Neighbor News
Ridge High School Senior Wins National Championship
Ariaki Dandawate , a Ridge High School senior brought great pride and a glimmering First Place Trophy to her school.
Ariaki Dandawate's outstanding performance wowed the judges at the weeklong National Speech & Debate finals held in Salt Lake City. Click on the link below to see her performance video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_p9RuDO-Bk
Speech and Debate is an academic activity typically available to students in middle school, high school, and/or college. Similar to athletic sports, Speech and Debate activities are challenging, competitive in nature, and require regular practice, coaching, dedication, and hard work.
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Ariaki’s category was Program Oral Interpretation. Program Oral Interpretation is a 10-minute performance that can include some combination of Prose, Poetry, and Drama. The focus of the event is development of a theme or argument through the use of narrative, story, and/or characterization. All participants are required to have at least two out of the three aforementioned genres included in their performance. The use of a manuscript is required. To know more about the National Speech & Debate Club here:http://bit.ly/1D1LHNz
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There were over 200 participants from various school districts across the country. Ariaki’s talent shone through 13 rounds to win this prestigious championship.
As one can imagine, the road to the national tournament isn’t easy. Participants first contest in state and local tournaments that begin in October and go through April. Only if one is placed first or second in state, can one participate in the Nationals. Ariaki qualified in 2 categories but was allowed to choose only one. She is the first national champion in the Speech category from Ridge High School although the school’s Forensics program has produced National champions in Debate (way back in 2010).
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On her huge achievement, Ariaki credits her coaches David Yastremski and Sam Hoffman. “They worked extensively with me not only for the preparation for Nationals, but on developing skills throughout my entire Speech career”.
