Spotlight on the GCU Speech and Debate Team

Grand Canyon University’s Speech and Debate Team has experienced tremendous success over the last several years – and the 2015-16 academic year has been no exception. After taking second place in a swing tournament over Valentine’s Day weekend, the Speech and Debate Team repeated as Division III champion in the National Christian College Forensics Invitational.

Two students also qualified this year for a first-round bid to the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence (NPTE). This comes after finishing first among 11 four-year universities at the Robert Barbera Collegiate Forensics Invitational #1 at California State University, Northridge, in November.

“I believe that our success can really be attributed to the amount of hard work put in, in addition to the support we give our teammates,” said GCU senior and speech and debate team member Ashlyn Tupper.

“When your teammates are constant supports, it makes all the difference when you are at a tournament and you feel things are not going so well. We pick each other up and we remind each other of the real reason we are there – to make a difference with our speeches. Our team is a family made up of brilliant individuals and when we all get together, we have success at tournaments.”

The success of the three-year-old Speech and Debate Team resulted in the hiring of an assistant coach, which Head Coach Barry Regan believes had an important role in the team’s ability to consistently perform at its best.

As another nod to the team’s success, Grand Canyon University has been given the honor of hosting the National Christian College Forensics Invitational in 2017. It is evident that the level of dedication and quality work students put into this team is paying off, in more ways than one.

For more information about getting involved at Grand Canyon University, visit the GCU website to learn more about student clubs and organizations.