Winter is here and when most people think about winter sports usually basketball comes to mind, but many students may not know about another sport that starts in winter, forensics. However this forensics isn’t about crime scenes and investigations, it’s all about public speaking. Led by South High’s own Mr. Ben Kroll and assistant coach Malyssa Gabrielson the forensics team goes off to different high schools around Wisconsin every Saturday throughout months January to April.

As stated above, forensics is all about public speaking, but forensics has nineteen different categories that students can participate in. From categories in which students can work in groups, to doing an informative speech, to telling different children’s stories, forensics offers many different categories to participate in. For Sophomore Camila Trimberger, she likes Storytelling, where you tell different children’s stories every round. She explained,

“I like Storytelling, it’s hard having to perform four different pieces but it’s also fun because you never know what you’re going to do because everyone performs a different piece every round.”

Another member of the forensics team, Senior and South’s forensics team captain Shouacua Xiong said,

“I like Farrago because it’s a little bit of everything in forensics. You have a central problem, then researching it but then there’s the interpy part with the different stories in the overall piece and the way you present it which is what I love about it!

In forensics, there are two different kinds of categories. Speech categories where you do more research and more informative speaking and then there are interpretation categories. It sounds the way the title indicates, interpretation categories are where you are doing more acting than just speaking. It is your interpretation of the piece you are doing, and like Xiong had said, the category Farrago is a mix of both classifications of categories.

As stated above, with nineteen different categories, there is something in forensics for everyone, but there’s another “category” offered to students and it’s always the night before a Saturday tournament. It’s called Congress and students get to debate about legislation and bills just like a real Congress would. (However, these bills and legislation do not actually go into effect). Sophomore Rakshya Bhatta explained why Congress was one of her favorite things to do in forensics,

“I have a passion for arguing. Arguing or debating is something that comes easy to me and with Congress, I have the freedom to express my feelings, thoughts and opinions freely.”

Though Congress isn’t a category that can be participated in a Saturday tournament, it is something extra for students like Bhatta who really like to debate and voice their opinions.

With every team, there’s a coach leading them through the season, giving advice and always being supportive of the team. South High’s Forensics team is happy to have Mr. Kroll as their coach. Mr. Kroll has been coaching South’s forensics team for fourteen years. When asked about what his favorite thing about coaching is, he said,

“I like getting to help students grow and develop as performers and help them express themselves.”

Like any coach, they like being able to see growth in their students because that is what the coach is there for. Not only does the coach have something that he likes about forensics but the students competing in it like it for reasons too. The students in forensics were also asked what their favorite thing is and, Junior Anjelika Dombrowski said,

“I love all the people I get to work with and meet, along with learning from our coaches.”

Forensics for many is a way to meet people from all around Wisconsin, and even all around the country when going to large national tournaments. This experience is something that many students like Dombrowski really enjoy.

It is a well-known thing that everyone has different opinions and different ways that they view things. When the students of the forensics team were asked what forensics means to them, Freshman Andrew Lee summed it up by saying,

“Forensics means, that I have a voice in something.”

This is very true, forensics is a place where one can speak their mind truly and not have to worry about fitting in because they can feel great about being themselves. The whole team camaraderie means a lot to the forensics team. In the end, South High’s Forensics team is all about speaking in a competitive way and being able to express themselves throughout the pieces they have.

If you are interested in joining the team, it is not too late! If you are interested in forensics, just talk to Mr. Kroll in Room 270  with any questions or more information.