Speech Offers Students Competitive, Rewarding Experience

Milton Academy’s Speech team has earned recognition as one of the best in the country. Over 60 students participate, competing in state and national contests. The team has earned awards ranging from individual state and national championships to team honors including the Massachusetts Forensic League Grand Champions, the National Catholic League’s Masterson and Founder’s Championships, and the National Forensic League’s Bruno Jacob Championship. The dedicated group has set a standard of excellence throughout the years that few programs in the country can match.

The students have a wide range of events to choose from. Coaches work with the students to find the event(s) that best suit their talents. Once a student selects his or her event, the student meets with a base coach for a 45-minute session each week. Before large tournaments, the team holds work nights for extended practices with each student, seeing all the coaches for additional feedback and practice.

Interpretation Events include:
Prose Reading
Poetry Reading
Humorous Interpretation
Dramatic Interpretation
Duo Interpretation
Children’s Literature
Play Reading
Multiple Reading
Novice Reading
Public Speaking Events include:
Extemporaneous Speaking
Group Discussion
Radio Broadcasting
Declamation
Original Oratory
Congress

Tryouts for the team are held in the fall for the coveted 10 to 15 open slots created by the graduating seniors. This past year the team had almost 50 students try out for the open slots. The season runs from September to mid-June with a break in July and then back to work to pick new material for the next year in August. The team competes in seven local tournaments, two national qualifying tournaments, four college tournaments, and the two national tournaments each year. Students travel to speech competition 15 weekends during the school year. With seven tournaments already completed, almost the entire team has qualified for the state tournament April 9 in Lexington. The team is currently preparing for the two national qualifying tournaments which will determine who will attend the national tournaments in Milwaukee May 27-30 and Philadelphia June 11-19.

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