Saturday, September 28th, Soddy Daisy High School will be hosting its annual forensics competition at the school. This year, the theme is centered around daisies, as is the name, The Daisy Invitational. There are many parts to a forensics competition like this, and it takes several people to make it work. While the competition is quite chaotic, Ms. Downing, the theater teacher, assures that it is organized chaos.
Over 260 students from 14 Tennessee schools attend the event, which lasts from 8 A.M. to 6 P.M.. However, preparation for the competition takes place as early as summer break. Several forensics, theater, and honor society students assist throughout the competition, with jobs like decorating the school, setting up before/cleaning up after, guiding participants to their event rooms, and running concessions. Additionally, the forensics captains oversee the behind the scenes of the competition, and a few weeks before, forensics students help to create materials like posters and event topics.
The competition begins with an opening ceremony in the gym, where the rules are explained to the participants and judges, followed by round 1. Each round, there are various acting/speech events, and there are three rounds total, with a lunch break after the second one. Once the third round is finished, the top six for each event are decided, and during drops, big posters are unrolled to reveal them. Those top six make their way to the finals round, where they have one last chance to snag first place. After finals, everyone makes their way back to the gym for the awards ceremony. The finalists are called up to receive their trophies, and the first place winners receive a daisy-themed prize and their event poster.
The entire operation couldn’t be possible without the collaboration of both students and teachers, as well as the standards and values upheld at SDHS. As Ms. Downing puts it, “Without collaboration, forensics would not be able to thrive, and our goals wouldn’t be accomplished.” This year, the main goal remains the same as it always has: to put as much time and effort into this event to ensure that it remains the smoothest, best run competition of the year.