Albuquerque, certainly not the most lush or attractive place in the US, was home to the 2012 high school mock trial national championship. Mock trial, in and of itself, is a new and strange world of trial law, case theories, and rules of evidence. But Team Policy, Lincoln-Douglas Value, and Parli are all familiar, and the tournaments sort of feel like home. But the Mock Trial nationals felt like…a new home. (at this point in the post I am not sure exactly where the heck I am headed…so I’ll skip to the jist of it all.)
Every single team we met was exceedingly professional, gracious, and the tournament itself was a stark contrast (for the better) to other tournaments we have competed in, in the past. First round (not power-matched) was against Delaware. Feel someone confident that we won that round. Second round (power-matched) was against Indiana, last year’s national champs. Needless to say, we feel sure that we lost that round as well, although some amongst our team dispute that fact. Third round (power-matched) was against Wisconsin. We are confident that we lost this round as well. This teams professionalism and skill was something to behold, let me tell you . Our last round (power-matched) was against Nebraska. We think round gave us another (and much needed) “W”, leaving our final record at (probably) 2-2, but maybe 3-1.
I think the highlight of the entire tournament was the surprise by one individual when I told him we were homeschooled. His reaction: “Really? Because you’re not dumb as crap.” I wasn’t sure if I should take this as a compliment or an insult—probably some of both. But the tournament, the experience, the level of professionalism was all incredible. (Not to mention, our coach was fantastic…and rather daring to bring a group of super-novice debaters to mock trial nats. : P)
Next year should be phenomenal, a terrific learning experience, and will be a heck of a lot closer to Virginia.
