The Speech Team of West Chicago started off quite well amidst the beginning of their competitive season, which began  this past month.

Speech Team, a competitive IHSA sponsored club here at our school, began their competitive season this past month, starting off with a novice tournament on November 11 and the first varsity competition of the year at Hoffman Estates High School for the Turkey Tourney.

Speech focuses on a variety of competitions, it is a team meant to increase heighten critical thinking skills, with members, depending on the subject one competes in, will often have to think intelligently on the spot.

Members of Speech Team are able to compete in a variety of events, ranging from the reading of poetry all the way to comedy routines, where members then practice their skills for competition during the week, to prepare for competitions that generally happen on Saturdays. Students arrive at said meets, that are typically hosted from around early morning, all the way to the evening depending on the competition.

“We go all over Northern Illinois honestly, the experience is, like, super stressful but in a good way and it’s definitely really fun if you’re super competitive or into acting,” said Michael Angeles, senior and previous state competitor.

More recently though, after a few weeks of practice the team has begun to take their competitive spirit on the road, with novice members competing in November 11, placing relatively well to start off the season, with seniors Karidja Monjolo and Rory Rudden placing fourth in Radio Speaking and sixth in Extemporaneous Speaking, respectively.

“I really like how speech is just like a nice inviting space, especially for everyone because they’re like a bunch of different categories that you can do. And like I found one that suited me personally, which was poetry because like, I’m really interested in a topic,” said Sentia Irakoze, junior and two-year member.

The Varsity team then competed the following week in Hoffman Estates on November 18 at the Turkey Tourney, where Senior’s Lucas Brown, Alex Bradly, and Karidja Monjolo placed third in Extemporaneous Speaking, 5th in Oratorical Declamation and 6th in Radio Speaking.

The team continues to practice and compete, and looks forward to their upcoming meets.

“My experience competing has been really positive so far, and I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from judges. I feel like it’s been really constructive. And it’s just been a nice experience, getting to know my teammates, and getting to really practice my speeches. One on one,” said Rudden, a first-year member.