Forensics
NFA National Champions
The National Forensic Association national tournament is the largest such national tournament in the nation, with 1240 slots competing in individual events, and twenty-two schools competing in Lincoln-Douglas debate.
Western was crowned Debate Sweepstakes Champion, making this their eighth debate sweepstakes championship.
Western also won Individual Events Sweepstakes, the sixth win in seven years. WKU also received the Founders Trophy, which is periodically awarded to schools as they accumulate sweepstakes points over a span of years.
AFA National Champions
Western swept the AFA NIET tournament sweepstakes, making this their sixth AFA national championship since they began attending eight years ago. George Mason University placed second, while University of Texas at Austin placed third, Bradley University placed fourth, and Illinois State University placed fifth. AFA consists of more than 273 member schools. Western was the only school to advance students to elimination rounds in every event.
Rachel Wigginton, a senior from Glendale, was chosen to be part of the AFA 2009 All American Team, acknowledging her forensics talent, academic achievement, and community involvement. Additionally, Samantha Harrison, a junior from Carrollton, Texas, was elected Student Representative to the National Board for AFA.
2008 - 2009 Debate Statistics
- We attended 16 debate tournaments this year, including three national tournaments
- Our debaters won 566 prelim rounds for a prelim win percentage of 69%
- They advanced to elimination rounds 112 times out of a possible 158 (78% breaks)
- Our debaters qualified for 21 final rounds, won 12 of those, and closed out 7 of them
- They received 61 Top Ten Speaker awards
- As a team, our debaters won 10 first place sweepstakes awards
Member Submits Content To New Book
Congratulations to WKU junior Jessica Furgerson for her contributing chapter in the new book, Up For Debate: US Foreign Policy Towards the Greater Horn of Africa. Jessica's chapter explores how U.S. immigration policy is closing our doors to the continent's suffering refugees.
Southern Comfort Swing '09 - at Bama
You are cordially invited to attend the 2009 Southern Comfort Swing hosted on the campus of the University of Alabama, in Tuscaloose, Alabama on Saturday and Sunday, January 31 and February 1, 2009. For further information, feel free to contact us. The invitation has been added as of November 11th.
Invitation now available (click)
CONGRATULATIONS NFL Champions!
WKU is a proud sponsor of Humorous Interpretation and all of the Supplementary and Consolation events. We would like to take this time to congratulate all of these NFL national champions.
- Humorous Interp.: Alex Wozencraft - Mannford HS, OK
- Expository Speaking: Allison Stuewe - Salina HS, KS
- Extemp Commentary: Alex E. Tolkin - Newton South HS, MA
- Poetry Reading: Meghan Kreidler - Eagan HS, MN
- Prose Reading: Rachael Kenney - Gilmour Academy HS, OH
- Impromptu Speaking: Taman Narayan - Lealand HS, CA
- Storytelling: Antonia Lassar - Newton South HA, MA
A special congratulations to five of our outstanding new team members for their excellent achievements at the NFL Nationals in Nevada.
- Mario Nguyen: Oratory Champion
- Maggie Woodward: Semi-finals in Oratory
- Taron Grizzell: QF in Duo
- Austin Ashford: QF in Dramatic Performance
- Frank Murdock: Round 10 of Lincoln Douglas Debate
WKU Forensic Alumni
WKU forensics is proud to announce the Elizabeth McWorter-Harden Forensics Alumni Association. To visit the association's website, please click the link below.
Interested in joining the team?
Prospects should visit the link below to find contact information and details on how to apply for the team.
We sponsor the following
Glenbrooks Speech & Debate Tournament
National Forensics League; HI, and all of the Consolation and Supplimentary events
WKU forensics, proud member of the following
- National Forensic Association
- American Forensic Association
- Pi Kappa Delta
- National Parliamentary Debate Association
- Delta Sigma Rho/Tao Kappa Alpha
- Kentucky Forensic Association
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