The Model United Nations team won Best Large Delegation and seven individual awards at the Yale Model United Nations conference held virtually Jan. 21-24. Individuals also succeeded: seven people won Best Delegate gavels, five were awarded Outstanding Delegate (second place), and four were Honorable Mentions (third place).

“We pretty much swept,” senior Sara Thomas, one of the secretaries-general, said. “We placed on almost every committee, so we were really happy about that, and that’s what ultimately contributed to our Best Large Delegation award.”

Other team members will attend the North American Invitational Model United Nations conference virtually Feb. 12-14.

Senior Omar Siddiqui, one of the secretaries-general, explained that since the start of the school year, the team has only had school-wide competitions where U-High students competed against each other. YMUN and NAIMUN are the first official conferences of the season.

As in previous years, the Model UN team members practice during lunch. They continue to meet five days a week and run a variety of activities, ranging from speeches, simulations or mini-conferences, and merging activities to hone collaboration skills, sophomore Charlie Benton said.

“Everybody’s been doing well, especially given the circumstances,” Omar said. “The whole entire board has been very, very impressed with how everyone’s been doing, especially given virtual circumstances and how hard it is to train virtually compared to in person.”

Ninth grader Emmanuelle Bal attended YMUN and said she was ready for the competition and excited to compete. Senior and secretary-general Cindy Wu and juniors Katie Baffa and Saul Arnow, all of whom are on the executive board, helped the rookies prepare for conferences. Emmanuelle credited their guidance as key to her readiness.

“I honestly feel very well prepared, and while I was quite stressed at first, Cindy, Katie and Saul were great prep leaders,” Emmanuelle said. “I feel way more confident.”