Quote:
Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout
On the East Coast I've never heard of them.
I likely competed against folks from private debate clubs but had no clue. If you don't know they exist, you don't know to ask, haha.
Perhaps the private schools and the handful of public school coaches (like mine) were enough to keep us Nova Scotians competitive.
Like anything it *is* a skill. I think I was better at public speaking in high school than I am now. (Do I ever notice my vocal fillers these days).
Also, those "awards" and "championships" mean sweet bugger all on a resume, no one cares. I'm not saying that as a jaded guy who never won anything, I'm saying that as a jaded guy who did win and it got me nodded haha
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In addition to getting "help" with the school debates, the private clubs will also have their own tournaments that only other private clubs can go to. Then they give out fancy awards, and you get to put things like "Canadian representative at World of debating championships" on your resume.
You're correct, most employers don't care, but many academics do. And you can use the resume padding to get into more legit competitions and groups throughout undergrad.
There's also an industry built around it, and many parents are willing to pay 10k+/year to give their kids the edge.
Exact same thing that's going on with the OP's baseball example.
If you eliminate marks as a standard for excellence, then this is what you are left with.