BEST Regional Tournament at Bertolt Brecht FLHS, Pazardzhik – February 13-14, 2016

On 13-14 February, the BEST Foundation held its first spring regional tournament of 2016 in Pazardzhik. Over 100 students gathered at Bertolt Brecht Language High School for two days of competition. Teams represented cities across southern Bulgaria, including Stara Zagora, Burgas, Sliven, Dimitrovgrad, Panagyurishte, Smolyan, Plovdiv, and Sofia; as well as an out-of-region team from Montana. Students competed in World Schools Debate and speech events such as prose and poetry interpretation, duo interpretation, and original oratory.

Representatives of BEST sponsor the Bulgarian Fulbright Commission attended as special guests and judges, including Executive Director Angela Rodel and ETA Program Officer Rada Kaneva, as well as BEST Board of Trustees member Alex Kieselstein. The tournament concluded on Sunday afternoon with an awards ceremony and a special music performance from Fulbright ETA and Stara Zagora coach Molly O’Keefe.

BEST wishes to thank everyone who made this tournament possible, including our generous BEST sponsors the Bulgarian Fulbright Commission and the U.S. Embassy; the Bertolt Brecht Language High School administration, who hosted us so graciously for a second time; and the many judges, coaches, and chaperones who volunteered their time and energy.

Below are the names of participating teams, with teams participating for the first time underlined, and the list of awards; you can view results on Speechwire, as well.

American College of Sofia
Bertolt Brecht Foreign Language High School – Pazardzhik
Dr. Ivan Bogorov Foreign Language High School – Dimitrovgrad
Geo Milev English Language High School – Burgas
Nesho Bonchev High School – Panagyurishte
Ivan Vazov Foreign Language High School – Smolyan
Peter Bogdan Foreign Language High School – Montana
English Language School – Plovdiv
Romain Rolland Foreign Language High School – Stara Zagora
Zaharii Stoyanov Western Language High School – Sliven

AWARDS

POETRY INTERPRETATION

Finalists

  1. Snezhina Racheva – Romain Rolland FLHS, Stara Zagora

  2. Elena Sotirova – Geo Milev ELHS, Burgas

  3. Greta Nikolova – Bertolt Brecht FLHS, Pazardzhik

  4. Siyana Dracheva – Geo Milev ELHS, Burgas

  5. Kalin Butrachkov – Zaharii Stoyanov WLHS, Sliven

  6. Yordalina Panayotova – Zaharii Stoyanov WLHS, Sliven

PROSE INTERPRETATION

Semifinalists

  • Gabriela Ivanova – American College of Sofia

  • Ivan Mihov – Bertolt Brecht FLHS, Pazardzhik

  • Kristiya Navushtanova – American College of Sofia

  • Christian Georgiev – Dr. Ivan Bogorov FLHS, Dimitrovgrad

  • Eliya Panchova – Bertolt Brecht FLHS, Pazardzhik

  • Tsvetelina Peneva – Bertolt Brecht FLHS, Pazardzhik

Finalists

  1. Snezhina Racheva – Romain Rolland FLHS, Stara Zagora

  2. Viktoria Nestorova – Dr. Ivan Bogorov FLHS, Dimitrovgrad

  3. Yoan Dimov – Romain Rolland FLHS, Stara Zagora

  4. Ana-Maria Markovska – American College of Sofia

  5. Sofiya Nikolova – Bertolt Brecht FLHS, Pazardzhik

  6. Emil Nikolov – Romain Rolland FLHS, Stara Zagora

ORIGINAL ORATORY

Semifinalists

  • Veni Shiron – Peter Bogdan FLHS, Montana

  • Nikolai Gaidarov – Peter Bogdan FLHS, Montana

  • Georgi Arnaudov – Romain Rolland FLHS, Stara Zagora

  • Deya Argirova – Romain Rolland FLHS, Stara Zagora

  • Angel Yankov – Geo Milev ELHS, Burgas

  • Nedyalka Nedyalkova – Bertolt Brecht FLHS, Pazardzhik

  • Tsvetelina Marova – Bertolt Brecht FLHS, Pazardzhik

  • Ivanela Sirakova – Bertolt Brecht FLHS, Pazardzhik

Finalists

  1. Nikolai Petrov – Peter Bogdan FLHS, Montana

  2. James Mott – Geo Milev ELHS, Burgas

  3. Alexandra Petkova – Peter Bogdan FLHS, Montana

  4. Boyana Atanasova – American College of Sofia

  5. Aleksandar Venchev – Bertolt Brecht FLHS, Pazardzhik

  6. Iva Keremedchieva – Geo Milev ELHS, Burgas

DUO INTERPRETATION

Finalists

  1. Martin Cvetanov and Yoan Dimov – Romain Rolland FLHS, Stara Zagora

  2. Katerina Stoyanova and Aleksandar Venchev – Bertolt Brecht FLHS, Pazardzhik

  3. Dayana Stoynova and Magdalena Metodieva – Romain Rolland FLHS, Stara Zagora

  4. Adriana Petkova and Kameliya Nikolova – Bertolt Brecht FLHS, Pazardzhik

  5. Viktoriya Keremidova and Ivanela Sirakova – Bertolt Brecht FLHS, Pazardzhik

  6. Kaloyan Georgiev and Nikol Plamenova – Peter Bogdan FLHS, Montana

WORLD SCHOOLS DEBATE

Finalists

  1. Gergana Popova, Todor Chergarov and Aleksandar Venchev – Bertolt Brecht FLHS, Pazardzhik

  2. Ana-Maria Markovska, Alexandra Zidarova and Seda Radoykova – American College of Sofia

Runners-up

3. Gabriela Ivanova, Kristiya Navushtanova and Boyana Atanasova – American College of Sofia
4. Viviyan Tsaneva, James Mott and Simona Nikova – Geo Milev ELHS, Burgas

Individual Speaker Award
Boyana Atanasova – American College of Sofia

Sportsmanship Award
Ivan Valkanov, Maria Ilieva and Aleksandra Mukareva – Geo Milev ELHS, Burgas

TEAM AWARDS

Small School Division (12 and fewer participants)

Romain Rolland FLHS, Stara Zagora

Large School Division (more than 12 participants)

Bertolt Brecht FLHS, Pazardzhik

BEST Foundation