01/17/12 Two Plymouth High School Speech and Debate team members won spots in Congress competition that advanced them to the NFL (National Forensic League) tournament that will be held in Indianapolis in June.
To qualify, senior Rebecca Brumbaugh and junior Michaila Nate had to debate students from all over north-west Indiana for over five hours on a variety of topics.
Nate won first place in the Senate. As a sophomore, she had made it to the Super Senate level at the national contest.
Brumbaugh was at the top of the competitors in the House of Representatives. This was an especially welcomed win since she finished as the runner-up last year.
Joining them to the contest will be two Munster contestants. Both Calvin Sanders and Sameer Chintamani of Munster High School team placed second after Nate and Brumbaugh.
The wins came after 12 hours of waiting for the final results to be tabulated. All in all, there were nearly 75 competitors representing eight different high schools competing.
PHS team competitors Kelsey Schaffer and Ashton Morrow were both awarded outstanding Presiding Officer in their respective chambers. Kelsey Schafer was named second alternate in her chamber.
In the Congress event, competitors research several topics and must then present their opinions in speeches on whether a particular bill or resolution should be passed. They must also be prepared to defend their positions either affirmative or negative under cross-examination by other competitors in their chamber. Students must know and follow rules of parliamentary procedure.
The topics for the NFL tournament will be different from those already researched.
