Forensics speaking is a time honored tradition for the folks at The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. The Whitewater team dates back to 1936 and they have been "speaking to succeed" ever since.
Now, UW-Whitewater is not the only school that has a college forensics team. There are a handful of Wisconsin teams and hundreds of teams across the United States that compete in intercollegiate forensics speaking.
What is Forensics Speaking?
Still confused? Well, competitors at UW-Whitewater compete in eleven different speech events. These events are further broken down into three different categories: Interp, Public Address and Limited Prep. Team members can choose to compete in one event or many events at once.
Interp events include:
- Poetry
- Prose
- Dramatic Interp (DI)
- Program Oral Interp (POI)
- Dramatic Duo (Duo)
Public address events include:
- Informative
- Critical Analysis
- Persuasion
- After Dinner Speaking (ADS)
Limited prep events include:
- Extemp
- Impromptu
Forensicators get judged on many different things. These things include, but are not limited to: Eye contact, Volume, Articulation, Emotional Recreation, Organization, Professionalism and Time.
Intercollegiate Forensics Associations
The UW-Whitewater team competes at several forensics tournaments each year. These tournaments are run by various universities and associations all over the country. Forensics participants can expect to travel, not only to different states in the mid-west, but all over the country.
The UW-Whitewater team competes at NFA (National Forensics Association), AFA (American Forensics Association) and Pi Kappa Delta (Forensics Fraternity) events. In addition to the varios associations, individual schools often hold school tournaments. UW-Whitewater is included among these schools.
The Edna Sorber Tournament
The Edna Sorber Tournament is something that UW-Whitewater Forensicators are very proud of. They put hours of hard work and determination into creating this tournament each year. The Sorber tournament brings in teams from many different states including: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa.
The tournaments are run by the Whitewater team and coaching staff. Alumni come back to lend and hand and judge events. The Whitewater team is one that has a huge heart and is proud to have dedicated alumni that keep coming back to help out and ensure the success and future of the Whitewater team.
UW-Whitewater Forensicators have proudly hosted the Sorber tournament since 1967. It is in honor of the teams' former coach Edna Sorber. Edna brought the 1967 Pi Kappa Delta National Convention to the Whitewater Campus.
The team has a reputation for being friendly and fun while also maintaining a good balance of professionalism. Team members have gone on to be successful teachers, human resource managers, writers and a number of other great careers. They often attribute their success to the great communication skills they gained during their time on the UW-Whitewater Forensics team.
Forensics, Speaking That Is...
Forensics is useful in all walks of life. Whether it helps conquer the fear of public speaking or serves as practice for individuals who plan to go into law, teaching or business, Forensics builds useful life skills. The different topics provide subject matter that is suitable for people from all walks of life and the various associations help provide students all over the US with the opportunity to participate in public speaking. UW-Whitewater has a friendly team that is focused on skill building and competition while having fun.
Jessica Gleason - Jessica Gleason is merely a woman walking through life with words. She lives to write and writes to live. She has an affinity for cats and ...
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