The Burton Panthers traveled to the State Capitol in Austin for the State Congress Meet. The 2024-2025 Congressional season was the first time for Burton to participate in this UIL contest. The Panthers were represented by Region 6 Champion Vivian Layman (Sr), Region 6 Runner-Up Samantha Angell (Sr), and Region 6 Qualifier Devlin Douglas (Jr).
The State Tournament is a two day contest. Tuesday represents the preliminary round of competition during which all competitors participate in two debate sessions of three hours to determine the top students advancing to the final contest the following day. For Conference 2A, the state was represented by 52 students, of which only 18 woukd advance to finals.
In preparation for the state contest, these three Panthers, with the assistance of clerks Isabelle Means (Sr) and Cadeyn Manley (Jr), were given a congressional docket of 12 pieces of proposed legislation. Over the course of 17 days, the Panthers prepared two dozen speeches, representing hundreds of hours of research, and over 10,000 words of writing, as well as hours of practice presenting their positions. Unfortunately, despite the hard work invested in the contest, the Panthers were unable to advance to the final round on Wednesday, January 8th.
Next for the Panthers in UIL Academic competition is the Cross Examination debate season, with district competition ending February 13th. This contest will be followed by the general Academic contest in March.
