Imagine trying something new, and having others proclaim the experiment as “perfect.” That’s how seniors Josh Houghton and Brianna VanderVeen felt when they received a perfect 100 on their forensics pieces at the Early Birds Tournament on Oct. 26.

“I really didn’t understand the significance of receiving 100 points at first,” Houghton said.

It was Houghton’s first year on the forensics team, performing in the Informative category. His speech was about common misconceptions about United States history, such as the use of bombs in World War II. He placed second place overall.

It was some team members’ first tournament, like Markiesha Horner, who performed in Dramatic Interpretation. Horner performed the piece “Live and in Color,” a humorous piece about a teenage girl interpreting “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare.

“At this tournament,” Homer said, “I learned how important memorizing the piece is.”

The Debate and Forensics teams are coached by Heather Kapusta and Kathy Brown, and are instructed by teacher Christine Dabrowski. Dabrowski instructed for about ten years, but then could not continue due to conflicts in her schedule. This is her first year returning from her hiatus.

“The forensics students during this first tournament have learned a lot,” Dabrowski said. “The debate students did okay, but they need to be more prepared with their arguments.”

Debate had their second tournament at the Utica Academy of International Studies on Nov. 21.