UGA Mock Trial will hold its 2011-2012 Information Sessions this August. All students interested in participating in Mock Trial should attend one of the info sessions to learn more about our program and sign-up for a tryout time.

This will be the only opportunity during the 2011-2012 academic year to join the team!

Attend any one of the following information sessions:

Monday, August 22, 7-8 p.m. – Information Session #1, MLC 148
Tuesday, August 23, 7-8 p.m. – Information Session #2, MLC 248
Wednesday, August 24, 7-8 p.m. – Information Session #3, MLC 213

• It's fun! UGA Mock Trial has been called "the most fun team in the American Mock Trial Association," and we live up to our reputation...just ask any of our members! Between the traveling, competitions, courtroom drama, and amazing people, we guarantee you'll be hooked.
  

• Great friends. Looking for a group of incredibly talented, witty, good-looking (and let's not forget modest!) friends to get to know in college? UGA Mock Trial puts you in touch with 54 other students who share your interests. Many of our members make the best friends of their college career through our program. Whether at competitions, practices, or social events outside of Mock Trial, we make sure all of our members feel welcomed and get to know each other.

• Roadtrips! Want to spend a weekend on the road with your closest friends? We've got you covered. Travel is one of the best parts of Mock Trial. Trust us, nothing beats getting away from school a few weekends a semester to spend some quality time getting to know your Mock-family.

• Exellent training. Useful skills. Many of our members say Mock Trial is the best education they get in college, inside or outside the classroom. That's because we'll train you to be one of the best mockers in the country! Whether you're planning on going to law school or have no idea what you want to do with your life, you'll find that the skills you pick up in our program will make you a better public speaker, allow you to handle job interviews with more confidence, and will improve your critical thinking abilities significantly.
  

  VICTORIOUS: Three team trophies and three All-Region awards in one tournament!

• WE WIN. A lot. If you're a competitive person who loves to win, you've come to the right place. In addition to being one of the top college Mock Trial programs in the nation, UGA Mock Trial averages more than one team trophy per tournament. We've got so many trophies that we filled up our trophy case and had to get a new one. Then we filled up that one, too. No joke. And get ready to fill your bookshelf at home — we have multiple members win individual awards at virtually every tournament we attend.

• Unparalleled leadership opportunities. We're one of only a handful of programs in the nation that is run and coached entirely by undergraduates. That means there's no limit to how big of a role you can play...our program is entirely what our members make of it! And if you become a captain or Executive Board member, you not only get to manage trips to other states and determine the direction of our organization, you also get to coach your own team!

Nope! If you're a talented public speaker or actor who's addicted to winning, you've got everything it takes to succeed in UGA Mock Trial! While we certainly appreciate the skills that experience in high school Mock Trial, debate, or theater provide, some of our best members each year had no prior experience before UGA Mock Trial.

Following our information sessions in August, we hold two rounds of tryouts. Attend one of our information sessions in August to sign up for a tryout spot and receive tryout instructions. After you've signed up for a spot, we'll send you a tryout packet and detailed instructions that will help you get ready to mock like a champion!

In the first round, prospective members choose to play the role of an attorney, witness, or both. More information will be provided at the information session and in the tryout packet about the details of each role a prospective member can choose. At the tryout, one of our Executive Board members will play the opposite of whatever you're playing (i.e. if you're an attorney, we'll be your witness), and the rest of the Executive Board will serve as scoring judges.

The second round of tryouts will be an interview. Unlike the first round, the second round won't require any preparation.

• For attorneys, we'll primarily be looking at public speaking ability, the ability to follow the instructions we provide, and how comfortable you appear with handling the unexpected.
  

• For witnesses, we'll be looking primarily at credibility, believability, and likability. Entertain us by making your character come alive with a costume or accent or play the part of a knowledgeable expert. Whichever you choose, embody the role you're playing!

Each year, 100-200 students tryout for UGA Mock Trial. Of these, we welcome between 20-30 new members. Even though it's not easy to make the team, don't sell yourself short! Most of our new members each year say they didn't expect to make the team...and then they did!

We've never seen a perfect tryout, so we're not expecting perfection. We're looking for people with raw talent who are excited to learn and compete.

Winning takes practice. But our practices are generally fun, and they're the time when you really get to know your teammates! Of course, we're all students with busy schedules, so we make sure to use your time wisely.

And because practices are scheduled within individual teams, rather than for the program as a whole, practice times generally are flexible with your schedule.

• In the Fall, UGA's teams generally practice three nights a week for two hours each night.

• In the Spring, as we get ready for our biggest competitions of the year, our teams generally practice three to four nights a week for two hours each night.

No worries. You'll still have time for academics, other extracurricular activities, and a social life. Talk to any of our members and you'll see we're very involved on campus, have strong GPAs (most of us are trying to get into law school, after all!), and have plenty of playtime in between it all. Life requires balance, and that's certainly a skill you'll pick up as a mocker.

In the Fall, each member travels to one to two invitational tournaments. In the Spring, each member travels to Regionals, and may travel to Nationals, the National Championship, or additional invitationals, depending on which team he or she is on.

Our teams typically travel to South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, or Florida, although we may travel as far as Viginia, New York, Iowa, and Washington D.C. We drive to most locations, but will fly if the drive is too far.

The vast majority of our travel is paid for by university funding, although we do have membership dues of $25-50 a semester to help cover travel costs.