Hillsdale debate and forensics prime for nationals in San Diego, Calif.
Cody Ewers
Issue date: 2/5/09 Section: News
Hillsdale College's forensics and debate teams fly to San Diego, Calif. today to compete in two national tournaments hosted by Point Loma Nazarene University.
The 12th annual Point Loma Round Robin Tournament of Champions, taking place Friday, matches 20 of the top National Parliamentary Debate Association schools against each other in round robin fashion. Each school is represented by one team of two, who debate in factions. Each faction consists of two teams arguing for an assigned side of a topic given to the competitors 15 minutes prior to each round.
Each institution submits one team to be considered for invitation to the tournament, then PLNU's selection committee extends invitations based on the applicants' performance up to this point in the year's circuit.
This year, sophomores Will Cooney and Liv Wolcott will represent Hillsdale.
The Sunset Cliffs Classic 2009 Invite, on Saturday and Sunday, is a six-round open division forensics debate, in which schools register their entire debate and forensics teams to compete in all events.
Last weekend, the team travelled to Webster University where Cooney and Wolcott advanced through the preliminaries along with just 15 other teams out of 54, Cooney said.
In junior varsity, sophomores Jake Morgan and his partner Samantha Nasser took first place.
Cooney said it's fairly common for Hillsdale to take junior varsity competitions; however, Morgan is still excited about his first win.
"I really enjoyed it," Morgan said. "We really clicked this time and didn't even lose one round!"
Despite the sweep, Morgan said it's normal to lose at least one round and still make it to the finals.
Director of Forensics James Brandon said this coming weekend will help prepare the students for nationals this spring.
"[The tournament] is a good primer for the national tournament we'll be taking the team to over spring break," he said. "Each region has their own style of debate and it's good to get a taste of the West Coast before heading out there."
Cooney said the West Coast is the center of the debate circuit.
"I'm looking forward to going out there," he said. "The competition will be very stiff; it will definitely be our most difficult tournament yet."
Brandon said he is proud of today's debate and forensics program, and that it is satisfying to see it finally come to fruition.
"We've finally gotten to the point in the last couple of years where we have people that really want to compete," Brandon said. "We have a really balanced team and expert guidance."
The 12th annual Point Loma Round Robin Tournament of Champions, taking place Friday, matches 20 of the top National Parliamentary Debate Association schools against each other in round robin fashion. Each school is represented by one team of two, who debate in factions. Each faction consists of two teams arguing for an assigned side of a topic given to the competitors 15 minutes prior to each round.
Each institution submits one team to be considered for invitation to the tournament, then PLNU's selection committee extends invitations based on the applicants' performance up to this point in the year's circuit.
This year, sophomores Will Cooney and Liv Wolcott will represent Hillsdale.
The Sunset Cliffs Classic 2009 Invite, on Saturday and Sunday, is a six-round open division forensics debate, in which schools register their entire debate and forensics teams to compete in all events.
Last weekend, the team travelled to Webster University where Cooney and Wolcott advanced through the preliminaries along with just 15 other teams out of 54, Cooney said.
In junior varsity, sophomores Jake Morgan and his partner Samantha Nasser took first place.
Cooney said it's fairly common for Hillsdale to take junior varsity competitions; however, Morgan is still excited about his first win.
"I really enjoyed it," Morgan said. "We really clicked this time and didn't even lose one round!"
Despite the sweep, Morgan said it's normal to lose at least one round and still make it to the finals.
Director of Forensics James Brandon said this coming weekend will help prepare the students for nationals this spring.
"[The tournament] is a good primer for the national tournament we'll be taking the team to over spring break," he said. "Each region has their own style of debate and it's good to get a taste of the West Coast before heading out there."
Cooney said the West Coast is the center of the debate circuit.
"I'm looking forward to going out there," he said. "The competition will be very stiff; it will definitely be our most difficult tournament yet."
Brandon said he is proud of today's debate and forensics program, and that it is satisfying to see it finally come to fruition.
"We've finally gotten to the point in the last couple of years where we have people that really want to compete," Brandon said. "We have a really balanced team and expert guidance."
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