January 18, 2022 - Congratulations to Shelbyville students Ava Silva and Aubree Camp for state U.I.L. congress honors and awards.
In conference AA, Aubree Camp placed 4th and Ava Silva placed 3rd and was awarded best presiding officer at an awards ceremony held at the Texas state capitol building.
Congress is an individual contest in a large group setting. It models the legislative process of democracy, specifically, the United States Congress. Within this mock legislative assembly competition, contestants draft legislation (proposed laws and position statements), and they research the docket of bills and resolutions dealing with real-world social and political policies prior to the contest to prepare their speeches.
At the tournament, students caucus in committees, deliver formal discourse on the merits and disadvantages of each piece of legislation and vote to pass or defeat the measures they have examined. The presiding officer is similar to the role of the speaker of the house and is elected by their peers to run the chamber of student representatives.
The state congress tournament is held over a two-day period and amounts to 12 hours of speaking competition. Shelbyville Speech and Debate is coached by Emily Sowell.
