The Powell High School speech and debate team is planning to host a new tournament in February, but the community’s help is needed.

“The thing we are struggling with the most is getting enough judges, because if we don’t have enough, we may not be able to host,” said Aiden Chandler, a captain on the Panther speech and debate team.

The tournament is scheduled for Feb. 7-8 at Powell Middle School (since PHS is already booked for a different event).

About five teams are expected to compete, and judges are needed “for any and all events,” Chandler said.

No qualifications are needed to serve as a judge, he said.

“Anyone can judge speech and debate, however some people prefer not to judge debate as it is more difficult,” Chandler said.

There will be a training session for judges one to two weeks before the tournament, or they can watch a 30-minute “how to” video before the tournament starts.

“Judging is not that hard either, so don’t stress about it,” Chandler said.

Volunteers who are willing to judge can sign up for either day or both.

“It’s completely up to the judge to decide how long he or she would like to judge,” he said.

Judges are crucial to making the new PHS tournament a reality, Chandler said, and their efforts are appreciated.

“Speech and debate is a very important activity that doesn’t really get recognized as much as other things, so thank you to all who support/judge at our tournament,” he said.

To sign up to serve as a judge, or for more information, contact coaches Nicole Maier Reitz at nlmaierreitz@pcsd1.org or Lenita Moore at lmmoore@pcsd1.org.

— Tessa Baker