This past weekend, January 21st and 22nd, the LHS Mock Trial team went to the University of Colorado Boulder to compete in scrimmages against other schools’ mock trials from around the state.
Over the two-day span, the team competed in four rounds. The team has been working hard since November when the case for the Boulder Battle was decided. All sorts of stiff competition attended the tournament, including previous state title winners. The scrimmage took place in the CU Wolf Law Building.
“We were in actual courtrooms with stands and the lawyer chair and the judge chairs, a lot of really cool stuff like that. It’s just fun to be in person for the first time after being virtual for so long,” said senior Mock Trial vice-president Catherine May.
“You see some of the best teams in the state go and it’s very inspiring, it’s a very good resource for us. We’re lucky we get to go,” said May.
The scrimmage aspect of the competition took a lot of pressure off of the team and allowed them to improve in a low-stress environment.
“Since it’s a scrimmage, it’s slightly a calmer atmosphere. It’s a little more friendly between the different teams and we got some good pointers from other people, so that was very interesting,” said senior Mock Trial president Virginia Frau.
May describes how the team got to interact with other schools throughout the weekend.
“There was a foosball game going on with people from other teams, so it was fun in between rounds to just play and hang out with people instead of being competitive because at the real competition, everyone’s in the zone and it’s less friendly,” said May.
The tournament was a great opportunity for lawyers to practice both their direct and cross-examination skills, as well as opening and closing statements. It also allowed witnesses to practice testifying.
Sophomore Mock Trial secretary Keen Schledorn-Mott talks about the team’s plans for the future.
“Looking in the next year, we’re looking for new members, we welcome new people to come join, especially if you have acting experience or you like public speaking, or you want to improve at those things, mock trial is a great place to do that,” said Schledorn-Mott.
