The Tournament of Champions (TOC), held at James Madison University (JMU) in the middle of January, is the first tournament members of the Debate team have to qualify for during the debate season. Despite a challenging start to the season, many newcomers and veterans qualified for the TOC on Nov. 21 at Broadway, including the following:
1st – Emma Pittman and Kylie Phillips in Policy
1st – Andrew Jamison Lincoln Douglas
3rd – Reese Yowell – Student Congress
4th – Liam Newberry – Student Congress
5th – Vanessa Vandevander – Student Congress
12th – Marianna Dimagnaong – Student Congress
2nd – Ella Grace Mann Student Congress – Chamber 2
5th – Natalie Fanning Student Congress – Chamber 2
Qualified – Aryann Baskfield and Jay Bridges – Public Forum
FCHS Debate Coach Luke Divine was pleased with how his team performed. “I am always impressed with the amount of research and preparation that debate students do. Each discipline requires different focus and skills, he said.
Before the TOC there are three practice tournaments, and those who place within the top 12 are the ones that will qualify for the TOC. These tournaments include the Shenandoah Valley Forensics League (ShenVaFl) which allows debaters to develop their skills and qualify for the more “serious” tournaments.
“In my four years of experience in two different debate categories, ShenVaFl tournaments are super helpful. They aren’t harshly-scored, allowing newcomers to not just make mistakes, but welcome them. It’s an amazing way to learn, then take what you learned to go into more serious tournaments,” said junior Kennedy Yowell.
At times, it can be a struggle to score high enough to qualify for the next tournament. In the debate category of Student Congress, this fact can be especially true. This is due to the large number of people in a chamber, and the fact that no topics are guaranteed to be discussed. Success in this category is heavily reliant on strategy and, at times, pure luck. Two speeches are needed to be able to fully score during a tournament, and depending on the direction the chamber takes, that can be very difficult. Another difficulty is finding sources to support an argument.
“I always have trouble finding and making my speeches. That is why I prepare two weeks prior to the competition. Not because of the topic which is sometimes a trouble, but finding information online to support your claim is the part where I struggle,” said junior Marianna Dimagnaong.
This season, there has been an influx of new debaters, some of whom have done extremely well considering their lack of experience. Many have already qualified for TOC, and are fired up about it, ready to crush the competition. Despite the rough start to the season for many of the FCHS debaters, novices, as well as veterans on the team, have pulled through and already qualified for the next step up from ShenVaFl.
“The first tournament, because there were so many people, I was not able to get a speech in. But the second tournament, everyone was separated into two chambers and I ended up getting fifth place and qualifying for TOC,” said junior Natalie Fanning.
Overall, how the team members perform in January will determine whether they make it to Regionals in March.
