National Speech and Debate underway, 10 Worland students competing

The Worland Speech and Debate Team is currently in Des Moines, Iowa, competing in the 2024 National Speech and Debate Tournament.

Bus driver Dave Wiley departed with speech and debate competitors from Worland, Thermopolis, Rawlins and Laramie on June 15. Of the busload of students, 10 are from Worland; eight qualifiers and two supplemental entries.

Coach Rick Dorn said, "That's a new thing that the National Speech and Debate Association started offering, you get up to two spots to let kids go experience nationals who just miss qualifying."

Worland students competing are as follows:

Myles Lass, Lincoln-Douglas debate; Nora Reid and Daisy Weaver, cross-examination debate; Tailynn Logan and Tessa Barnhill, world schools debate; Justice Nelson, oratory; Jazzy Blake and Ava Decker, duet acting. Kaydence Mosley, poetry; and Tori Colwell, expository.

All competitors will have competed Monday through Wednesday, but knockout rounds begin Thursday, June 20, and those who are no longer competing will have the chance to watch the final rounds of the competition Thursday and Friday.

It won't all be competition in Des Moines, though. Dorn said that his team has made sure to plan trips to an amusement park and a zoo to pass time in between rounds.

"The Wyoming schools always try to do something together while we're at Nationals, so I think we're going to take all the kids representing the state, bowling on Tuesday night," added Dorn.

The Worland Speech and Debate team will leave on Saturday after competing, and return home in the early morning of June 23.