Debate competitions require extensive research and preparation in order to succeed. The debate team ended their last competition Saturday and are already preparing for future competitions in various ways.

“My students spend a great deal of time on their own doing research and making sure that they understand what their resolutions are asking them, the questions that they’re being asked, and being able to formulate how they want to respond to those resolutions and how they want to defend their cases,” english teacher Melissa Maier said. “They do a lot of that research on their own with little guidance from myself.”

Policy debate is a form of debate competition in which teams of two advocate for and against a resolution that typically calls for policy change by the United States federal government.

“During our last competition in the district, the strategy was to just go in there and continue the success we’ve had over the last couple of competitions,” Maier said. “The next debate competition will offer more opportunities and chances for the competitors to regain their abilities.”

Competitors have found that even with all the preparation, competitions still present various challenges.

“In the last debate competition, I learned that no matter how much you prepare for something, there’s always a surprise,” sophomore Ria Bhasin said. “Walking into the round I had a rough sketch of what to expect, thinking that my competitors wouldn’t be so different than before. However, during the round I was caught off guard so many times. My opponents would present ideas I had never thought of and I was forced to think on my feet.”

Many competitors find themselves setting goals and higher standards for the next competition. The next competition is districts, which means more pressure.

“For our next competition, me and my partner, Amina, hope to win four out of four rounds again, and advance from Districts to Regionals,” sophomore Priya Nalliah said. “We definitely want our speaker points to increase as well, as they play a big part in determining who advances. Our practice should hopefully bring out good results.”

There is a process in which competitors go through in order to get to the actual competition.

“To be able to compete you have to start in Debate 1,” Bhasin said. “By taking the class you will get training and learn the skills necessary in order to win at competition. The following year you will have a chance to be a part of “Advanced Debate” and compete at tournaments every month.”

While the competitions can be stressful and nerve wrecking, one competitor has advice for how to get through that and keep a positive outlook.

“Advice I would personally give to future competitors is to enjoy what you do,” Nalliah said. “Debate is lots of fun when you’re placing yourself into situations that you read about, so have fun with it! It’s a great opportunity to have learn new things, speak your heart out, and win some medals with your friends. Competitions aren’t always about the awards as well, because if we’ve learned anything, it’s that practice makes perfect.”