The Student News Site of Menlo School

The Coat of Arms

The Student News Site of Menlo School

The Coat of Arms

The Student News Site of Menlo School

The Coat of Arms

Keeping their eyes on the cup

By Malia Bates

This year’s traditional mock trial season has yet to begin, but members of the varsity team have been working extensively in order to prepare for the upcoming Providence Cup tournament in Denver, Colorado. The tournament features nationally ranked teams, including the state champions from Colorado, Florida, and more from all over the country, who come to compete for prestigious awards. Last year, Menlo competed in the tournament for the first time and won. This years’ team hopes to be victorious again. The mock trial team has been practicing at least twice a week and putting in a tremendous amount of effort to prepare for the trial. “[Getting ready for the tournament] has been an uphill climb; Kids and coaches are feeling confident,” said faculty advisor Dan Devitt.

Members of the mock trial team have been preparing for the upcoming tournament by becoming familiar with the case and how the trial will be ran. “We split up into prosecuting and defense. Providence’s format is a little bit different from the normal county season, so we had to familiarize ourselves with longer trials and less people on each side,” noted senior Carole Touma.  In order to execute roles effectively, the varsity team practices Thursdays from 6-8 and Sundays from 12-1 and 3-4.  “While it may seem like a big time commitment, it’s all worth it,” junior Kate Park said.

The Providence Cup not only provides mock trial participants with an opportunity to practice their skills before their actual season begins, but also is important because, “Menlo gets a chance to compete against nationally ranked teams and different types of case scores from our usual county scorers,” Devitt said.  The tournament also prepares the team to compete against a high level competition later on in their season. “[Providence Cup] will help us prepare for state later on this year,” Park said.  Not only does Providence Cup provide the mock trial team with a chance to “sharpen up their skills” before they begin in the winter, but it also encourages bonding between members of the team that will deepen their chemistry later on.

Tonight the 9 members of the Providence Cup team will fly to Denver, Colorado to prepare for the start of competition tomorrow.

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