The Showstoppers are mentioned frequently in the daily Science Hill High School morning announcements for their victories, performances, and more, yet no one seems to know who they are or what they do. On the official Science Hill website, it is explained that Showstoppers is a “club for competitive acting, interpretation and speaking tournaments to improve their acting, analytical, and communication skills”. But that’s not nearly all let’s dive into who they really are.

Showstoppers’ activities and events include poetry, program oral interpretation, prose, after-dinner-speech, original oratory, informational speaking, dramatic & humorous interpretation, solo, duo, and duet interpretation, improvisation, extemporaneous speaking, television broadcasting, and original spoken word. This is a large variety that can suit anyone’s interests.

Carrie Ledford, sophomore member of the Showstoppers, explains that they are the number one speech and debate team in Tennessee, which I had yet to know about. She continues stating that three team members were sent to nationals, their Interpretation piece won second place at state, and about three to four state champions reigned; all in the 2023-2024 school year. Another detail is that Science Hill’s speech and debate team has been named the best overall for five years straight– but very few people take time to appreciate these feats, and that’s only if the information reaches them in the first place.

So why are these accomplishments virtually unheard of? One sentence from Ledford stuck out to me: “[The morning announcements] will purposely skip announcing the Showstoppers winnings until our coaches send it in multiple times.” This is just a fraction of the mistreatment she feels is unfairly distributed to her team, and it also explains their lack of promotion. Carrie also explains one main problem they are facing this year, which is transportation. “We actually might not be able to go to the first tournament this year because the Johnson City Transit refuses to allow provided transportation to them past Knoxville, so we have to rely on our parents and coaches to pay for buses,” she disclosed, “But our coaches can’t pay for the buses this year and we don’t have enough parents to drive all of us.” Ledford also expresses discomfort in the fact that so many other Science Hill clubs and organizations receive funding, especially sports teams, all while the school janitors skip the Showstoppers’ practice room.

One solution Ledford has thought of to counter her irritation is to petition the Johnson City Schools Board of Education and personally address the inequality and overlooking of the extracurriculars she is very involved in. How would you feel if your school’s champion football team was constantly downplayed and neglected as some ball-throwing club no one’s heard about?

In conclusion, regardless of schoolwide promotion or champion titles, the Science Hill Showstoppers would love to welcome you in if you’re interested in speech and debate. It would look great on your resume as well!