Over 200 students and teachers flooded campus for Choate’s Invitational Debate Tournament. From 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., students clashed in exciting debates. The stakes were high, as the speaker who won the advanced division of the tournament would claim a spot at the World Championships in Durbin, South Africa.
Choate is a part of the Debating Association of New England Independent Schools (DANEIS). When one of the schools hosts a tournament, all of the DANEIS league schools and other invited schools attend. Within DANEIS, each school forms its own group of up to three four-person teams, which compete within two divisions: novice and advanced. Novice debaters are newer debaters who are not as fluent in the parliamentary style of debating, while advanced debaters have had a few years of experience.
The debates are structured in the British parliamentary style with three total rounds. At the start of each round, debaters are given three resolutions — statements or questions to be debated — and the pair that wins a coin flip gets to pick either the topic or the side — affirmative or negative. With only 10 minutes, partners must prepare their cases based solely on their immediate knowledge on the topic, as outside research and aid are prohibited.
“Typically, the resolutions are general enough so that the average person who keeps up with current events would be able to answer them,” said Debate Team adviser Ms. Kyra Jenney.
This year, Ms. Jenney and Dr. Amber Hodge, also a debate team adviser, came up with invigorating topics. The resolutions included: “This House would forgive all federal student loans,” “This House would mandate government regulation and oversight of Artificial Intelligence technology,” and “This House would ban vaping and e-cigarettes,” an option for round three. Historically, the first round of the Choate tournament is on U.S.-focused resolutions, the second round is more globally focused, and the third round is classified as the miscellaneous or fun round.
The debate allows a set number of minutes for each side to speak, and the switch between speaking order occurs a total of three times throughout the entire debate. Judges use ballots and score sheets to total the points after three rounds and determine the winner.
HPRSS teachers Mr. Neil Shimmield and Dr. Scott Davis all helped judge in the tournament. Awards were later presented for winning individual speakers, pair teams, and full four-person teams.
Representing Choate, Helen Ryan ’24 won second place speaker in the novice division. Reflecting on the research-based style of debate from her old school, Ryan said, “I like the Choate style more because you get to come up with arguments on the spot and it’s a lot more based on how you argue than the amount of research you do.” She continued, “It’s a lot of fun because you’re in the moment.”
Ryan also remarked on her gratitude for her peer debaters. “Everyone on the debate team puts a lot of work into making the tournament happen,” she said. Ms. Jenney also applauded the student organizers Sherry Li ’23 and Leyee Dai ’24, saying, “They are hugely instrumental. The tournament could not be done without them.” She believed that the event was “all and all a successful day.”
