By Individuals who are riveted by discourse, pragmatically persuasive or competitively captivated in debate may find solace at Long Beach State’s own competitive speech and debate team, Beach Forensics.
The team’s namesake, Forensics, is rooted in the Latin word “ennis,” which means “forum.” In Ancient Greece, forums were competitive debates between peers.
Originally founded in 1953, Beach Forensics has developed long standing accolades from local tournaments like the 2o25 Crossman Invitational at El Camino College, to ones across the nation like the International Forensics Association in Dublin, Ireland.
At these competitions, the team participates in 11 different events such as persuasive speech, dramatic interpretation or parliamentary and policy debate.
According to the club, there are no prerequisites or requirements for anybody to join.
They encourage all students who are interested in public discourse or advocation of ideas and subjects they feel most passionate about, regardless of major or debate experience, to join.
First-year communication studies major Guadalupe Guzman said she has been in the speech and debate world for more than 10 years. She joined Beach Forensics, she said, to continue her passion of advocation.
“It really helped me advocate for things that I am really passionate about,” Guzman said. “Now at the university level, I advocate for myself, and people like me who don’t have a voice.”
Through the club, Guzman said she’s found other individuals that have went through similar experiences she has.
“In a competition last fall semester, I had some people come up to me and thank me for a speech I did and telling me that they were glad that I share my experience, because they had been through the same thing or similar,” Guzman said.
Over the past few years, Beach Forensics have continued to add to their storied history.
In March 2024, one of their members Cydney Izabal took home an international title from the International Forensics Association in Dublin, Ireland in the prose interpretation discipline.
In January of this year, debate partners third-year Africana studies major Curtis Ortega and first-year Chicano studies major Daniel Medina won the Rutgers’s Brick City Round Robin competition in policy debate.
Winning this championship, Ortega said, puts them in position to contend for the National Debate Title.
“It feels amazing,” Ortega said. “My partner and I were extremely excited to get to travel to New Jersey to win the championship. This is our first year debating together. The beginning of the year was a little rocky, but winning the championship shows that we have what it takes to win.”
Ortega and Medina spend a considerable amount of time in their preparation for their debates. Like other members of Beach Forensics, the two said they use their time after and outside of meetings to prepare and communicate their strategy for their upcoming debate competitions.
“It took a long time to prepare for our last competition,” Ortega said. “Generally, [in] ‘Round Robin Tournaments,’ you typically know who you are competing against and what you will be debating about. So, you have to do an immense amount of preparation per round.”
Long Beach State’s Beach Forensics team poses after a win at the Ground Hog Day Invitational Tournament at Grossmont College on Feb. 1. Each member of Beach Forensics specializes in different types of speech or debate, while also being well-informed in a large array of topics. Photo Courtesy of Beach Forensics
Yet, looking past the quest for titles and their successes, Beach Forensics said they pride themselves on the fact they are a family.
Their club page on the CSULB website cites one of their core mantras as, “’F.O.E.,’ Family Over Everything.”
“We understand each other. We go through similar things,” Guzman said. “The majority of the team are minorities so we understand each other, and we are there to be each other’s support system.”
The Beach Forensics Team holds their meetings every Tuesday and Thursday in PSYCH-202.
