“We live in unprecedented times,” has become somewhat of a cliché since the COVID-19 Pandemic, but that’s only because there is truth in every cliché. 

The emphasis on needing passionate and educated members of the upcoming generations has never been more necessary. 

Roaring Fork High School sophomore Maddie Lucks is an example of what the world needs in the youth — well-spoken and oozing with knowledge, willing to do the research and excited to explain the necessity of dealing with the issues at hand — as Roaring Fork Speech and Debate Head Coach Denise Wright said. 

Lucks recently qualified for the National Speech and Debate Tournament — hosted by the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) in Des Moines, Iowa from June 15-20. She is the first student in the history of the Rams Speech and Debate Team to do so. 

“I’m really excited to get to be around some of the best debaters in the country,” Lucks said. “Getting to see what a national competition is like will benefit me in many different ways beyond finding success in a particular competition.”

Lucks, who normally focuses on and excels in Lincoln-Douglas debate and original oratory events, a one on one debate style, and individual argumentative speech, qualified for the national tournament during the NSDA national qualifiers competition in March in the Congress event — something she was participating in “as a favor.” 

“I went kind of as a courtesy to the other teams,” Lucks explained. “It was the first time I’ve ever competed in Congress, and I actually only went because we needed more schools to go in order to send more people to nationals.”

Congress entails matching up against up to 19 people and asks competitors to pantomime getting a bill passed in congress. 

Athletes are individually judged based on their ability and persuasiveness to get bills passed, an act that requires working across the aisle with those you’re arguing against. 

“You come up with stances on each of the bills, either affirmative or negative, and then you try and argue to get everybody else in the Congress room to vote in favor or against a bill,” Lucks explained. “You’re judged based on the quality of your speeches and persuasiveness.” 

Because there are over 20 topics, or bills, that are argued during the event, competitors are supplied with the subjects up to six weeks in advance. Lucks said she enjoys Congress because you can toe the line between arguing things you believe in and being a contrarian, arguing against things that she would normally be in full support of. 

“One of the goals you have to maintain in congressional debate is sometimes you go with the less supported side of an argument,” Lucks said. She used one of her national qualifier stances as an example; arguing against banning high fructose corn syrup. 

“A lot of people are going to be affirmative for (banning high fructose corn syrup) so if you can make a good negative argument, then it gets you more points.” She based her argument on the fact that most people who have to consume the artificial sweetener on a regular basis are more commonly lower-class and banning the sweetener would make food less affordable. 

For the Roaring Fork Speech and Debate Team coach, Roaring Fork High School English teacher Denise Wright, seeing Lucks be able to think outside the box and find facts on the other side of the argument is exactly why she restarted the program three years prior. 

“Part of it is that they learn to see where other people’s beliefs lie, but more importantly, they are looking at the facts from both sides,” Wright said. “They are doing the research and understanding much deeper than just someone’s perspective. They are understanding the facts and reasoning behind those ideas, and then that’s when you’re able to truly argue both sides.”

After over a decade speech-team vacancy in the Roaring Fork Valley, Wright helped kickstart the speech and debate team in 2022. For Wright, the extracurricular is much more than just a team or a club, rather the experience helps breed critical thinking through exposure to real-life issues. 

“This is the type of critical thinking that we need to get through the complexities of the modern day,” Wright said. 

For Lucks, joining the speech and debate team was never a question — in fact, it was the deciding factor in where she was going to attend high school. 

“I live in El Jebel, so I was deciding between Basalt and Roaring Fork,” Lucks explained. “When I found out about the Roaring Fork Speech and Debate Team and that actually was the deciding factor in where I was going to go to high school.”

The sophomore already has Stanford cardinal-red in her sights, but that’s not where she gets her motivation from, rather a much simpler and rudimentary idea. 

“I just love being right,” she laughed. “Arguing and being able to defend a certain position is really a lot of fun.”
For more information about how to get involved with the burgeoning high school sport, reach out to Denise Wright via email, dwright@rfschools.com or phone, 970-618-7178.