NSDA Springboard Capstone 2022 Results
Despite the cancellation of the Santa Fe Prep Griffin Growl, the team brought a fierce competitive spirit to the Winter Capstone of the NSDA Springboard Series on Saturday, 12/3! Generously supported by the Julia Burke Foundation, the Springboard Series offers accessible competitive opportunities free-of-charge to students through virtual practice scrimmages and two weekend tournaments. More information about the Springboard Series is available here.
We were grateful that such a well-run tournament was able to replace what otherwise would have been a lost weekend of competition for us. Despite the memories of virtual competition during the height of social isolation, the team nevertheless bonded while competing on campus. Going up against students as close by as La Cueva High School and as far away as the East and West Coasts, students had the chance to adapt to new competitors and more diverse judge pools in a friendly format. They brought their a-game and over a year’s worth of online competitive experience — and it showed! Despite the bigger entry pools and our lack of familiarity with the tournament, we still wound up bringing home some truly exceptional results.
For example, notable highlights from our ballots included:
"Your speech was the best informative that I have judged in person or online. Good luck with your season and I hope to see you at nationals."
"I love that you broke things down and explained them for someone who might not follow politics"
“ABQ took the edge by pushing for clear evidence...ABQ was better prepared to provide real world examples."
"You spoke with confidence and it was clear you were well prepared"
And it wasn’t just judges making note of our excellence! Some specific team shout-outs were provided to:
Syd — “I saw them helping out with the lunches, reminding EVERYONE about the super sweet limeade, and engage in conversation with everyone.”
Ayla — “because she put up with all of our shouting” and was “so sweet even though we were the ones who were being disruptive” and because “as always, she is just phenomenal at extemp.”
Ashna & Sydney — “I’m really proud of them for making it through the tournament. They were really stressed, but went undefeated in the end.”
Sara & Gabby — “They really helped me de-stress and motivated me. They're such good cheerleaders.”
Jaycee & Anagha — “They had great cases going into this tournament….they had great insight into different arguments that confused me or I didn't have a good answer to.”
Lucy — “because I know she was nervous and overcame her concerns.”
Congratulations to the following for their specific achievements:
Speech
2nd place in Informative Speaking — Becca Faber (see the livestream of Round 4 here!)
5th place in Mixed Extemporaneous Speaking — Ayla Zomermaand (see the livestream of Round 4 here!)
3rd place in Program Oral Interp — Thomas Wray
Debate
2nd place in Rising Stars Policy Debate — Sydney Weber & Ashna Singh (Undefeated!)
3rd place in Open Policy Debate — Leo Crowley & Darin Eberhardt
9th place in Open Public Forum Debate — Anagha Devarakonda & Jaycee Sanchez
As a whole, we earned top awards in 6 out of the 10 events that we entered in, with more than half of our students recognized as being in the top of their field! Congratulations to all for continuing to adapt to unfamiliar circumstances, making the most of unexpected changes, and showing up to support one another.
Next up, 7 students travel to New Orleans, Louisiana to compete in the 44th Newman Invitational!
