Ten varsity debaters competed in their first tournament this season at Lovejoy High School on September 19th. Alongside them, 15 novice debaters shadowed the varsity debaters throughout the day. With a mixture of wins and losses, the novice debaters were able to observe all aspects of debate competitions.
“I’m really proud of the leadership and mentoring our Varsity members have shown [during the tournament],” debate teacher Mr. Howard Ritz said. “I think they were a great inspiration to our newest debaters.”
With the debate program growing to over 80 students, Mr. Ritz allows the novice to shadow the varsity debaters not only to build unity among the members, but to expose them to the frenzy of debate.
“I’m really excited to see if the process is effective,” Mr. Ritz said. “Exposing the novice helps them be prepared when they actually debate on their own.”
Varsity debater Alyssa Crosby believes that the experience pressured her to do her best.
“It was a little nerve wracking for a novice to follow me around,” Crosby said. “It motivated me to do better because I had to set a good example.”
Novice debater Priscilla Brothers’ experience was different than she expected.
“Watching the debates was actually really cool and I really got into the arguments,” Brothers said. “I’m much more excited to debate now.”
