The 32 members of the
WKU Forensics Team
are preparing for the 2019-20 season. The champion speech and debate team welcomes nine new members this fall, recruited from across the nation, pursuing a variety of academic programs at WKU.
The team will begin the season on Sept. 20 when it hosts the annual WKU/Alumni Fall Swing Tournament and the Alexis Elliott Memorial Lincoln-Douglas Round Robin debate tournament. The first is open to all postsecondary schools who wish to attend, and usually brings about 23 schools to campus. The latter is an exclusive invite-only debate tournament, for debaters already recognized as some of the best in the nation.
“We are so excited to welcome such a talented group of students to The Hill,” Director of Forensics Ganer Newman said. “This preparatory camp was so productive because every student put in a tremendous amount of effort during the summer months. We cannot wait to see all we will accomplish this season.”
In the 2018-19 season, WKU won the American Forensic Association (AFA) National Individual Events Tournament for the first time since 2015, won its 27
th
consecutive Kentucky Forensic Association state championship and finished second in the National Forensic Association (NFA) National Tournament in both individual events and debate.
The team will travel in some capacity almost every weekend from mid-September to the end of the competitive season in April. The AFA National Individual Events Tournament will be hosted by the Santa Ana Unified School District April 4-9, and the NFA National Tournament will be hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater April 16-21.
