Debate Team Racks Up Awards

San Diego State University's policy debate team recently brought home multiple awards from the 2012 District One NDT Qualifier and Pacific Champion Debate Tournament, held Feb. 24-26.

These wins build on the team's strong season, and lay the foundation for upcoming appearances at national tournaments in Sacramento and Norman, Oklahoma. 

Results

Kristen Everhart and Brittni King finished in first place among 17 novice teams and received the first annual "Terry Weinbrenner Championship Cup."

The junior varsity team of Jayde Clark and Andrew Won took home eighth place.

In addition to team competition, individual speakers are awarded speaker points based on the quality of their presentations. King finished in fourth place in the individual novice division and Won finished in 11th place in the junior varsity division.

About the tournament

Fifty-three teams attended the Pacific Champion Debate Tournament from colleges and universities across California and the southwest.

“This is a fantastic accomplishment for Aztec Forensics,” said Bill Snavely, director of the school of communication. “The team has only recently returned to policy debate after a budget induced hiatus. Kudos to head coach Sharon Taylor and GTA coach Tony Johnson. Aztec Policy Debate is back!”

About Aztec Debate

Although there are many formats for collegiate debate, policy debate is considered by many to be the most research-intensive format.  Students are required to digest hundreds of pages of research in order to compete at the top levels. 

Competitive academic debate tournaments offer competition in a variety of divisions that are separated according to the experience level of the competitors, including:

• Rookie – competitors at their first-ever tournament
• Novice – competitors with less than one year of experience
• Junior Varsity – competitors with less than two years of experience
• Open division – no restrictions