It was debatable
High School teams from Western Montana gathered Saturday at Polson high and middle schools for a classic speech and debate competition dubbed the Piratepalooza Speech and Drama Meet. Among them were Polson's Haley ‘Zucchinni’ Kendley, Ghanima des Lions, Geneva des Lions, Cheyenne O’Connor, Captain Kania ‘Queen’ Smith, Jordan Broussard, Riley Berlin and Jordan Croft.
Ronan’s members are Alejandro Segura, Jacob Dresen, Ryan Dresen, Roman Hall, Eli Carey, Coach Amy Miller, Jenaya Burns, Julia Matkovich, Sam Friedlander, Jessie Lewisand Coach Stephanie Swigart, Bria Waldron.
The Polson finalists are:
1st Place, Serious Oral Interpretation,
Jordan Broussard
3rd Place, Memorized Public Address, Haley Kendley
5th Place, Original Oratory,
Ghanima des Lions
6th Place, Serious Oral Interpretation,
Kania Smith
Sweeps Results:
Class A Speech: 1st—Columbia Falls, 2nd—Whitefish, 3rd—Polson
Class B Speech: 1st—Loyola, 2nd—Bigfork, 3rd—Ronan
Class A Drama: 1st—Libby, 2nd—Frenchtown
Class B Drama: 1st—Bigfork
The Ronan finalists are:
Ale Segura - 5th, Memorized Public Address
Jacob Dresen - 7th, Memorized Public Address
Bria Waldron - 4th, Expository Speaking
Jessie Lewis - 2nd, Serious Oral Interp; 8th, Impromptu
Ryan Dresen - 3rd, Humorous Oral Interp
Jenaya Burns and Julia Matkovich - 8th, Policy Debate
Only three schools competed in Drama events.
Eight schools and roughly 120 contestants participated in the meet, which for the first time was called Piratepalooza. Officials tried something different this year and arranged the schedule with 2 hours between the start of each round, rather than the typical 1½ hour arrangement.
Consequently, there were only a total of four rounds scheduled, rather than the typical five rounds. The idea was to allow judges more time to write thoughtful comments. Organizers thank the dozens of volunteers who participated as judges. Polson competes Nov. 1 in the Kalispell Classic at Glacier and Flathead high schools.