By Micah Greenberg | Bomber Media
The Kenston speech and debate team is making a return to in-person tournaments and is looking to bolster their numbers with a recruitment makeover.
After a long summer away from competition, the club’s officers have been working hard to redesign their recruitment strategies: talking to clubs, personalizing announcements, and messaging students individually.
These new strategies come following a particularly slow year for new members — during the 2020-21 season, the high school team only gained one new competitor.
“This is a rebuilding year for us,” said Coach Stephan Voudris. “Building a strong underclassman base will be the most useful way to set ourselves up for future seasons.”
Some attribute the slow growth of the 2020-21 season to the online format of tournaments, with many competitors being discouraged due to the lack of social opportunities. To many, the social aspect of speech and debate is the most important part.
“I was not able to see all my friends every weekend,” said senior debater Ryann Greulich. According to Greulich, she skipped her junior season because online tournaments lacked “the full experience.”
This year, schools have been given the responsibility of deciding whether tournaments will be online or in-person. With tournaments being slowly phased back into brick-and-mortar competition, the team expects many old and new members to participate.
Speech and debate is holding their first practice on Tuesday, Sept. 21.▮
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Micah Greenberg is a reporter for Bomber Media and a senior at Kenston High School.