Pinecrest speech and debate team

The Pinecrest Speech and Debate team is a National Forensics League chapter centered at Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines, North Carolina. The team has seen extreme success in recent years in both local tournaments at area high schools and in national tournaments, such as the Harvard National and The Florida Blue Key Invitational. The team has also qualified students to the NFL national tournament. Since 2006, the team has also been a member of the NCFL, sending several students on to the National Catholic Forensics league tournament in Texas.

The team is coached by Libby Carter, who was profiled in the NFL's Rostrum magazine in February 2007. She is assisted by newly appointed assistant coach Robert Sheard as well as many extremely helpful parents and teachers.

The team competes in events including Dramatic Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Extemporaneous Speaking, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Oral Interpretation, Original Oratory, Public Forum Debate and Student Congress. It has historically not competed in Policy or CX debate as it does not consider them legitimate forms of debate. The team has also sent delegates to the Model United Nations simulation at Methodist University since it began in 2006. In 2007 Pinecrest sent two teams to the annual Wade Edwards Mock Trial Competition, one coached by local lawyer Bruce Cunningham and another by Prosecutor and long time debate supporter Tony Berk. The Pinecrest Gold team, coached by Mr. Berk, won second place at the event. In 2008 Pinecrest intends to send one team coached by Mr. Berk.

As of 2007, the team has also established the Moore County Middle School Debate League, in order to give middle schoolers the ability to expand their horizons through participation in public speaking and debate. The team sent veteran students to many area middle schools in order to teach and assist middle-schoolers in research, speech writing, and presentation. Pinecrest hosted the first ever Moore County Middle School Debate Tournament on November 17, 2007 in which 6th, 7th, and 8th graders competed along side novice freshman debaters in events including Impromptu Speaking, Interpretation Events, Original Oratory, Student Congress, and Public Forum Debate. The league intends to hold another tournament in Spring 2008, with sponsorship and support from the local English Speaking Union chapter.

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