Within the FFA organization, there are various teams you can be a part of that focus on specific skill areas. One of these teams that people might not assume is part of FFA is Parliamentary Procedure or Parli Pro. The Parliamentary Procedure competition revolves around studying Robert’s Rules of Order and conducting a meeting that requires knowing and memorizing various motions within a specific time limit. These meetings focus on FFA-specific topics, so debating skills are also utilized.

A team of six Ripon Christian students, including myself, led by coach Janie Gatzman, have come together to compete. Besides myself, the team consists of Charlie Giulian, Asher Vandenberg, Naomi Pedrioli, Gianna Zuidervaart, and Allison Gatzman. While many of the members have a year or less of experience, this year has truly been a great one for the Ripon Christian Parli Pro team.

We began practicing in September of last year, putting in a great deal of hard work and dedication. Our first competition took place in January at Merced College, where we had a rocky start and didn’t place high enough to make it to the final round. However, at our next competition, the Gridley Field Day, we placed second overall, which set the tone for the rest of our season.

After placing first in our sectional competition, we moved on to the UC Davis Field Day, where over 32 teams competed. The previous year, our team hadn’t placed at all at this event, so we were anxious to see how we would perform against some of the top teams in California. Despite our nervousness, we pulled off a fifth-place win, giving us the encouragement we needed heading into regionals.

The regional competition was especially important because we needed to place in the top four to qualify for the state finals. We had spent countless hours preparing, determined to perform at our best. The first round went well, but in the second round, we made a mistake that we thought would knock us out of the top four. Despite our concerns, we secured third place overall—earning our spot at the California State FFA Parli Pro Finals!

Now, with the opportunity to compete against the best of the best, we are working together as a team to improve and refine our skills. With the guidance of our dedicated coach, we are preparing to give it our all at the state finals, ready to represent Ripon Christian with pride.