The debate team continues to succeed even when faced with the challenges of virtual tournaments.

The team attended the Niles Township Invitational virtually Sept. 10, where senior Aaron Kim placed seventh as an individual speaker out of 77 competitors.

Sophomores Adam Cheema and Connor Booth finished 13th, compiling a 4-2 record, placing them in elimination rounds where debates are judged by a panel of three.

At the JW Patterson Invitational Sept. 8, also virtual, Aaron and sophomore Mahi Shah earned a 4-2 record and advanced to elimination debates in the varsity division.

Kyle Joseph, head debate coach, was satisfied with the results.  

“The results of the tournaments have definitely met my expectations. The students here work incredibly hard,” he said. 

According to Mr. Joseph, debating virtually has created challenges for the team this season, especially for new members.

“This year, the Lab debate team is beginning to fully understand the realities of virtual debating,” Mr. Joseph said. “There are ways in which nothing has changed and there are ways in which we are looking at a potentially fundamentally different activity.”

For sophomore Sasha Duda, the JW Patterson Invitational was his first debate tournament.

“The first tournament went pretty well,” Sasha said. “It was a great learning experience for us since this is a completely new thing for us and it was pretty fun.”