The Lassiter Speech and Debate team hosted its first ever invitational on Saturday, January 13, 2024. More than 150 competitors from 26 schools participated in this tournament with 85 judges evaluating competitors. A total of 49 awards were presented to deserving participants, and countless student and parent volunteers helped make the inaugural event a huge success.  

During the tournament, Lassiter Speech and Debate also honored long-serving coach, Dr. Walter Cotter (2020 retired), by renaming the annual event, “The Walter Cotter Classic”.

Dr. Cotter served as the school’s Speech and Debate coach from 2010-2020. In 2014, he received the GFCA Speech Coach of the Year award. In that same year, he brought to Lassiter its first sweepstakes award earning 3rd Place in Speech Sweepstakes. Over the course of his tenure at Lassiter, Dr. Cotter helped bring Lassiter four other sweepstakes awards. More specifically, he coached a total of seven State Championships in a variety of events including Lincoln Douglas Debate (2017), Program of Oral Interpretation (2017, 2020), Informative (2019), Impromptu (2015), Oratory (2015), and Student Congress (2019).

In 2020, Dr. Cotter was inducted in the GFCA Hall of Fame, which recognized his commitment to Speech and Debate not only at Lassiter but in the larger community. As a judge around the state, Dr. Cotter is known for encouraging students to think better, speak better, and to just be better. Dr. Cotter left a lasting impact with Lassiter Speech and Debate and his legacy will not soon be forgotten. 

Learn more about Lassiter Speech and Debate.