30 seconds left on the clock. What you say–and especially how you present it–is the only obstacle between you and victory.

With Grand Finals coming up in the North Florida Catholic Forensic League—a national organization that hosts debate events for schools across the country—the debate team is preparing for their qualifying round at Lake Highland Preparatory School on Feb. 28.

“What you say isn’t the most important thing, [it’s] how you say it and how you present yourself,” debate captain Mitchell Richmond said.

Students will try to qualify in several categories, including the evidence-based Public Forum Debate; Lincoln-Douglas Debate, which is centered around morality; and most notably Congressional Debate, where students debate legislation modeled after real laws.

“[Congressional Debate] is one of the most difficult debate events,” sophomore Alexander Quiroz said. “You’re in a room with 15 to 25 different people, and you have to be [among] the best to get an award.”

In each individual event, students must place in the top six at the regional qualifier in order to reach the national level, the competition for which will take place in May in Washington D.C.

“Nerves are definitely there for everyone, because you’re competing against people you don’t know,” Richmond said. “But it’s also kind of fun meeting new people and just being able to do what you like. So even though you’re nervous, you’re also having a good time.”

While performing well is important to students, the priority is to grow and enjoy the competition as they do their best.

“My expectation is that students have a good experience and that they try their hardest, they learn something and grow,” debate sponsor Samantha Ollweiler said. “My hope is that they get what they want, essentially. So if their goal is to qualify for nationals, that their wishes are fulfilled.”

“It’s like going to school on a Saturday, except you actually want to be there, because there’s awards, [and] you get [free] lunch,” Quiroz said. “You get to eat there, you compete there, and you hang out with people. It’s very fun, although you do have to wake up a bit early for a weekend.

With the prospect of advancing to the national level, schools from all over Central Florida will be attending.

“It’s going to be a much, much bigger tournament,” Quiroz said. “Every school that can is probably going to go, so I’m expecting to have a lot of competition, probably some of the best.”

Since there is so much attention around the event, Grand Finals can seem daunting. However, records from this year show astounding promise for the school.

“We have not gone to a single tournament where we haven’t taken many trophies,” Ollweiler said. “We have had a minimum of two Congress trophies in every tournament, more than others, so there has been a strong performance. In January, we took home first place, because we had gotten trophies in Original Oratory, Public Forum and [Congressional Debate].”

With all of the pressure, good preparation in advance of Grand Finals is essential.

“Practice is really good for getting the small things that you need to get done,” Richmond said. “A lot of the time, you do your research and write your speeches at home, but practice is really good for making sure your delivery is good, your eye contact is good and that you’re able to fix small things in what you’re saying.”

After refining their talking points, speeches, evidence and overall preparation, all that remains is how the message is delivered. Captains like Richmond help varsity and novice members hone their skills both in class and during practice.

“Hopefully we have a Hagerty sweep,” Quiroz said. “And a lot of people from Hagerty make it, and some even make it to Nationals.”