The PHUHS Debate Team recently participated in their first tournament of the season. The debate tournament took place at St. Petersburg High School on Saturday, October 9. The debate team faced skilled teams from St. Petersburg High School, Tampa Preparatory High School, Berkeley Preparatory High School, and Carrollwood Day School, among others.
“About 20 of us went, and we all did pretty well, this being our first tournament of the year,” Debate team President, junior Stephen Ross said.
At the tournament,the PHUHS Debate team competed in three different categories: Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, and Student Congress.
The team of varsity debaters, junior Stephen Urchick and junior Stephen Ross placed 3rd in Varsity Policy, while novice debaters, sophomore Zayna Javeed and freshman Zaydi Javeed were awarded 2nd in Novice Policy. In the Lincoln-Douglas category, senior Adrian Ortega placed 3rd and junior Sarah Perlin placed 4th. Sophomore Alec Neller was awarded 6th in Student Congress.
The PHUHS Debate Team is looking forward to attending the USF St. Pete Invitational on November 20 and other future other competitions and events.
“A goal of ours, is to successfully end our year by attending Nationals at Washington, D.C.,” Ross said.
Students are encouraged and welcomed to join the PHUHS Debate Team and participate in these upcoming events.
“New members really just have to pay their dues, and have somewhat of an interest. Some people fall in love with Debate. Others not so much,” Ross said. “But mind you, Debate is not for the faint hearted.”