect, doing my best carried me through.”
Kaw said being double-entered in two contrasting events challenged him and the way he approached his rounds.
“I had a lot of fun competing in both HI and Extemp,” Kaw said. “Extemp meant keeping up with the news and staying sharp with my presentation style, but HI was a whole different challenge. I only had four days to memorize a 10-minute piece, which was intense, but once I finished blocking it, I realized how much fun it was.”
Friedman said the tournament gave him opportunities to spend more time with peers outside competition rounds.
“I really enjoyed spending time and talking to my teammates during the free time that we had between rounds,” Friedman said. “I got to listen to them practice their speeches and I was able to get to know some of the other kids that I haven’t interacted with or talked to as much.”
Fujikawa feels that attending the championship will be beneficial for him regardless of the outcome.
“I’m excited for the increased caliber of competition,” Fujikawa said. “Being around other talented speakers will help my skills grow, and even if I don’t win, the growth I gain from the experience is what matters the most. Being with my teammates, who are also passionate and supportive, makes the experience even more special.”
Wang hopes the team can continue their successful run in the upcoming tournaments.
“This year, I’d love to see us win another overall award,” Wang said. “We have currently qualified 15 students, with 3 of the qualifiers being 9th grade students. Our immediate goal is to train them well so they can advance to the final stage of state.”
The team will continue competing, including the upcoming National Online Forensics (NOF) Walnut Asynchronous tournament on Mar. 23.
Follow @hwspeechteam on Instagram for more updates.
