Columbia Star

1963        Celebrating 60 Years      2023

Local speech and debate tournament draws talent and crowd





Photo courtesy of Caleb Safley Team Policy first place team, Paul Aluri, junior; and Andrew Lonon, senior, both from Columbia.

Photo courtesy of Caleb Safley Team Policy first place team, Paul Aluri, junior; and Andrew Lonon, senior, both from Columbia.

Over 140 students, their families, and members of the community crowded the halls and rooms of St. Andrews Baptist Church for the second Region 8 qualifying debate tournament last Thursday through Saturday. These homeschooled students, ages 12 to 18, are part of the National Christian Forensics & Communications Association (NCFCA) and participate in large tournaments in the spring.

Paul Aluri and Andrew Lonon, both of Columbia, placed first for team policy debate. Hillary Cooper of Greenwood and her partner John Fechtel of Florida placed second. Other teams from South Carolina who placed in the top 16 were Yousuke Matsui and Joshua Ridenour from Spartanburg (sixth), Jacqueline Green and Michael Green from the upstate (9th), Andrew Schirmer and Timothy Caiello from Columbia (10th), and Franklin McGuire/Thomas McGuire from Lexington (13th). Michael Green, a senior, was also named the best team policy speaker.

Team policy debate, which is the most popular debate format, involves a team of two students who debates another team. One team is randomly assigned to argue in the affirmative towards the year’s resolution while the other argues the negative side. For 2008- 09, the NCFCA team policy resolution is, “Resolved: That the United States Federal Government should significantly change its policy toward India.”

Throughout the year, students prepare for the “tourneys.” They spend at least five hours weekly, meeting with partners, researching, and practicing. In the Columbia area, Midlands Area Speech and Debate Association (MASADA) has 11 members. About seven more Columbia- area homeschoolers join others from across the state and region to form the Arx Axiom Debate Society.

Noelle Gebel is the SC Representative for NCFCA and director for MASADA, which meets every other week. At these meetings, as she explains, “Students form evidence rings and compile the evidence they gathered.” Coach Chip Hall also gives instruction on debate theory and techniques for the students to work on.

Students say why they spend so much time debating. “Debate helps me communicate what I believe,” says third- year debater, Alaina Safley from Chapin. Senior and firstyear debater, Alyssa Pinkham of West Columbia, agrees, “Debate is teaching me to think about arguments and logic and to provide evidence for and against that. We have to be aware and be able to back up everything we say.”

Andrea Lynde, homeschool mother of three former debaters in Columbia, saw her children benefit from debate in a variety of ways: “Learning to persuade, learning to dress for success, learning research and writing skills, and learning to type quickly. All these aside from basic public speaking skills, organization of thought, and discovering how people make decisions.”

Lynde said, “Debate broadens the student’s understanding of the world considerably as well. This year the team policy resolution has to do with U.S. policy toward India… not something about which an average teenager might concern himself.”

There is also Lincoln- Douglas form of debate in which two students debate each other.

Besides debating, about half of the local- area students also participate in the forensics part of the tournament. There are ten different individual events in which students can speak such as Apologetics, Dramatic Interpretation, Expository, Extemporaneous, Humorous Interpretation, Impromptu, and Persuasive. First place winners from South Carolina for these events, were Victoria Rentschler of Camden in Extemporaneous and Hillary Cooper in Impromptu.

This tournament was a qualifier for the upcoming Regionals tournament. Two more qualifying tournaments will be held in Acworth, Georgia and Wake Forest, North Carolina. Teams who place in the top eight are invited to attend the Regional Debate Tournament in April for Region 8: North and South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. After that, the best students will advance to Nationals in June.

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