Over 250 students flooded Rio Hondo’s campus to compete in the annual Speech and Debate Extramural Tournament held on Friday Nov. 7 at 12 p.m.

The event was the largest speech and debate tournament ever hosted at Rio Hondo College. Both high schools and colleges competed.

The tournament offered a taste of the forensic arts at a collegiate level to high schools and college students wishing to try competitive speaking.

The Extramural has a range of events, from team parliamentary debate, to interpretations of literature, and even the quick thinking event of impromptu speaking.

Students from Rio Hondo speech courses also participated in the event.

Melanie Felix, a sophomore at Rio Hondo, competed in parliamentary debate. “I was intimidated by the high school students at first but I got more excited as time went on,” Felix continued by saying, “Overall it was a positive experience.”

Jose Aliaga, a student in the nursing program, competed in impromptu and informative speech events. “The competition was tough,” Aliaga said referencing the high school students, “but it was exciting.”

Rio Hondo’s Director of Forensics, Libby L. Curiel, was especially grateful for all those who contributed time and donations to the tournament.