Photo by Kassidy Duncan

Senior Ben Speigner helps two novice debators in between rounds at a debate tournament.

Seniors Devyn Hinds and Benjamin Speigner eagerly await the results from their previous debate round. It’s getting late and they just completed the semifinals round of the UIL CX district tournament. The two teams who make it to the finals round, regardless if they win or lose, will qualify for the prestigious UIL state tournament.

“We were definitely excited,” Speigner said. “We were pretty confident because they were exclusively UIL debaters and were less experienced.”

Last December, Hinds and Speigner qualified for the famed TFA state that took months of effort. To qualify for TFA (Texas Forensic Association) State the team has to earn 12 TFA points during the year. These points are earned by advancing far in TFA designated tournaments.

“TFA is significantly more difficult than UIL,” Speigner said. “You need to be more consistently good over the course of many tournaments where UIL you just have one tournament.”

When Speigner and Hinds stepped into the semifinal round at UIL district, they knew it would be tough. The duo presented their case and argued with the knowledge they had acquired from the previous year of working and debating. When the dust settled, the Legacy team was victorious.

“It felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders,” Hinds said. “We finally did what we’d been hoping to do since August.”

The team will be going to UIL state during spring break and TFA state from March 9-11.

“We’ve bonded like a lot,” Hinds said. “We’ve had so much fun and encouraged each other.”