On Saturday, October 25, Cherry Hill East Speech and Debate kicked off its competition season at the Phillipsburg Spooktacular Fall Tournament, earning awards across multiple categories. Sonia Motiwala (‘27) placed sixth in Informative Speaking, Trey Azara (‘28) placed seventh in Impromptu Speaking, and duo Zain Rivzi (‘27) and Sam Park (‘28) placed fourth in Junior Varsity Parliamentary Debate. Ethan Xiong (‘28) and Johanna Kang (‘28) obtained top novice in Impromptu Speaking and Congressional Debate, respectively.
“Phillipsburg was a really great competition,” said Motiwala. “I had never competed in Informative Speaking before, so it was interesting to see what other people performed. I’m super excited for the rest of the season.”
Informative speaking is a public address event where a competitor writes a 10-minute speech of their choice and presents the speech with visual aids. Most speeches follow the structure of an introduction, three main points, and a conclusion.
Motiwala hopes that the team will continue growing in the future.
“For our vision for the rest of the year, we are hoping to keep expanding our team,” she said. “Speech has taught me so many different skills and made me a more confident presenter, and I hope other people will be able to gain that crucial experience.”
Likewise, Azara notes that the competition was an enriching experience for himself and the whole team.
“We arrive early in the day, leave late at night, and have fun while competing all throughout,” said Azara. “Making the semifinals felt so rewarding, something only enhanced by the friendly competition environment. Though I didn’t place further, the experience still felt incredibly entertaining and memorable.”
In Impromptu Speaking, competitors choose from three prompts and have seven minutes to prepare and deliver their speech, which can be anything related to the prompt that they choose. They can pick a side or simply choose to inform or entertain their audience about their topic.
“For me, this competition was especially exciting as I got to try out my new speech, and without much pressure or fear…This year I strive not only to improve my skills as a speaker, but as a speechwriter as I learn more and more from other competitors,” said Azara.
The club hopes to build on its early success at its next tournament, scheduled for December 13 at Summit High School. The team will attend six tournaments in total this year, held at various locations including the University of Pennsylvania and Newark.
For students interested in learning more, the Speech and Debate Team meets after school on Wednesdays and Thursdays in Room C301.