Mavforensics’ first in-person tournament season since 2019 brings top placements, awards, and well-deserved recognition for their hard work.
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This article originally appeared in the UNO Newsroom.
UNO’s nationally-ranked competitive speech team, Mavforensics, has competed in two national competitions this year, with one left to go in the season.
The team continues their tradition of excellence at the national level, placing in the top 10 at the first Asynchronous Speech Championship (ASC) and the top 15 at the American Forensic Association (AFA).
The ASC is a national tournament inspired by the popularity and success of asynchronous tournaments. Originally created as a way to increase and sustain competition during the pandemic, asynchronous competition became the third type of forensics format the students practice today. Students perform their events in front of a camera, record that performance, upload it to a secure YouTube link, and then submit to the tournament. Judges view, critique, and rank the filmed speeches, and this style of competition has been officially voted in as a permanent tournament style.
The first ever ASC had over 50 schools and 1,000 speaking videos entered. Three Mavericks were recognized at the ASC, and the team won two placements in the team sweepstakes:
In their first in-person national tournament since 2019, Mavforensics continues to rank highly, placing 15th overall with only one senior, two other returning members, and five first-year students to the national state tournament.
Mavforensics took eight students to the AFA-NST 2022. Out of more than 50 schools across the country, Mavericks had two quarterfinalists, one semifinalist, and finished 15th overall in the nation in team sweepstakes:
Co-director Amanda vonGoodrich says, “This season was another one full of change and uncertainty, but this team showed they are driven, qualified, and are capable of creating amazing, important messages worth sharing.
“Thanks so much to the AFA-NST and University of Nebraska-Lincoln for creating a safe, organized, wonderful tournament. The covid protocol was thorough, organized, and handled with expert care.”
In addition to the results for these national tournaments, two UNO students have qualified for Interstate Oratory, the oldest public speaking competition in the country. The students qualify based on the top two placings at the state tournament. This would be an impressive accomplishment by itself, but Nebraska is also the most competitive state in the country for forensics (the only state with four teams in the top 20 nationally).
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