Not many people know just how involved the Nics are in the summertime. For many, the summer is a time of vacationing and being brain-dead for three months. But Mr. and Mrs. Nic had many adventures over the summer, starting in May when they babysat their two grandchildren. In June, however, they took eleven speech and debate students to the National Speech and Debate tournament in Des Moines, Iowa, to compete with the best in the nation. Both of the Nics worked the tabulation rooms for Nationals, meaning they organized each round’s participants of the tournament.
At Nationals BJA’s World Schools Team placed in the top 33 in the nation! World Schools is a type of debate that’s more legislative in style. Like most debates, there’s a proposition side and an opposition side, and each team has written cases for whichever view they favor. However, World Schools is unique because, instead of just a one-on-one or two-on-two, it’s composed of teams of five debaters each, with only three debaters per team performing each round.
But what about the speech side of the speech and debate team? In a speech event called Dramatic Interpretation, Ari Snyder placed 45th in the nation, and AJ Meissner received recognition for being a 4-time national qualifier.
While in Iowa, Mr. Nic was inducted into the NSDA Hall of Fame, joining Mrs. Nic as the only two South Carolina coaches to be inducted. Mrs. Nic also received her 15th Distinguished Service recognition – a level that only five other people in the nation have achieved!
Mr. and Mrs. Nic had many opportunities to share their testimonies with various secular schools, like when Mrs. Nic and five BJA students journeyed to Washington D.C. for the AACS Youth Legislative Training Conference, where Mrs. Nic directs a mock senate with high school students from around the nation.
Finally, toward the end of the summer, Mr. Nic directed a speech and debate camp at Yale University for two weeks, and both Nics worked for two speech and debate camps, each lasting two weeks, at Drew University in New Jersey and at American University in Washington, DC.
Overall, the Nics had an eventful summer of traveling, teaching, babysitting the heirs to the Nicholas millions, and coaching the next generation of Speech and Debate competitors.