Tournament Results

2009-2010

Whitman College, November 7, 2009

Ah, scenic Walla Walla! Land of wineries, antiques, and picturesque vistas. Also the home of one of the premier colleges in the Pacific NW, and their yearly high school forensic tournament. SAAS attended for the first time this year, drawn by the lure of that TOC bid. We were joined by 50 other schools from WA, OR, ID, and UT. As we were on the TOC trail, we only brought our 3 varsity PF debate teams. Amazingly, all 3 broke to out-rounds, and at the end of the day we walked away with the big-daddy piece of chicken! Now if we can make it home over Snoqualmie Pass. . .

Snohomish, November 14, 2009

For striking scenic views from the school windows, it's hard to beat Glacier Peak High. A half-hour up I-5 from Seattle, Bill Nicolay and his crew threw a smooth tournament in the district's gorgeous new facility, hosting 26 schools from all over Western WA. With the SAAS Fall drama (an amazing version of Laramie Project) performing this weekend, we were a small squad, but everyone came away with hardware. Daniel Stewart, at his first tournament ever, final-ed in both his events with straight 1's in the prelim rounds, and Maria and Rachel won their events going away. Next weekend, with the play and soccer season both over, we unleash the hounds.

Tahoma, November 20-21, 2009

November comes to a close, and the regular season is one third gone. Tahoma is always a big (31 schools) well-run (BEST JUDGE FOOD EVER) tournament. We even had some actors from Seattle Repertory Theater come with us to help judge on Friday night! The name of the game at this point in the season is accumulating qualifiers and building that State squad. We had a large number of new folks with us this time, and you can already see that they're going to be great additions to our team. Choice results included:

Renton, December 5, 2009

Lots of new names this week, as coach Zoe Burstyn took a squad of our more recent team members down to Renton for their Saturday IE-only tournament. The future looks bright as the freshmen, sophomores, and a couple juniors garnered several more State slots and took on 20 other schools to keep us right on schedule. Nothing like a little new blood to keep things fresh and invigorated. Great stuff from the youngsters at the midpoint of an outstanding season so far:

Auburn Riverside, December 11-12, 2009

2009 comes to a close at Auburn Riverside High School. The weather held and we traveled south to what has become one of the larger tournaments in the region, bringing in 40 schools. Coach Mark Davis and his squad even offered overall results awards (a rarity in this part of the world), and at the end of the second day SAAS took home the 2nd place finish and several new State slots. Results included:

Federal Way, January 15-16, 2010

Turn the calendar on a new year and we know it will soon be time to head down to Federal Way for what is always one of the great tournaments in Washington. We brought a small army, with 4 debate teams and 35 IE entries. That meant a LOT of judges were needed, but our parent volunteers stepped up like champs and we were fully covered. At the end of the night on Saturday, we had the most finals breaks of any of the 40 schools with twelve, and 2 of the Top Novice awards for our rookies. Results included:

Eastside Catholic, January 22-23, 2010

The regular season comes to a close for us with a jaunt across the big lake to Eastside Catholic. This tournament is always fun as a nice, relaxed way to let our newest members get a taste, and we took 5 novice-level debate teams and 10 IE'ers, with half the field at their first tournament ever! We look forward to having them with us for lots more. Results included:

Washington State Tournament, March 13, 2010

Three in a row, five in a decade. The University of Puget Sound has certainly come to feel like our home away from home. We often invoked the power of the past heroes of our pantheon; the Katies, Morgans, Helens, Austens, Remis, Lisas, Bennys, and everyone who built this thing into the force it has become. WSFA president Lois Gorne and  her committee once again ran an impeccable tournament from start to finish, and we arrived at the SAAS parking lot at 11:00 Saturday night exhausted, but heavy with medals and the large end of the wishbone. Nine of our members now qualify for the national Tournament of Champions in California in May. That's right: "Seattle Academy! You've just won the WA State title again! What are you going to do?!"

We're going to Disneyland.

National Tournament of Champions, May 14-16, 2010

Southern California: where they announce last night's earthquakes only in passing on the morning weather report, where it never rains, and where Matt Heimes and his stalwart band held the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions (NIETOC) at and around Cal-State Fullerton this year. And it was awesome. Grapevine High from Dallas, James Logan High from L.A.; there's a real thrill to know that you're in there throwing punches with the true heavyweights of the game. When it was all over, we needed a day at Disney Land to recover. The kids even whined me onto The Matterhorn and Space Mountain. For the record; best ride - "California Soaring". A wonderful coda onto a year beyond imagining. One of my colleagues said it best: "What a team this was! One for the books!" Have a great summer, everyone!