Well, despite the bias, you, my sister and Kyle were all right about the outcome of the round. Joel and I won--taking first place in Open . Also, in case you're interested, here are the rest of the Mod results:

Pre-Qual team:
Anthony Merano/Marian Ting-4th

Open Speaker
9. Ryan Brown

6. Joel

4. Collin Ting

1. Elizabeth S.

Qualifying Speaker:
24. Talia Vlavich

21. Jason Felicitas

5. Robert Birlew

2. Jake Siewert

Qualifying Team:
Double Octs: Eli Bottom/Greg Howe

11. Jake Siewert/Talia Vlaovich

2 (and qualifying to nats). Richard and Robert Birlew

Thanks! Both for the congrats and b-day wish. I don't think it's fully sunk in that I'm never again going to debate in NCFCA...but so far it hasn't been too bad. I'll be around Mod Debate next year, so the transition out won't be quite as hard as it would have been otherwise. Nevertheless, it is really special that you were there for both my very first round and my very last round Thank you.

Thanks for the tips! My hoops are actually made from materials we had lying arround the house. So the hoops are made out of PVC tubing with wire stuck into the center. I don't know if it's because of the wire I used or if I'm sitting down wrong, but I've been having trouble with them becoming deformed when I sit for a long time... Do you have that problem with yours?

Actually mine isn't a normal hoop skirt...I just took a skirt pattern I have and sewed some casings into three different places (hips, knees and hem) and stuck PVC tubing (with wire in the center) into the casing. I've tried replacing the original wire with stuff that's stronger and it seems to have helped a good deal. But I now know why you recommend making a corset. Sitting on the edge of a chair for an hour = a tired back...maybe that will be my next costume project.