The IHS debate team spent the morning of Saturday, Oct.18, competing at the Bear Creek Debate Invitational. After months of preparation and research, all four debate competitors, juniors Maris Menenberg, Ben Macario, Olivia Yang and Felix Neuenschwander, went 3-2, winning their matches. The sole speech competitor, freshman Adelyn Monahan, was a finalist in her impromptu speaking event, earning seventh place out of 36 participants.
The team worked hard to prepare for the tournament, as described by Macario. “I’d say the hardest part of the event was making cases and doing all the research and developing our contentions and arguments.” He said. Certainly, most of the work for this debate was put in weeks beforehand, in the form of research. The debate team often spends over three weeks preparing for just one debate, and Bear Creek was no different. “We thoroughly research both sides and really get a deep understanding of what the main arguments are,” Menenberg explains, “That’s how you generally prepare for debates, and how we prepared for this one, too.” All those long hours of work paid off for the team’s competitors, as Yang explains. “We’ve improved a lot from last year,” she recalled, “and we’re more confident in our rounds. Even if we lost, we felt good about our performances.”
The debate team has been and continues to work hard every day for their competitions, of which Bear Creek is just one. As they continue to research, prepare for, and win debates, their work at last weekend’s tournament will be something both participants and fans will remember. Make sure to keep in touch with Issaquah Debate’s social media to cheer them on at their next tournament. Go Eagles!
