Speech impediment?

Coaches mull pros, cons of smaller state tournaments

At first glance, last month's state speech, debate and drama tournament in Columbia Falls looked much like it has for years.

Hundreds of students from Class A schools across the state competed in the tournament. The same schools that have dominated the state tournament for the last four years - Columbia Falls, Whitefish and Billings Central - once again claimed the top three spots.

But ever since the 2005-06 season, when the Montana High School Association separated the Class A tournament from the Class B and C tournament, state isn't as competitive as it used to be, Columbia Falls head coach Michael Christensen said.

"I have no real complaint about it, but I do think it's had a negative impact on the quality of our divisional and state tournaments," he said. "The level of competition that we used to see at state isn't what it [was] any longer."

The state association split the Class A, B, C speech, debate and drama tournament after some coaches complained that state and divisional tournaments were too large. The old Southern Division, which included schools from Huntley Project to Anaconda and Dillon, had far more competitors than other divisions, said Trudi Downer, head coach at Laurel High School and president of the Montana Forensics Educators Association.

"That division had more than 600 kids in 30 schools," she said.

It put them at a disadvantage against the Eastern Division, which had half as many schools and one-third the students, she added. Each division had the same maximum number of students it could send to the state tournament.

The old Western Division, which stretched from Eureka to Hamilton, was large, too, Whitefish head coach Pat McLaughlin said. It included Loyola Sacred Heart Catholic High School, a Class B school with a 25-year state championship winning streak.

Having a large, tough division ensured schools sent their best competitors to state, she said.

"Those kids were lucky if they made it to state," she said. "It was a real competition."

LARGE divisional and state tournaments presented other challenges, however. They were difficult for some schools to host, Downer said.

One year, when Havre hosted the Class A, B, C state tournament, there were so many competitors that some families couldn't find hotel rooms closer than Great Falls, she said. Montana State University-Northern opened a dorm to house people.

"If they hadn't, they'd have been going 100 miles a day each way," she said. "It (the state tournament) got so big that obviously small B/C schools can't host."

The A, B and C schools tried to find a way to solve the problem, Downer said, but couldn't reach a consensus. The high-school association thought separating Class A schools from the others would make the divisional and state tournaments manageable, she said.

The tournaments definitely are smaller, Christensen said. A total of 456 students can qualify for the Class A state tournament; only about 380 students attended this year's competition.

"When you have a state tournament, and it doesn't seem to be fully attended, people might look at the championships we've won the last three years … and think that those results are somehow diminished," Christensen said.

That isn't true, he added. Columbia Falls won four consecutive state titles when there was one A, B, C state tournament. But with fewer students competing, schools are earning more points at tournaments than they used to, and students who wouldn't have made it past divisionals in the past are placing at state.

"We're not looking at what we used to have as the cream of the crop," McLaughlin said.

Instead of schools sending their best students to state, some schools' entire squads are making the cut. In the last few years, nearly every Columbia Falls student who competed at divisionals qualified for the state tournament.

SOME HAVE suggested that sending more students to the state tournament is one of the benefits of holding a separate Class A tournament.

"The whole notion of 'leave no child behind' is being met, perhaps, at high school forensics," Christensen said. But "we have some kids at the state tournament that haven't done the real work necessary or what you would like as a coach in terms of success necessary. …

"It can send a lot of kids the wrong message about work ethic and achievement by making them appear to be successful."

Downer agreed.

It is no longer a "true state meet," she said. "Right now, practically everybody's going to state."

Downer said she met recently with Joanne Austin, the high-school association's speech-and-debate representative, to discuss possible solutions to the problems that led to the split. The state forensics association will further discuss the issue at its annual meeting in April.

The forensics educators association would like to recombine the three classes, Downer said, perhaps with new divisions and fewer divisional tournaments. Austin could not be reached for comment.

Downer also suggested scheduling schools to host the state tournament four years in advance. Schools would have longer to find accommodations and make all the necessary arrangements. Other districts in the host school's division could help, she said.

Having a set schedule would help eliminate last-minute bids for state, she said. This fall, when the scheduled host school backed out, most schools' calendars already were full.

Columbia Falls agreed to host state - even though it already was scheduled to host divisionals two weeks before the state tournament.

"We'll never do that ever again," Christensen said.

He supports recombining the tournaments.

"The best solution would be to allow the A, B and C tournaments to re-integrate," he said, "at least for the state and divisional tournaments."

McLaughlin agreed.

"For the future of competition, I would strongly recommend recombining," she said.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com