December Newsletter/Fall 2025 Wrapped
Easier-to-read MailChimp version: https://mailchi.mp/d424ab24d78e/coachs-december-newsletterdebate-wrapped
I know December is a busy month for everyone - holidays, winter performances, travel, and more! I’ll do my best to keep this brief but we have a lot of student celebration and event reminders to recap!
Debate 1 Reminders
3 tournament attendance requirement - there are 2 remaining! Dripping Springs (sign-up closes on Friday, 12/5) and McNeil on January 17th.
If students have not competed at all in the fall semester, they need to complete Supplemental Assignment #1 on Blend by Monday, December 15th. This includes students who plan to switch out of debate at the semester.
November Student Success Spotlights
Congress legislation added to the Spring Docket!
Our congress students, especially Rebecca Ballow, junior officer, worked hard to write a piece of legislation that was added to the spring 2026 congress docket! This means legislation written by LC Anderson will be debated at the state tournament in March!
Melissa tournament
Omar was an extemp semifinalist!
Bowie/Lampasas virtual swing
Extemp finalists:
Omar, 7th place
Lauchly, 4th place
Lucie, 1st place
Emmy placed 3rd in congress!
Rouse tournament
Congress:
Izzy, finalist
Rebecca, finalist
Emmy, 4th place
Speech:
Ellie and Vivi, 2nd place duet
Lauchly, extemp semifinalist
Omar, extemp semifinalist
CJ, extemp semifinalist
Emmy, extemp semifinalist
Zoe, novice extemp semifinalist
Schaefer, 3rd place extemp
Lucie, 2nd place extemp
Lucie also earned her state qualification for domestic extemp!
Debate:
Anji and Tessa, novice PF semifinalists
Zoe and Lexie, novice PF finalists
McCallum tournament
Congress:
Will, finalist (he also earned his first-ever state points!!)
Rebecca, 4th place
Speech:
Michael, extemp semifinalist
Omar, extemp semifinalist
Izzy, extemp semifinalist
Alexis and Talia, 4th place duo interpretation
Alexis and Talia, 6th place duet acting
Ellie and Vivi, 3rd place duet acting
Alexis, 5th place humorous interpretation
Jazaa, novice extemp semifinalist
Kieran, novice extemp semifinalist
Grayson, novice extemp semifinalist
Simon, novice extemp semifinalist
Ilan, 5th place novice extemp
Debate:
Rosemary and Parker, PF quarters
Parker, top speaker in PF
Atticus, Elena, Salome, Lucy, and Schaefer, 2nd place World Schools Debate
Atticus and Lucy earned their state qualification in World Schools Debate!
End of Semester Reminders:
Pay your students' dues or make payments towards their payment plan! Please reach out to Coach with questions or concerns!
Pay for merch and have your student pick it up after school or at lunch next week! There are many crewnecks, t-shirts, and yard signs in my classroom that I'm eager to send home with your students!
PayPal - @AHSSpeechDebate
Check addressed to “Debate Boosters” and sent to school with your student or mailed to Anderson - 8403 Mesa Dr, Austin, TX, 78759
We'll begin fundraising in the spring but as the year wraps up, please consider us for corporate donation matching! Reach out to me for information about adding the booster club to your company's donation matching list!
December events
Longhorn Classic: December 5th - 7th
Limited Entry, application only
TOC and TFA
Rock Hill virtual tournament: December 6th
Limited entry, varsity only
TFA
Dripping Springs Tiger Tussle: December 12th - 13th
The sign-up is on Blend and closes on Monday, December 8th at 5pm (originally was closing on Friday!)
TFA and TOC
Team Bonding: White Elephant: Tuesday, December 16th after school
Students can bring a gift valued at $25 or less to our team bonding gift exchange! All team members are welcome.
Wondering what all these acronyms mean? Want a place to see all of the tournament results and old editions of the Coach's newsletter? Interested in learning more about debate basics or seeing pictures of the team?
Visit our website's FAQ section to learn more!
You can also see our successes and team photos on our Instagram!
IG: @andersonspeechdebate
Spring Events
January
New Tech @ Coppell: January 9 - 10th
Virtual, varsity only
TFA
Sign-up will close on Tuesday, January 6th.
Travel - Churchill: January 9 - 11th
Limited entry
TFA, TOC
Sign-up closed.
Local - McNeil: January 16 - 17th
Open to everyone! This will be the last opportunity for most team members to compete this season, so it's very important people register.
Sign-up will close on Saturday, January 10th.
Travel - Emory: January 22 - 26th
Limited Entry, travel to Emory University
TOC
Sign-up closed.
Limited Entry - O’Connor: January 30 - 31st
Limited entry - I and/or Coach Prather will be taking a small group of students to San Antonio on Saturday, January 31st in an effort to earn some last-minute state points. Friday night of this competition will be online. We will not be spending the night in San Antonio but will return to Austin on Saturday night. More information will come in the Spring!
February
Travel - Bellaire: February 6-7
Limited Entry, travel to Houston, TX
TFA, TOC
Travel - Harvard: February 13 - 17
Limited Entry travel to Boston, MA
TOC
Limited Entry - NSDA District/NSDA National Qualifying Tournament: February 27 - 28th
This is the national tournament qualifier or NSDA District tournament. It will be hosted here in Austin, more info will come in the spring.
I can only enter a certain number of people/teams in each event, so entry will depend upon seniority, NSDA merit points, and commitment to attending the 2026 National Debate tournament in June.
March
Travel - TFA State: March 11 - 15th
Qualifiers only! The first two rounds of debate will be online on Tuesday, March 10th.
Local - UIL Academic/Speech District: March 28th
This competition can count towards a student's tournament entry requirement. There will be both academic and speech events for students to compete in. More information will be sent in the spring!
LC Anderson Debate Wrapped - 2025
Some stats from our amazing fall semester:
91: Team members across novice and varsity
77: students competed at one or more tournaments across the Austin area and online
50: students in debate 1 (this is huge!)
42: students advanced to finals
26: students advanced to semi-finals
19: students who have earned points towards a state qualification
13: tournaments attended
11: 1st-place award winners
9: state qualifiers
1: amazing Trojan Classic hosted with Hendrickson High School!
Thanks so much for reading and for your continued support of your students and the speech and debate team!
Have a happy holiday season!
Coach El
el.contreras@austinisd.org