At most debate tournaments, the Novice Lincoln-Douglas (LD) debate team will bring five to six debaters to compete together. However, at the Golden Desert Debate Tournament at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1, Dylan Kaw ’29 took first place as a solo entry in the Novice LD division.
Lincoln-Douglas (LD) debate is a one-on-one, competitive high school debate format that focuses on philosophy, logic and ethical values rather than just policy-based resolutions. Students will debate topics that focus on individual rights versus the common good, supporting their arguments with evidence.
In the Novice LD division, eight schools brought students to compete throughout the weekend, with back-to-back rounds from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. both days. After finishing the preliminary rounds with a 4-1 record as the fourth seed, Kaw advanced through three elimination rounds and won the championship on a 2-1 decision.
Kaw said that he was able to grasp the concepts of debate easily aside from initial discouragement.
“At first, the structure of Lincoln-Douglas was intimidating,” Kaw said. “But I quickly realized that debate was more straightforward than it seemed. Each round helped me build off of the next and taught me how to think more strategically when crafting arguments.”
Kaw also said that his accomplishment was attributed to the help of his team, even though they did not compete.
“I don’t think this win was just the effort of me,” Kaw said. “I see it as a team victory because the briefs and blocks our teammates prepared gave me the tools to succeed. Their support made it possible for me to see the tournament through to the end.”
Assistant Director of Debate Khamani Griffin said that Kaw’s performance was a result of his positivity throughout the competition.
“Even though this was Dylan’s first tournament, he adapted to the environment quickly,” Griffin said. “He approached each round with focus and determination. His work ethic and positive attitude made him a pleasure to coach throughout the competition.”
As the Novice debate season approaches its end, the team will finish with their final end-of-year national tournaments. They will compete at the Western JV Novice Championship in San Francisco from Mar. 7-9 and the National Championships at Woodward Academy in Atlanta from Mar. 13-15.
