East Mountain High School (EMHS) is a small charter high school located in Sandia Park, just around the corner from Albuquerque. The students here enjoy a small school environment that allows them access to the tools needed to achieve success. With high graduation rates, great teachers, and a desirable small-school atmosphere, EMHS has a reputation for success. Unfortunately, the student body lacks the numbers to compete against larger Albuquerque schools like Manzano, La Cueva, and Albuquerque Academy in sports and extracurricular activities. There is one exception to this rule, however: the EMHS Speech and Debate Team, that gets to compete against 4A and 5A schools from all around the state.
The Speech and Debate team has only been in existence at EMHS for four years, but that didn't stop us from growing exponentially and earning great success. In these past four years, the team has grown to a size that includes one in every six students attending EMHS. The past season of competition brought great progress and achievement for the team, as we were able to consistently take home team sweepstakes awards (by being in the top three award-grossing schools at a tournament) at tournaments, and we ended the season by putting an end to Albuquerque Academy's 24 year winning streak at the State Tournament, as well as qualifying seven students to the National Tournament, to be held in Dallas, Texas.
Today is June 7th, Nationals begins on June 13th, and our seven qualifiers are constantly at school (yes, we know it's summer) working hard in preparation for the Tournament. This blog will take you with us to Dallas for six days, keeping you updated on rounds, events, and our experience at the 2011 National Forensic League National Tournament.
PS: My name is Jace Reynolds, I'm a rising senior here at EMHS, Co-Captain of the Speech and Debate Team, and I'll be your "host" for the Tournament.
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