On Friday, January 24, and Saturday, January 25, Gig Harbor High School helped host one of the most unique speech and debate events of the year, the Viking Extravaganza Online Tournament. This tournament was done entirely online. At first this may seem problematic and difficult, but the benefit of an online tournament is that it allows for multiple people from all over the country to compete together. One student competed alongside another student from Georgia, a different but enlightening experience. “I love the online format because it allows me to decompress and get less stressed because I am at my own school,” said Aurora Lettelier (9). Not only does an online tournament allow for more people, but it also solves the problem of transport, because all one has to do to join the tournament is open their computer.

There is only one online tournament each year, and Gig Harbor High School is proud to not only attend the tournament but also dominate the scoreboard in most categories. In duo interpretation, an event in which two people perform a published work in a manner that is often humorous, Nate Dietrich (11) and Ashley Carman (10) took first place with their piece taken from The Muppets. “I had a great time at the tournament because I got to hang out with my friends and do the events that I love,” said Carman. In Programmed Oral Interpretation, a presentation where multiple pieces of literature are put together to form an argument, Autumn Coovert (11) got first place. For Dramatic Interpretation, a presentation focused on using body language and voice to portray emotion, Coovert took second. For Humorous Interpretation, a ten-minute humorous presentation in which one presenter plays every character, our team had two people on the podium. Carman scored second place, and Henry Fournier (9) took first. For Original Oratory, students write their own piece and recite it on a topic of their choice. In this category, Elise Hill (11) got first place.

In the debate categories, Gig Harbor did not disappoint. In the Junior Lincoln Douglas, a one-on-one debate, Henry Fournier took third place. For Open Lincoln Douglas, a two-on-two debate that focuses on morality and philosophy, Autumn Coovert is our first place and overall champion, and Timothy Slota (10) was a quarter finalist. For Open Public Forum, a two-on-two debate focused more politically on teamwork as opposed to individual performance, Logan Thoms (12) and Ellis Adamson (12) were quarter finalists.

The team had an extremely successful tournament this year, placing on the podium in almost every category. Mr. Christopher Coovert, the speech and debate advisor, said, “It was good to see the team have really strong finishes as we get late into the year and get ready for the state tournament.”