Charlie Yockey ’19 prepares for the Debate World Championships in April.
Charlie Yockey ’19 recently qualified for this year’s World Individual Debate and Public Speaking Tournament in Cape Town, South Africa. Yockey said, “I have sort of a combative personality,” which he has used to his advantage as a prominent member of Choate’s Debate Team.
During the school year, Yockey participates heavily in the Choate Debate Team. Choate is part of a debate league known as the Debating Association of New England Independent Schools, or DANEIS. In order to qualify for the World Individual Debate and Public Speaking Tournament, one must win the best speaker award for the tournament, and as only one person is selected out of each of nine qualifying debates in the DANEIS league, this is no easy feat. DANEIS scoring is such that, although points can technically be awarded from 0 to 100, a debater’s performance is almost always scored between a 70 and a 95. During the St. Sebastian’s debate in which Yockey qualified for world’s, he scored a 94. Co-captain Baji Tumendemberel ’18, who also attended the tournament, said, “By the definitions put out by DANEIS, anything above a 93 is an exemplary, almost once in a life-time performance.” Yockey is what is known as the “second speaker,” meaning he closes the debate case. Regarding his position, he said, “My job in the debate round is not so much opening up the case for our side, but completely destroying, if possible, the case of the other side.”
Yockey’s time on Choate’s debate team has been his first formal debate experience. A boarder from Springfield, Illinois, the junior lacked opportunity for debate in the Midwest. Yockey attended Springfield High School before Choate, which offered only a “Speech and Acting Team,” rather than a formal debate team. Yockey has been able to use the skills he garnered as a member of this organization with great success, qualifying for the world tournament after participating in only two tournaments this year. The timeframe within which Yockey has learned and mastered skills for debate renders his admittance into the world tournament still more remarkable. Although his debate career hasn’t been very long, he has still dedicated a great deal of his time to its grooming. In addition to the debate team at Choate, Yockey participated in debate camps over the summer in a two week program at Dartmouth and another two week program at Stanford.
To prepare for their competitions, the Choate team is divided into pods by Captain Ellie Latham ’18, which are put under the instruction of a senior debater. The group meets on Wednesdays as a whole, and the individual pods meet on different days throughout the week to accommodate the students’ schedules. Yockey said, “I would go to meetings five times a week during the first term of last year,” demonstrating the amount of time he dedicates to debate.
Although the specifics of Yockey’s accommodations in South Africa are still being determined, he is likely to stay with either a host family, or live at Bishop’s College where the tournament is taking place. Ms. Kyra Jenney, a teacher in the Humanities Department, will act as Yockey’s chaperone during the April competition. Yockey is expected to partake in the events of public speaking and debate. The third event of the competition is either a persuasive or after-dinner speech, the only portion of the tournament that allows research beforehand. To prepare for the debate, Yockey commented, “I’ll be very well-read on all the policy motions I think might be discussed.”
He also stated that he might try to practice via video debates if he is acquainted with any of the other world qualifiers. Yockey expressed his enthusiasm to participate in the event both due to the breadth of cultures represented and the high level of competition. Although no Choate student has won the world tournament outright, the Choate qualifier for the competition two years ago, Joseph Squillaro ’16 placed third in the Impromptu Speaking preliminary round and ninth place in the final round.
Yockey’s peers and advisers have nothing but praise for his abilities. Mr. Neil Shimmield, adviser to the Debate Team, said, “He is an extremely measured, precise speaker; he thinks very quickly on his feet.” The Choate Debate Team is united in its efforts to support Charlie Yockey’s preparation for the world tournament. Tumendemberel said, “In a position of leadership, it’s always great to see more than our personal accomplishments, but the accomplishments of the team as well, or of people we’ve taught or grown with as debaters.”
