UIS Triumphant in Kentucky

SPRINGFIELD, IL. (November 7, 2019) – The UIS Speech and Debate Team traveled to Owensboro, KY to compete in the Kentucky Swing Tournament. This competition was hosted jointly by Owensboro Community and Technical College and Transylvania University. A ‘swing’ competition is one in which two tournaments take place back-to-back on the same weekend.

Senior Sarah Burris had a triumphant weekend in Owensboro. Over the two days, she won twelve different awards representing UIS. Coach Timothy Bill notes that “this is the best tournament we’ve had since the team reformed in 2018.”

Sarah Burris won the following awards at the Friday competition: 
Impromptu Counseling – 1st Place
Impromptu Storytelling – 1st Place
Radio Broadcasting – 3rd Place
Impromptu Eulogizing – 4th Place
Poetry Interpretation – 4th Place

Sarah Burris won the following awards at the Saturday competition:

Impromptu Eulogizing – 1st Place
Impromptu Counseling – 2nd Place
Radio Broadcasting – 2nd Place
Impromptu Storytelling – 4th Place
Poetry Interpretation – 4th Place

These achievements allowed Burris to place in the individual sweepstakes category of awards which totals a students points from all of the events they have entered. On Friday, Burris placed 5th. On Saturday, Burris placed 2nd. All together, this string of strong placings allowed UIS to place 5th as a team for the weekend.

Coach Timothy Bill was also honored with the David Carter Coach of the Year Award from the competition. This award recognizes an individual who has supported the Owensboro tournament over the years and demonstrated excellent coaching on the circuit.

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 effecting 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 team website at the Speech & Debate site.