Groundhog Day’s festivities this year included much more than just Punxsutawney Phil’s seasonal clairvoyance; at the same time, Concordia’s Forensic team made their way to Grossmont College in El Cajon California over the weekend of Feb. 1 and 2 to compete in the 2025 Groundhog Day Invitational. 

Concordia Forensic sent 15 speech and debate competitors to the Groundhog Day Invitational and represented over 40 team and individual events during the two days of competition. Hudson Winchel, sophomore debater, described how forensics opportunities allow students to “sharpen their ability to speak with clarity, professionalism and persuasive passion.” 

At the Groundhog Day Invitational, two different formats of debate were available for competition: IPDA (International Public Debate Association) and NPDA (National Parliamentary Debate Association). Debater Daniel Boyle, sophomore, explained that “IPDA is a

1v1 form of debate with a wide range of topics about politics, morality, movies and more. NPDA is a 2v2 and an extremely technical form of debate where the topics mainly center around geopolitical issues.”

Concordia Forensics brought nine team members to compete in IPDA and four teams in NPDA. In IPDA, Seth Paap and Winchel received bronze, Josiah Schade received silver, and, going undefeated, Boyle received gold. In NPDA, Elliot Di Martino and Winchel’s partnership and Schade and Boyle’s partnership received silver, while Eliana Clerie and Paap’s partnership received gold.

On the speech side, six team members competed in almost every event. There are three different types of events in speech: interpretation, platform, and limited preparation. Speech team captain Laura Gibson explained that interpretation events are “one-women (or man) shows with pieces of literature strung together to form an argument ending up being about 10 minutes in length.” 

Similarly, platform speeches “form an argument” but base their advocacy on research and empiricism instead of performance. Finally, there are two limited preparation events: Impromptu Speaking and Extemporaneous Speaking. Winchel described Impromptu Speaking as “a limited-prep speech event where competitors draw a random prompt (which could be anything—a quote, a word, a phrase, etc.), then have roughly two minutes to prepare a 5-minute

speech.” Extemporaneous follows a similar trend; however, the preparation and speaking time are extended, and topics tend to focus on political issues.

At the Groundhog Day Invitational, Concordia received 14 third-place or better medals for their performance in all three events. Gibson placed second in Poetry and third in Program Oral Interpretation, Gannon Strahm placed first in Prose and Novice Impromptu Speaking, Rebecca Kadera placed third in Poetry and second in Prose, Bryanna Farley placed third in Prose, and Lillie Strahm placed second in Persuasive.

While medals and accolades are an exciting part of the Concordia Forensic experience, Boyle, Gibson and Winchel all drew out one common idea as their favorite aspect of the activity. “My favorite part about forensics, specifically at Concordia, is the relationships I have developed through the years with people on the team. I have made life-long friends that have been able to support me through various different things in my life,” said Gibson. 

“Forensics at Concordia is more than just an activity—it’s a community where I’ve formed deep friendships with people who care about politics, faith, philosophy and social change,” said Winchel. Forensics allows academically hungry students to further their pursuit of knowledge while also creating fellowship and bonds amongst like-minded individuals.

At the end of the Groundhog Day Invitational, Concordia’s Forensics team placed third in

the four-year sweepstakes with 199 points. Although the night ended victorious for Concordia’s Golden Eagles, a collective groan overwhelmed Grossmont College’s auditorium as it was announced that Punxsutawney Phil called for another six weeks of winter.

 

Tags: Forensics, debate, speech

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