SVUDL Hosts John Lewis Invitational
On the weekend of November 21-23, the John Lewis SVUDL Invitational hosted over 1,400 students from across the country to compete in 16 different events at Notre Dame High School in San Jose. Offering both University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (UK-TOC) and National Individual Events Tournament of Champions (NIE-TOC) bids, our tournament is a great opportunity for SVUDL students to experience competitive Speech and Debate at the national circuit level.
A TOC bid is a point earned by top competitors in speech and debate. If a student wants to earn a bid, they must perform well at a major tournament. Many of these tournaments are hosted at places like Harvard, UC Berkeley, or Emory, and are the only way a student can gain entry into a TOC.
Mikim Nguyen, a junior at Silver Creek High School, had a great time at the tournament! She loves “...meeting people from all over the Bay Area and even people from over a hundred miles away.” and feels that the tournament has “a more competitive atmosphere” which empowers her to become a better competitor herself.
Students from 8 SVUDL schools participated in events such as World Schools Debate, Program of Oratorical Interpretation, Policy Debate, and Impromptu Speaking. Some of our students even made it to elimination rounds. Dhyana Desai, from Silver Creek High School, competed against 16 other students and placed second overall in Program of Oratorical Interpretation, which was one rank away from receiving a bid! In the Policy Debate division William Nguyen and Ryan Luu, two students from Yerba Buena High School, received first place in the round robin.
For Dhyana, the experience was deeply motivating. “Competing at the John Lewis Tournament was an incredibly rewarding experience. The strong competitors in my rounds and the performances I got to watch truly inspired me to push myself and elevate my own performance.”
Congratulations to all of our students who competed at the SVUDL John Lewis Invitational! And many thanks to Notre Dame High School for hosting us this year, and to the staff and volunteers who contributed to an amazing event!
