The Redhawks debate team has advanced from districts and will be competing at the UIL state tournament in Austin during spring break.

At the district UIL tournament held at Emerson, eight teams competed in policy debate, with one Liberty pair securing a spot at state after winning three rounds in a row.

For the advancing pair of juniors, research and preparation were key to their success, even when it involved reading hundreds of pages and spending hours practicing their arguments.

“We put in a lot of effort into what we did,” junior Nazim Ayub. “We would read hundreds of pages of documents. It is significant for how much work we put in that we were able to speak effectively and conduct research. We were very knowledgeable in our policies, the impacts of each one, and we were able to discuss them with each other, no matter how complex.”

Not only did the duo lean on each other, but they also had help from their debate teammates, and they will continue to get help before their state competition in March.

“Us advancing was a lot because of our whole team, six of us,” junior Aahaan Bhakta said. “All of us worked together, which allowed us to win districts and advance to state. A lot of team collaboration that we’ve grown throughout the whole year. In terms of preparation for state, the team will help us a lot with that because state is highly competitive by helping our case.”