Accepting Competition in a Virtual World

Cancelled. In one cataclysmic event, the ever-worsening COVID-19 pandemic ripped through the speech and debate community. STOA and NCFCA competition had been cancelled for the remainder of the 2020 season. The speech and debate community responded with a profound explosion of sadness. This sadness and regret, unfortunately, grew fairly quickly into a spirit of anger and outrage, even within myself. 

Over the following three months, online alternatives to in-person competition sprouted through the cracks of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. These forums had always been seen as the black sheep of the NCFCA and STOA, and I wasn’t altogether too thrilled to see what they had to offer. However, I begrudgingly decided to give online competition a test-run. After all, my partner and I weren’t exactly ready to shred our debate cases and hang up our gloves quite yet.

While my heart goes out to those of us who are still salty over the cancelled 2020 tournaments, and most likely even more perturbed by the hybrid format of competition this coming season, I have come to realize that online speech and debate is VERY WORTH IT! With all its seeming drawbacks, online speech and debate is certainly not the odd-man-out many of us had come to view it as. In fact, debating online is fun, engaging, and fulfilling. 

In the following paragraphs, my goal is to dispel any fears of online competition and pinpoint some of its key benefits.

PRESERVING A VALUABLE COMMUNITY

Picture a common tournament, maybe your Regional Qualifier or even a National Mixer (for those of us in NCFCA). Now think about your judges. In several competition rooms, you’ll find a grandparent or elderly community judge who takes great joy in hearing you speak. The truth of the matter is, NCFCA (and likely STOA) rely upon a judge pool that is largely made up of adults age 60 and older. In an age of division, Americans can agree that,“the risk for severe illness from COVID-19 increases with age, with older adults at highest risk.” (Centers for Disease Control 2020) From a health standpoint, we would be endangering these treasured elders of our communities. Simply put, NCFCA tournaments would struggle to carry on without these judges we all know and love.   Let us look to online competition, not as a nuisance, but as a guard to protect the elderly and high risk loved ones around us. 

AN EXPERIENCE PRESERVED

One of the most common arguments against competing online is that it just simply won’t be the same experience. We won’t connect with our friends, won’t make new ones, and competition will be soured. Nothing could be further from the truth. As online competition evolves, we won’t be simply calling each other to debate on Skype and calling it a day, but fellowshipping as a community at every tournament. Several online tournaments my partner and I competed in had the luxury of a virtual hangout room where competitors could play games, talk, and  get to know one another. Likewise, the experience of sharing a brief or researching alongside others doesn’t go away either. Phones and computers exist! I personally met and got to know countless new friends from all over the U.S. through online competition.

PRACTICING FOR A MODERN AUDIENCE

Perhaps one of my gravest concerns going into online debate was that I wouldn’t be able to connect with two people: my judge and my partner. 

Partners:

Team Policy teams must run like a well oiled machine. I was deftly worried that my partner and I would be unable to gel hundreds of miles apart. I believed our communication and strategizing would be distorted. For some, this concern is completely non-existent, as you may choose to sit right next to your partner even for online competition. For those of us that do not have that luxury, the concern of losing your team dynamic is completely null. Through the beauty of mute buttons and phones, the whispers to your partner during prep time and the careful strategizing moments are still preserved. Minus the occasional bad breath of course.

Judges:

One of my favorite aspects of competition is the opportunity to connect with a judge. To stand before them is both nerve wracking and exhilarating. Perhaps the most common concern I have heard about online speech and debate was losing that privilege.

While it’s true that you may not have room to strut around in the presence of your judge, your connection remains. Thanks to webcams and speakers debaters are still able to be seen and see their judge. Judges will still experience your speaking virtually. In fact, they will also pick up on your subtle cues and speaking presence that we all naturally hone. This means you too can still adapt your speaking to a judge’s responsiveness or lack thereof.

With online tournaments requiring webcams and video connections, you will not only be able to glean feedback from your judge and competitors, but can even watch yourself to fully take in how you may be coming across at any given moment. For me, this was huge. I tend to look angry when my opponents say something I think is false, but having a mirror image of myself and my partner kept us in check. In all, your interactions with your judge are preserved even if they are online. Just make sure that webcam is on!

The above not only proves that the speaking experience is preserved in online competition, but also leads to an opportunity for growth. As your speaking naturally adapts to online competition, you are becoming more and more prepared for the world in which we live. Audiences are gradually becoming more and more virtual, and are expected to become even more so in a Post-COVID world . Having competed virtually, competitors will be more prepared to enter the ever-changing professional world.

ACCESSIBILITY FOR MORE STUDENTS

Online competition is an accessible venue. Whether you live in Hawaii or Tennessee, you can compete at any tournament. Students are no longer limited by geographic constraints or the cost of travel.  This means that no matter what your economic status, health, schedule, school, or location, you can still compete. For parents, this means an easier time on schedules, pocketbooks, and vehicles. For competitors, this means the sky's the limit. You may not have fathomed the thought of going to a National Open in the NCFCA or a STOA tournament out west, but now you can! We all can! 

In summary, online tournaments still contain the elements we know and love about competition. They also offer unique advantages and real-world training opportunities for participants. Let's embrace this temporary climate as an opportunity to advance our skills in new ways. I hope that you -- like me -- will critically consider your stance on virtual competition. We can still have an incredible year of speech and debate.

READY TO GET STARTED?

Sign up today for the Lasting Impact! Fall Circuit sponsored by DFW Speech and Debate to start practicing virtual competition: Register here