Debate is a thriving activity at Harvard-Westlake, with both the Middle School Public Debate Program, World Schools and Lincoln Douglas being offered here at the middle school. This past weekend, a group of Novice Lincoln Douglas debaters attended their first tournament ever, the Damus Invitational. The tournament was a two-day-long process at the upper school campus.
While LD is a one vs one debate format, the team worked together throughout the entire experience, helping with preparation for rounds and supporting each other the whole way. All five Novice debaters said that their favorite part of the whole tournament was the teamwork involved.
“I really enjoyed hearing everyone’s perspectives and collaborating on writing speeches, cutting cards, et cetera. It felt like it didn’t matter how I did personally, because we’re all working together to do better, to learn from our mistakes.” said Lily Kirschner ’29.
Debaters were at the tournament from 10am – 8pm on Saturday, and from 7:30am – 6:pm on Sunday. Hattie Pfanschmidt ’31, the only 7th grader on the team, said that the most difficult part of the process was:
“Trying to keep focus and stay motivated throughout both days since they were really long and action packed.”
Even after weeks of practice and drills, debate remains a scary and nerve-wracking experience.
“I was nervous throughout the WHOLE tournament. I was running around the campus, laptop in one hand, paper in the other, out of breath, hands cold and sweating…I wasn’t calm, at all.” said Jaimee Lee ’29.
Despite the nervousness, of the five students that attended, every single one had a winning record of 3-2 or higher, something that has never been achieved with a team of that size. Sydney Lee ’29 was a gold semifinalist, and Jaimee Lee was a bronze tournament champion, Pfanschmidt was 3rd place speaker, Jaimee Lee was 2nd place speaker, and Sydney Lee was top speaker.
Students are looking forward to the rest of the debate season.
“My goal for future tournaments is to perform better. This tournament I won all my debates on one side and lost all mine on the other side. I want to practice the side I lost more so I can strengthen my skills.” said Ayla Rahmani ’29.
Pfanschmidt reflected on the experience overall, and said: “My personal goals were met and surpassed, and my overall experience was so much better than I expected. I had so much fun and made so many new friends.”
The next upcoming debate tournament is the Marlborough Novice 1 Tournament happening this Saturday, Nov. 15.
