Coming off of a meet at Ben Davis on Jan. 8, the CHS debate team looks forward to a meet at Plymouth before it goes to Districts.  According to Ivy Yan, team president and senior, Districts, which determine if any CHS debater will move on to nationals will be held on Jan. 21 and 22 at Brebeuf.  Looking back on the first semester, Yan said she’s pleased with the work that was put forth.

“The beginning of the season has been fantastic, with our debaters placing consistently at tournaments and developing unique ways to approach the resolutions,” Yan said via e-mail.

For team sponsor James Ziegler, the first part of the year has been a personal success in the sense that he can now move from learning debate, to becoming someone that novice debaters can come to for help, he said.  Ziegler said that he’s been very pleased with the team’s performance in what is his first year both as a team sponsor, but also as a teacher here.  Despite the success, if there’s one thing Ziegler said could be improved upon, it’s consistency when it comes to attending meets.

“I know it’s hard, but that’s something I’d hope to improve upon,” he said.  “I feel that the more people practice, the better prepared they’ll be to hear different arguments.”

Looking to the end of the month, and qualifying for nationals, Yan said performance at districts will determine who can go.

“The top two performers in Lincoln-Douglas, public forum and policy will advance to nationals in Dallas around mid-June,” she said.

After sending a representative to nationals last year, Ziegler said that he is confident the team is capable of sending a representative or representatives on to Texas by the summer.

He said, “Hopefully it will pan out.” By Patrick Bryant <[email protected]>