SPRINGFIELD, IL (October 19, 2022) - UIS's Speech and Debate Team attended their first tournament of the 22-23 competition season. The Online Asynchronous Tournament Series (OATS) is a season long set of competitions hosted asynchronously by Southwest Minnesota State University. The OATS 1 tournament took place from October 3rd through October 7th and had 34 teams from across the nation in attendance.

Returning competitors Meghan Vlcek and Clark Morgan represented UIS at this tournament, competing in extemporaneous and impromptu speaking respectively. To participate in this virtual competition, students recorded themselves presenting their speech and uploaded the videos for the judges to review. The top scoring competitors advanced to final rounds. Vlcek placed 13th out of 27th participants in extemporaneous speaking and Morgan placed 25th out of 45 competitors in impromptu speaking.

"I am very pleased with how our first competition has gone" says Director Timothy Bill. "This is the earliest our team has been in competition and we're already earning some strong scores against the best in the country. Things are only going to get better from here."

The UIS Speech and Debate Team is open to undergraduate students of any major on campus. If you are interested in learning more about the team or finding out how to get involved, please email Director Bill via the address listed below.

The University of Illinois Springfield Speech and Debate Team is committed to training the next generation of civic leaders, public speakers, and communicators who are passionate about creating change in their communities. Students who are interested in joining the team should reach out to the coach Timothy Bill (tbill2@uis.edu) or check out the Speech & Debate website.