Aryan Acharya, national debater and senior, has competed in debate tournaments at various levels since his freshman year. According to him, these tournaments aren’t just a place of competition; for him, they’re also a place of friendly interaction and mutual connectivity.

“Obviously, everyone competes with each other across events and schools, so there’s always that competitive energy in the atmosphere,” Acharya said, “but most of the time, people are welcoming and open to conversation.”

Science Olympiad sponsor Cynthia Henry said she not only notices this atmosphere of fellowship in interteam relationships, but also among competing students.

“Once you’re in the competition room, it’s you competing against the other team,” Henry said. “From what I’ve seen, students do have that competitive nature, but I think they keep a sense of camaraderie as a whole.”

Friendship within teams

Acharya’s and Henry’s experiences are not lone sentiments; according to the American Federation of School Administrators, high-stakes academic environments (such as intense competitions) significantly influence the development of student friendships through shared experiences. 

Aadya Subramanian, Spell Bowl and Health Occupations of America (HOSA) member and junior, said while she often felt competitive pressure during tournaments, she always felt supported by her teammates.

“When you’re with your team, it just feels really supportive. It’s like a mix of chill and competitive,” Subramanian said. “Everyone’s focused and quiet but they’re also totally willing to make a joke every once in a while.”

Acharya said many of his closest friendships began with academic partnerships during tournaments and competitions.

“I got to know a lot of them through practices and the bus rides to and from tournaments, often through basic conversation about the competition or school if we had classes in common; over time, this has turned into strong friendships between us,” Acharya said.

Additionally, Acharya said camaraderie between teammates is a quality that generally promotes more success within a team.

“Having friendships within a debate team is absolutely important,” Acharya said. “It builds that sense of community and trust between individuals, regardless of whether they do the same event or not. The environment stays supportive during the best and worst tournaments, and generally encourages collaboration, which is far better than pure isolation.”

Henry said she observes friendships made in a competitive environment to last for a significant amount of time.

“[Developing friendships with peers] is very important for the team,” Henry said. “I think they grow to become good friends, and then those friendships last after they finish high school and into college.”

While Subramanian agreed upon the importance of friendly relations within a competitive team, she said an air of professionalism should remain among team members.

“If you have a good relationship with a person, then you can work with them really well,” Subramanian said, “but at the same time, I would also want to keep things more mature, keep things professional but still be friends with them. It’s like having your work friends versus your general friends; there are some things you would tell your general friends that you wouldn’t tell people in a workplace.”

Connections with competitors

While team-based competition fortifies existing connections between team members, Acharya said he also found numerous opportunities at national tournaments to become acquainted with other competitors.

“Typically, we’re all in competition against each other because we mainly compete in Indiana, but at nationals, it was definitely a lot less tense between our teams in terms of competitiveness,” Acharya said. “I got to know a lot about them and their ambitions in debate and life as a whole, and it was a really good experience being able to surround myself with people who have a strong passion for the activity as much as I do.”

Henry said she noticed Science Olympiad members at this school make active attempts to reach out to students from other schools and spark friendly conversation with them.

“In (Science Olympiad), teams help each other and they’re very helpful to other teams until they get into that competition,” Henry said. “Our team goes out and they search specifically to try and make friends with other people and other teams, and they ask questions about their events. There’s a general sense of helpfulness.”

Acharya said the broader network of connections he developed consistently benefited his drive for improvement.

“(It) goes a long way in helping students establish their character and even foster a sense of community,” Acharya said. “From my own experience, I can easily say that having these networks of friendships from other schools have given me healthy motivation. It could also give (students) a sense of community, knowing that long-term friendships and opportunities to learn are everywhere, even when they think that might not be the case.”

Subramanian agreed and said the ability to maintain relations with a multitude of people demonstrates quality skills of communication and partnership.

“Being able to build those connections shows that you’re capable of having good sportsmanship, which is something a lot of colleges and jobs look for, so that sort of gives you a level up in that area,” Subramanian said. “It also means you have more people that you can rely on as a person.”

Building skills

Subramanian said her experiences in HOSA and Spell Bowl taught her skills that are sure to see use in the future.

“Obviously you learn a lot of team-building skills that’ll definitely help you later in life when you have a job that is very heavily focused on working with other people,” Subramanian said. “You’ll be able to develop better communication skills as an adult.”

Henry said she agrees with Subramanian and said the team-based structure of Science Olympiad promotes collaboration.

“Each event has at least two team members competing together, so they have to form strategies to work together,” Henry said. “I think that cooperation teaches them a lot of how to work with other people.”

Ultimately, Acharya said the friendships he’s developed across his years of academic competition push him toward personal improvement, both within the debate sphere and outside of it.

“Seeing teammates and opponents do well at tournaments across multiple levels has definitely opened my perspective toward how I can improve myself,” Acharya said. “Beyond debate, it’s helped me appreciate diverse viewpoints and styles to approach competition or events in general.”