Stuyvesant Speech and Debate Crowned NYSFL State Champions

Stuyvesant’s Speech and Debate Team competed in the New York State Forensics League (NYSFL) Grand Champion Tournament at Bronx Science High School from April 18 to April 19. After advancing through multiple rounds of competition, Stuyvesant was named the overall New York State Champion in Speech and Debate. 

 In addition to the team’s overall recognition, the Sweepstakes Awards recognize the top five school teams in each speech and debate category. Public Forum and Speech both won their divisions, while Lincoln Douglas and Student Congress earned second and third place, respectively. Numerous students also won or placed highly in their respective categories.

To qualify for the annual NYSFL tournament, students must earn two credits, called half-qualifications, by competing and placing in local or regional tournaments. The number of half-qualifications available at a tournament depends on the size, but competitors typically need to finish in the top 20 percent to earn one. The first day of the competition consists entirely of preliminary rounds, while the second day concludes with elimination rounds. 

During the fall of the 2025-2026 academic year, Stuyvesant’s Speech team selected the pieces they would perform for the season. Because each competitor’s speech remains the same throughout all tournaments in the academic year, students have an entire year to prepare and develop their speeches before bringing them to competition. 

Speech Captain and senior Micah Beirne, along with Mariya Markova, co-championed the Duo Interpretation event, in which two partners perform a ten minute speech from a published book, movie, or play. Beirne explained the process behind creating the performance. “The piece we did last year was a Broadway play, Oh Mary!, and we took that one hour and forty minute script [and] cut it down to ten minutes,” Beirne said. “We memorized based on that ten minutes, and we performed that same piece at every single tournament.” Consistent practice in regional and invitational tournaments helped prepare Beirne and Markova for States.

Stuyvesant’s Debate team members also prepared extensively for States with the help of upperclassmen mentors. “We had a dedicated team of officers, session runners, and of course our JV directors who made sure everyone got enough practice speeches in preparation for states. Our former President (and Captain), Myles, also hosted a States bootcamp outside of school for a nice mix of fun and practice!” Extemporaneous Captain and senior Elina Siu said. 

Along with working with dedicated mentors, competitors from the Public Forum team also spent time preparing after school. “We prepared by doing practice rounds during biweekly practices, creating cases and research at home (with a partner), and working together as a team to best prepare everyone for the upcoming debates,” sophomore and Novice Public Forum competitor Caleb Paugh said in an email interview.

Despite the daily practice that Speech and Debate members put in, competitors described the limited preparation time following April break as a challenge. “We only had a week of rounds of practice at school after break, which is just not ideal. Speech in particular is not really something you could do over Zoom to practice,” junior and Speech Novice Director Anna Schaible said. 

Unlike most competitors, who compete in one category, Schaible participated in two events, Program Oral Interpretation and JV Oral Interpretation, adding to the pressure. Both events contain a 10 minute speech in which speakers blend multiple sources to talk about a central point. In the Speech division of the NYSFL, there are 90 minute slots of rounds that alternate in certain periods. “My two events alternated every slot,” Schaible said. “This was exhausting because I didn’t get a lunch break technically, but it was also much better than I expected it being because it meant I could actually sit through a whole round every time.” 

Since States took place in April, when many Stuyvesant students were preparing for AP exams, members of the speech and debate team also had to manage their time while preparing for the competition. “[A] major challenge for me during preparation was finding time to hold practice sessions, give speeches myself, and balancing that with AP studying and regular coursework. I really had to manage my time wisely and track everything down in a planner,” Siu said. 

Nevertheless, competitors expressed satisfaction with their performance at the tournament. “It’s not just about the competition. It’s about every single person on the team,” Beirne said. “If you look at the Weekly Update, it has so many names because everyone on the team put in the work and put in the effort.”

Competitors on the Stuyvesant Debate team also emphasized the sense of collaboration among participants. “States was super competitive and it was incredibly nerve wracking when we were in round and in the rooms themselves,” sophomore and Novice Public Forum competitor Ava Umyn said. “But in the hallway and the cafeteria when we were chatting with other teams, even from out of Stuy, it didn’t feel unfriendly or super competitive, especially later in the day.” 

In between rounds, competitors found time to have fun. “I don't have specific [favorite] moments but rather a collection of many,” Siu said. “Laughing when playing card games with extempers across the circuit, cheering when we found out a record number of Stuy extempers broke to Quarterfinals, talking about our speeches over pizza, and singing off-key to Beauty and a Beat in-between rounds.”

Although tournaments like the NYSFL are competitive, members said the Speech and Debate community can be more meaningful than the competition itself. “Last year, we had few issues with hyper competitiveness and unnecessary stress,” Beirne said. “But the tournament wins don’t matter that much. And tournament placements, that stuff doesn’t really matter as much as the team matters, the community, and the friends you made along the way.”

As another Speech and Debate season begins, members this year hope to continue building on their achievements and experience from States. “We were all extremely proud to have our hard work pay off and thankful towards our coaches for all the support they provided. We hope to repeat our success next year!” Siu said.