Speakers flock to Kearney

Believe it or not, a law on Nebraska’s books makes it illegal for a mom to give her daughter a permanent.

Another state bars men with mustaches from kissing women in public.

Those are just a few of the crazy but true laws that Matt Salcon, a sophomore at Millard North High School, will highlight during the entertainment speaking event at the state speech championship, which starts Thursday in Kearney.

“There are some funny tidbits that come out of that speech,” said Sabrina Denney Bull, Millard North’s speech coach.

Salcon will be among the 900 or so Nebraska high school students expected to coax laughs, jerk tears and lob logic during the competition, which continues Friday at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

In terms of participants, the speech championship is the second-largest state competition, behind the state track and field meet, said Jim Angele, assistant director with the Nebraska School Activities Association.

Students from across the state will compete in nine events. Championship teams are scored in each of six classes. Millard North has been the runner-up in Class A for the past two years, behind powerhouse Lincoln East High School. In the past 12 years, Lincoln East has won the Class A championship 11 times.

In 2009, the National Forensic League ranked Millard North No. 25 out of 3,000 schools based on student participation and excellence in speech and debate activities.

Denney Bull said her team goal this year is a top four finish. Four students have qualified for the national speech competition so far and she hopes to add a few more.

“We are small but mighty this year,” she said. “We haven’t qualified as many entry spots as we have in the past, but I think the kids who are going are very talented and have worked very hard to get there.”

Students take the competition seriously and battle the same nerves faced by other competitors.

“Forensics for a lot of them is their sport. It’s their football or soccer,” she said. “It’s just not an athletic sport. They spend extensive time practicing and preparing. My kids compete a lot and we travel, and those experiences really help them balance the nerves and rise to the occasion.”

Angele said the award ceremonies at the championship are “far and away” the most exciting of those held for state-sponsored competitions.

Officials call up six finalists and present awards in descending order until the last two remain. “The room kind of explodes,” he said.

UNK’s Health and Sports Center serves as the event’s headquarters. Admission is free.

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