Debate Team Packs Busy Season with Multiple Tournament Honors

Hard work and supportive leadership have made this one of the team’s most successful years this decade. *Photo: Sophia Fitenko*

By LILY DENG

The debate team had one of its busiest seasons in memory, entering more competitions than ever before. On March 28, Austin Raupov ‘29 and Afzal Hendrix ‘28 were finalists at the NYC Urban Debate League (NYCUDL) Championship, and Co-captains Sophia Fitenko ‘27 and Diyora Khidirova ‘27, along with sophomores Jozefa Cheng and Amanda Pan, were semi-finalists.

“I felt somewhat nervous since the tournament was composed of the best teams,” said Raupov. “But we were very prepared. We went through a week of case-writing with feedback from the captain and a week of practice rounds simulating a real tournament experience.”

Cheng and Pan’s JV partnership has picked up several wins throughout the year. When Pan realized she made it to the semifinalists, “I was trying to lock in,” she said. “I was trying to psych myself up. At the end of the championship, I was honestly relieved. I felt rejuvenated. Winning is nice, but I always remember to stay humble because victory is not guaranteed.”

The public forum topic at the tournament was whether the United States federal government should ban big companies from buying up single family homes to rent them out.

At the start of the debate, the two teams flip a virtual coin and the winning team gets to choose their position, for or against. This process is repeated for five rounds.

The team has had a lot of encouraging wins this year. On March 7, the novice team of Raupov and Hendrix ranked first in the National Catholic Forensics League (NCFL) qualifier hosted by the Brooklyn-Queens Catholic Forensic League.

“If anyone told me I would’ve gotten that placement, I wouldn’t have believed it,” said Raupov.

The public forum topics change throughout the year. At the NCFL qualifier, the topic was whether the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should establish a federal regulatory framework for sports betting.

Going in, “I felt nervous but excited,” Hendrix said, “This was the most important tournament we’d been to so far, but we did a lot of preparing beforehand.”

Seven teams also competed in the State Championships hosted on April 18. Other notable talents this year include novice freshman debaters Roksolana Melnyk and Malani Haidara, who won several top team and speaker awards throughout the season.

Three teams – Raupov and Hendrix, Cheng and Pan, and juniors Wen Chen and Marta Rak – will compete in the NCFL Grand National Tournament on May 23-24 in Washington, D.C.

Besides assisting students while they prep, the debate team’s new coach, English teacher Mr. Kevin Wong, also offers words of advice when it comes to the mental component of what can be a stressful experience.

“I think that day to day, competition to competition, students may feel like a loss is painful. But losses are necessary in order to build up the time to reach something exceptional at the end of a long journey,” he said.

Even with the arrival of Mr. Wong, whom students described as “amazing,” the team is first and foremost student-led.

“What's amazing about having senior leadership and the captains is that they can take things off the plate that I thought a teacher would have to do, like organize practice rounds,” Mr. Wong said. “[What leadership and the captains are doing] is a blessing that makes coaching easier.”

Working with the team is one of the “best parts” of debate for Khidirova. “Our team feels like a big friend group; we are all very close,” she said.

“This debate season has to be my best yet,” said Wen Chen ‘27. “I’m extremely proud of everyone on the team.”

“I really love all my debaters, and all the work they put in is incredible,” said Fitenko. “I genuinely couldn’t be a more proud captain.”