The Alabama Forensics Council (AFC), The University of Alabama’s competitive speech team, recently won ten championships during three recent national tournaments. The team was named the sweepstakes champion at the National Online Forensics Championship tournament.
Students also competed at the American Forensic Association National Speech Tournament at University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (UWEC), and the International Public Debate Association National Championship Tournament & Convention at Mississippi State University.
“We emphasize championship as a verb rather than a noun,” said Ben Pyle, Ed.D., director of the AFC. “Each student champions for their message rather than defining themselves by subjective opinions from a panel of judges at a tournament. With this mindset, it’s easy for our students to find consistent motivation to bring their best selves to competition.”
The students won nine individual event competitions in dramatic interpretation, duo interpretation, extemporaneous speaking, impromptu speaking, persuasive speaking, prose interpretation, individual sweepstakes, as well as after-dinner speaking at both the Online Forensics Championship and the National Speech Tournament at UWEC.
“For this year in particular, we had a much younger group of students with more first-year students and sophomores than juniors and seniors,” Pyle said. “Witnessing the effort this young team put in to push themselves paid off well for us. I know our team is ready to hit this next season strong with such a sturdy foundation they built.”
The following students won awards during the 2024 national competitions:
2024 National Online Forensics Championship:
Sophia Akhtar: National Champion in After Dinner Speaking
Alex Brewbaker: National Champion in Dramatic Interpretation
Alex Brewbaker and Blake Eversmann: National Champions in Duo Interpretation
Blake Eversmann: National Champion in Extemporaneous Speaking
Casey Buisson: National Champion in Impromptu Speaking
Casey Buisson: National Champion in Persuasive Speaking
Avelino Hanmer: National Champion in Prose Interpretation
The team also took the Top 5 Individual Sweepstakes:
Casey Buisson: National Champion in Individual Sweepstakes
Blake Eversmann: National Runner-Up in Individual Sweepstakes
Avelino Hanmer: 3rd Place
Alex Brewbaker: 4th Place
Garrett Reynolds: 5th Place
Students also won an additional 54 individual events awards at this tournament across multiple categories.
2024 American Forensic Association National Speech Tournament at University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire:
8th Place in Team Sweepstakes
Casey Buisson: National Champion in After Dinner Speaking
6 National Semifinalists out of the top 12 in the nation in their individual events
14 National Quarterfinalists out of the top 24 in the nation in their individual events
2024 International Public Debate Association National Championship Tournament & Convention at Mississippi State University:
Luke Pollock: 2nd Place Top Speaker and National Quarterfinalist
Eleanor Israel: 4th Place Top Speaker
The AFC is the oldest co-curricular organization on UA’s campus. AFC provides students with skills and resources to engage in intellectual discovery, enable professional development, strengthen and utilize their unique voices, construct compelling messages, engage in interpersonal and rhetorical exploration, and foster community through advocacy and argumentation.