The junior varsity and novice debate teams had a strong close to their season at nationals, which was held virtually March 19-21.

In the novice division, Adam Cheema and Connor Booth, both ninth graders, finished 13th seed and advanced to semifinals. Ninth-graders Austin Kim and Mahi Shah finished 24th seed and advanced to quarterfinals. 

JV team members Jeffrey Huang and William Tan, both sophomores, finished with an even record: three wins and three losses. This was Jeffrey’s first debate of the season. 

“It was pretty tough,” Jeffrey said. “I haven’t really been active in debate throughout the year so going into the tournament, especially a national one, it was really hard for me. I wasn’t really prepared well.”

In preparation for next season, which begins in late August, team members are solidifying arguments for next year’s topic: increasing water resource protections. During the summer, some members attend debate camps at universities to enhance their arguments. 

“This is where a lot of the research for next year’s topic is done, where everyone kind of gets a feel for what the topic’s going to be about, but also just working on speaking drills, debate skills, even topic research,” incoming varsity captain Aaron Kim, a junior, said. 

Through practice scrimmages within the team, new partnerships will be matched for next season. Aaron hopes next year’s season will be in person and provide more opportunities for team bonding. 

“In-person tournaments,” Aaron said. “My favorite parts are like the plane rides, late nights at hotels, which [don’t happen] with Zoom debate, so that’s definitely going to be my favorite part of next season.”