The bright minds of The Woodlands College Park High School Debate team represented us at their district tournament on Jan 25, and will advance to state. These competitors are reaping the success of their hard work and representing the school well. Some debaters clutched their first win, while others qualified for state for the third year in a row.
Competitors have been preparing for months, with some preparing over the summer. “It [debate camp] was at Baylor and a bunch of people from around the state all went to it to better their UIL experience,” Senior Jesse Merriwether said.
Others only hit their nose to the grindstone after winter break. “We really didn’t start cracking down on prep until a couple weeks before the tournament…we had like all of those practice tournaments before break and then we had that month-long period with nothing, and so we had to get straight back into it after winter break was over,” Junior Sara Synek said.
“This year, it’s regarding intellectual properties, such as patent trademarks and copyright. From there, we worked on building up our own cases…This year, it’s regarding intellectual properties, such as patent trademarks and copyright. From there, we worked on building up our own cases.”
They discuss matters that are relevant in today’s world, enlightening young citizens on the different ways one can view a matter. No matter how much time they had to prepare, their efforts paid off. These talented debaters work hard, and they play hard, they enjoyed the tournament and the opportunity to grow closer to each other.
Sophomore Olivia Mulligan shares her experience with debate competitions. “That’s always my favorite part of the tournament – getting to bond with my teammates – because I think they all have such interesting personalities, and it’s so fun to be able to converse with people that are so different from you,” Olivia Mulligan said.
The debate teams placed second and third place for the second year in a row, bringing pride upon the heart of our schools debaters, “To see them put so much effort in and come in clutch and get third was really exciting, as well as a team that got second, this is their first year doing debate, so it’s awesome to watch them grow and see that progression, so it’s a really good results all around,” Synek said.
Debate has proven to be a growth opportunity for these students. It’s far from over for the debate teams, they have some time to make preparations for state. “We’re going to be having some practice rounds against Jesse and Sara, which is a little bit intimidating for novices, but I’m excited to learn and grow,” Mulligan said.
“We’re also staying up to date on current events… There’s a lot of things changing, which creates some great ammo for debate and we’re just gonna ensure that we spend the time prepping, building up our files and having answers to any argument that could possibly be brought up,” Synek said.
Debaters tried to refrain from revealing too much regarding their strategies. “I gotta, you know, keep things secret. A lot of prepping, a lot of research, a lot of creating new arguments and stuff like that,” Merriwether said.
Like the expression goes, Winner, winner, Chick-fil-A dinner. The competitors all indulged in chicken sandwiches together after an exhausting day of competing. “I celebrated by going home and going to sleep at 6 p.m. That was quite a treat!” Synek said.
