-
The Snyder High School team of Anna Charlotte Lavers (left) and Alanna Hurt placed second at the District 2-4A cross examination debate event and qualified for the state contest, which will be held in March.
For the first time in three years, a Snyder High School cross examination debate team qualified for the state meet.
Juniors Anna Charlotte Lavers and Alanna Hurt placed second at Wednesday’s District 2-4A meet, which was hosted by Snyder and held at the First United Methodist Church. The state event will be held March 18-19 in Austin.
Two other Snyder teams — Cedric Quiroz and Tristan Soliz and Michael Campos and Ethan Hernandez — also competed Wednesday.
This is the first year that Lavers and Hurt were partners. Hurt had competed in Lincoln-Douglas Debate since the eighth grade.
Hurt and Lavers also placed second in contests earlier this year.
“Our goal is to win every meet we enter,” Lavers said. “But so far we keep coming in second.”
Since Big Spring won the state title in 2015, both Lavers and Hurt said they knew they would be facing tough competition.
“We re-strategized how we would debate at district,” Hurt said.
They faced one of Big Spring’s team in Wednesday’s first round.
“We began to get in the groove,” Lavers said. “I felt good coming out of the first round.”
Learning about domestic surveillance, this season’s topics, required the girls to do “a ton of research. We also examined many case studies,” Hurt said.
“Our arguments are balanced on both sides of the issue,” Lavers said. “Debate is so exciting.”
As partners, Hurt said she presents evidence in the first speech. Lavers follows and presents more evidence with a rebuttal to follow.
Hurt said debaters use a variety of styles, including speaking calmly or loud and fast.
“We will experience new styles at state,” Lavers said. “That’s what makes (competing) fun, interesting and scary all at the same time.”
Lavers and Hurt credit speech teacher and debate sponsor Shelby Randolph with helping them gain experience by taking them to weekend speech and debate contests. They and other speech students traveled to Hereford today for a speech tournament.
Noting that they had to leave Snyder at 3 a.m. today, Hurt said, “debate is not for the weak. You have to give up a lot of (free) time, especially on Saturdays. But if you love it that’s what you do.”
One of the benefits of debate, according to Lavers, is that “it helps you get out of your shell.”
“I have become more sociable,” Hurt said.
They also said, “it is important for team members to remain friends outside of debate.”