Several members of the Speech Club participated in the National Forensic League (NFL) speech tournament at Kapiolani Community College on Feb. 2 and qualified for the state tournament in April.

The NFL is a high school speech honor society for students in the United States. Its purpose is to heighten awareness of public speaking and encourage individual development in young adults. Competition categories include program reading, extemporaneous and impromptu speaking.

Seniors Connie Lee and Kimi Hashimoto and junior Danielle Ho qualified for the upcoming state tournament. Freshman Michaela Graves, sophomore Zoe Sprott, seniors Gloria Palma and Katherine Wong also took part in the day-long competition.

English teacher Jill Sprott coaches the Academy Speech Club and trains the team.

Sprott said, “The more we practice, the better we perform in tournaments. Having more than one student qualify for states is a great accomplishment and encourages us to keep polishing the speech pieces.”

Lee said, “Speech tournaments give me a sense of accomplishment and purpose. Overall, it helps my development as a speaker since I focus on articulating and gaining confidence.”

Ho has competed in speech for three years.

“Last year, I missed qualifying for states by one rank; that disappointment drove me to work even harder to do well this year. I set a goal to make it to states and I accomplished it, which is extremely rewarding.”

For Hashimoto it was a last effort.

“This is my last year competing, so making it to states feels incredible. I’ve been striving to be this successful for multiple years and qualifying my senior year showed that the work was worth it.”

The last qualifying tournament in March will allow other Speech Club members to qualify for the tournament.