In 2013 four UCF students were the first in the university鈥檚 history to earn coveted bids to compete in the annual Championship Tournament of the American Collegiate Moot Court Association.

Twice that number of students will represent UCF at聽the 2016聽tournament, this Friday and Saturday聽at California State 海角直播, Long Beach.

鈥淪ending eight students is a great achievement,鈥� said Cynthia Schmidt, the lead faculty advisor and coach for UCF Moot Court, as well as a lecturer and director of the Center for Law and Policy in the Department of Legal Studies聽in the College of Health and Public Affairs. 鈥淚t demonstrates we鈥檝e found a model of preparation that鈥檚 successful.鈥�

Moot court competition has been a mainstay extracurricular activity at law schools for years. Law students compete by participating聽in simulated appeals court proceedings and making oral arguments in front of judges.

The ACMA launched a series of moot court competitions for undergraduate students in 2001. Its Championship Tournament has just 160 slots for competitors and draws students from colleges and universities across the country.

This year鈥檚 ACMA competitors began their quest for a bid to 鈥渘ationals鈥� last fall by competing in scrimmages and qualifying regional tournaments. They competed in teams of two, presenting oral arguments for and against a case.

At the Midwest Regional Tournament in Wooster, Ohio, UCF teammates David Moosmann and Chris Chambers won the tournament 鈥� for the second year in a row 鈥� earning them automatic bids to nationals. UCF teammates Angel Sanchez and Eric Sorice placed third, earning them automatic bids as well. In addition, Chambers won the tournament鈥檚 top orator award.

UCF teammates Princelee Clesca and Austyn White earned bids to nationals as a result of their strong performance at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament in Virginia Beach, Va., while UCF teammates Carlos Vasquez and Shane McGlashen earned bids after performing well at the South Atlantic Regional Tournament in Deland, Fla.

鈥淲e鈥檙e developing a national reputation as the school folks want to beat,鈥� said Moosmann.

In recent weeks, the聽eight students have focused on reading court case proceedings and honing their oral argument skills to prepare for this week’s tournament.

McGlashen said he鈥檚 been searching through case law for additional authoritative sources to support his oral arguments. He also has been listening to recordings of oral arguments made in front of Supreme Court justices.

鈥淭he best medicine for nervousness is preparation,鈥� said Moosmann.

鈥淧reparing for the tournaments helps students learn how to collaborate with teammates in the design and presentation of arguments,鈥� said Schmidt, who will accompany the team to California. 鈥淭hat sort of environment does much to explain their success along with their own hard work and talents.鈥�

Legal studies Chair James Beckman has high praise for her efforts and those of Jason Fiesta, also a lecturer of legal studies and the assistant faculty advisor and coach for UCF Moot Court.

“Cindy and Jason聽have given an incredible amount of their time, attention and resources to these students, including countless evenings and weekends,” Beckman said.

With that support and endless hours of preparation, the students said they are ready and 鈥渃an鈥檛 wait鈥� for the tournament to begin.

UCF Moot Court is open to students in any major on campus. The majors of the students聽identified here are as follows:聽Chris Chambers (philosophy, political science), Princelee Clesca (legal studies; political science, pre-law track), Shane McGlashen (political science, pre-law track), David Moosmann (economics, philosophy), Angel Sanchez (legal studies, political science), Eric Sorice (legal studies), Carlos Vasquez (psychology [Burnett Honors College]) and Austyn White (legal studies).

Orlando鈥檚 WDBO FM will broadcast the debate from 7 to 8 p.m. from the Morgridge International Reading Center on the main campus. The debate is free and open to the public.

Mel Robbins, a trial lawyer and national radio news commentator, will moderate the student debate, and Dick Batchelor, founder of the Dick Batchelor Management Group and a former member of the Florida House of Representatives, will join the discussion panel. Michael Frumkin, dean of UCF鈥檚 College of Health and Public Affairs, will provide the opening remarks.

The students speaking on the side of聽limited reform are: Kyle Ross, Todd Foster, Jack Flanary and Jessica Sirianni. Arguing for more reform are: Taylor Koshak, Chris Chambers, Brittany Hollenbacher and Justine Poteau.

鈥淲e appreciate the opportunity to explore important topics with the students and with the community,鈥� Frumkin said.聽

The debate will be broadcast on FM 96.5.

The Dec. 2-3 tournament gave students a chance to present oral arguments in favor of their position in a hypothetical or 鈥渕oot鈥� case in front of volunteer judges. Among the judges was the dean of Florida International 海角直播鈥檚 law school and a local circuit court judge.

The tournament was one of just eight regional tournaments of its kind in the nation. It also was a resounding success, said department Chair Jim Beckman.

鈥淪everal members of the American Collegiate Moot Court Association [the governing body for the tournaments] said it was one of the best-run tournaments this year,鈥� Beckman shared. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 especially satisfying to hear since it was our first time hosting the tournament.鈥�

The ACMC named UCF a permanent host of the annual South Atlantic regional tournament this summer.

Contributing to the success of this year鈥檚 tournament was the overall quality of the teams in the competition. The U.S. Air Force Academy鈥檚 team included a recently selected Rhodes Scholar and a recently selected Fulbright Scholar. Another team, from Patrick Henry College, comprised students who won first and third place as orators in the 2010 national competition.

Also competing were three teams of UCF students who did 鈥渧ery well鈥� in their first moot court tournament, Beckman reported.

One UCF team, Yisell Rodriquez and Lizette Santiago, came in 24th out of 50 teams on day one and narrowly lost in the first elimination round on day two.

Another team, Siiri Raniero and Cameron Marsh, placed 26th out of 50 teams on the first day. 鈥淲hat makes their ranking so impressive is that English is Siiri鈥檚 second language. Their hard work and training over several months enabled them to place higher than almost half of the other teams in a very competitive field,鈥� Beckman said proudly.

The final round of the tournament pitted Patrick Henry鈥檚 team of stellar orators against a team from the 海角直播 of Louisville. The volunteer judges, most of whom are Central Florida attorneys, ultimately selected the Patrick Henry team of Blake Meadows and Bridget Degnan as the winner of the overall competition (watch the final round and presentation of top awards at http://ce.ucf.edu/conference-services/mootcourt/).

The top 20 percent of teams from each regional competition go on to compete in the ACMC鈥檚 national competition next month.

鈥淭he quality of the teams 鈥� and the time and expertise offered by our own faculty and the Orlando legal community 鈥� made the tournament simply superb,鈥� Beckman said.