Speech and Debate Team Begins Virtual Season with Success

Last weekend, the OES Speech and Debate Team competed in two online tournaments with very successful results.

The team competed concurrently at two tournaments: the University of Kentucky National Debate Season Opener and the Grapevine Classic in Texas. In the first tournaments of their online season, aardvarks in both tournaments improved over past years’ results.

“They did well in the face of adversity,” Upper School Speech and Debate Coach Mark Little said. "Among the fires, quarantine, and a new debate format, the team worked hard to be ready to compete.

"Apparently, thousands of young people synchronously debating for 12 hours a day, places something of a load on the servers," said Little. "Despite constant crashing interrupting their debates, OES debaters focused on their arguments and were in good spirits, working together all three days of the competition."

In the Grapevine Classic, Mimi P. ‘22 and Harrison C. ‘22 reached the elimination rounds in Varsity Policy Debate. Fiona I. ‘23 took second place in the Individual Speaker category and third place in JV Policy Debate with Everett R. ‘23. Everett placed sixth and Fiona placed second in the Speaker Award rankings.

“My favorite part of the tournament is the intensity of the rounds,” Fiona said. “It's pretty difficult since each round is slightly less than two hours, and you can have around two-to-five rounds per day, with 30 minutes in between to make preparations for the next round. But I think having to work hard and think on your feet makes debate even more rewarding! It's also nice to be part of this mini-debate community where you can go to each other for help and advice between rounds.”

In a time when the OES community can’t physically gather together, it’s activities like Speech and Debate that can bring us closer together even when we’re apart.

“Debate is also a group with a strong sense of community," said Fiona. "The members and coaches are always open to helping and sharing work, which I think reflects the OES community being an open community in general. On top of that, it's just a fun activity!”