Ninety percent of debate is just knowing stuff,” were words of encouragement for the NAU Forensics Team as they ran through their carefully prepared debate presentations at an earlier practice.

Now that their tournament and performance season has come to an end, Team Director Antonio De La Garza looked back at the season with pride. With his office walls lined with glistening trophies and awards won by the debaters, De La Garza talked about the dedication, fun and passion he and his team members share as they participate in the national tournaments.

“It’s a lot of fun,” De La Garza said. “It’s a great learning opportunity. You make a lot of friends, and if you like competition, it’s great.”

During their season, the team traveled around the country to participate in tournaments with 20 to 40 different schools represented at each competition. The team was ranked ninth in the country this past semester and 22nd this semester.

“This semester, we didn’t get to travel as much due to budget issues, so our ranking dropped a little bit,” De La Garza said. “But that’s still incredible, considering in these tournaments there are about 500 schools that are ranked and about 500 schools who weren’t good enough to be ranked.”

This past season, the team was invited to four elite debate tournaments, including the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence, in which only the top 60 debate teams in the country are invited to participate.

“We travel a lot; we get to go all over the country to very beautiful places and meet a lot of different people,” said Tracy Valgento, a freshman political science major.

Not only does the team compete against top-tier schools from around the country, but they also raised money at school events for Haitian relief efforts. They contribute to the northern Arizona community by holding public forum debates, and the squad participated in programs such as Read Across America.

“I think debate is excellent training for graduate school,” De La Garza said. “As a coach, that’s what it’s all about for me — to prepare students to go to graduate school, or law school, or whatever they might want to do after graduating from NAU.”

“Debate is one of the most useful experiences that I will ever have,” said  senior Sarah Mason, a women’s and gender studies major. “I think the skill itself is going to be useful in anything that you go into. Being able to communicate effectively is a great benefit; the skills of debate are useful regardless of what I decide to do.”

“After graduating, I plan on continuing to apply lots of the things that we talk about in our debates to real life scenarios,” said Cecily Francis, a sophomore women’s and gender studies major.

As part of the team, students have the choice of traveling and competing throughout the year or simply going to practices and learning to speak more confidently and comfortably. Team members also are encouraged to participate in many aspects of public speaking other than debate, such as speaking in interpretive events, reading poetry or giving public speeches.

“Debate has really helped my speaking abilities; now I can talk in front of a large crowd of people, and it doesn’t even phase me,” said Rodney Loehr, a senior history, political science and Latin American studies major.

“We’re open to anyone who wants to show up and speak,” De La Garza said. “And if they want to travel and get scholarships, then they can; but if they want to just come and hang out and learn to speak, they have that option also.”

Members of the Forensics Team say the experience prepares them for the future while raising awareness of the present.

“What we talk about is an example of what happens in the real world,” Valgento said. “It’s important that we talk about these topics because when we talk about them, we give them weight and attention.”

De La Garza said money remains a top concern for the team.

“While I’m very proud of my students, I know we could be even better if we had secure funding,” De La Garza said. “I just want to make sure there will still be a debate team around. I’d hate to see the team go away because of a lack of funding.”

Students who are interested can go to weekly practices from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays in room 304 of the Communication Building, or contact Antonio De La Garza by e-mail at atd29@nau.edu.