Written by Allie Plunk
On October 3rd and 4th, Sam Houston State University’s Moot Court Team had the incredible opportunity to compete in the Triton Tidal Invitational, hosted by the University of California–San Diego.
The first day consisted of three preliminary rounds, each with pre-assigned competitors and arguments. Interestingly, both of SHSU’s teams had one round arguing as Petitioner and two rounds arguing as Respondent, allowing each team to practice both sides of the case and adapt their arguments to different perspectives.
After each round, the teams had the chance to regroup, discuss feedback, and prepare for the next argument. Between rounds, we were also grateful to have snacks graciously provided by Stephanie Fors, which kept everyone fueled and ready to take on the next challenge!
Once the preliminary rounds concluded, we anxiously waited for the results. The standings would determine which teams would advance to the “Sweet Sixteen” and return on Sunday for another day of competition. Despite some skepticism about our chances (editor’s note: deserved skepticism), both of SHSU’s teams made it into the “Sweet Sixteen”! We were thrilled to have the opportunity to compete again and prove ourselves against some incredibly talented teams.
On Sunday, both teams returned to the courtroom ready to give it their all. Although neither team ultimately advanced to the quarter-finals, making it to the “Sweet Sixteen” was an accomplishment we were extremely proud of.
Beyond the results, the scrimmage gave our Moot Court teams something even more valuable: experience. Throughout the weekend, we were able to test our arguments in a competitive setting, identify some of our strongest points, uncover weaknesses in our cases, and come away with new ideas for strengthening our arguments. Every round gave us something to learn from, and we made it out with a much better understanding of what we can do to prepare for our next competition.
We are incredibly grateful to UC San Diego for hosting such a valuable and exciting scrimmage. We are proud of how far both teams made it and are looking forward to putting what we learned into practice. We are all excited for competition at Texas A&M on October 30th, and we can’t wait to see what the team accomplishes next!
