On Friday, the inaugural Frederick County Debate Tournament took place between Frederick, Oakdale, and Walkersville High Schools. Urbana could not yet field a team, but they sent a coach to judge, as they hope to bring a team to the next competition. Although Walkersville put up a fierce fight and made it to the final round, they lost by one point. Bailey Watson, who was teamed up with Sarah Khan, didn’t think her team would make it to the end, but she was pleasantly surprised that they made it to the final round.
This event was more than two years in the making, and marked a step forward for FCPS as far as debate. Surrounding counties have had their own debate leagues for years, yet Frederick County has lagged behind. Although there is a speech and debate course in the county curriculum, currently FHS is the only school to actually run the class. Both WHS and Oakdale built their teams through Debate Clubs, which is difficult because coaches don’t see students every day.
The tournament is set up so teams of two students are given a random topic and a position either supporting or opposing the topic. Each team then has ten minutes to research it. After the time is up, each team begins the debate with an opening statement, to which both opinions have two minutes to create a rebuttal to their aforementioned statement. Once the rebuttals are presented, each team comes up with a closing statement, which ends the debate.
Walkersville’s first team was composed of Norah Kelley and Memphis Essmyer, while their second team consisted of Sarah Khan and Bailey Watson. Supporters of the debate team, along with family members, also arrived at the event to support both teams.
In the first round, Oakdale used an unreliable article to refute the prompt that teachers should be graded by students, and Norah Kelley was able to quote and refute their claim from the same article, stating that the article begins with the idea that the methods described below are very reckless. After the tournament, Norah explained her thoughts:
“The debate tournament was very fun and exciting. It was my first time doing it, and I feel like I learned a lot from my experience there.”
Once teams debated their hardest and were knocked out of the tournament, only Frederick and Walkersville’s second team stood to determine a victor. They had to argue whether or not the Eleanor Roosevelt quote “”No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” was relevant in modern society. Frederick argued that social media and the internet made the quote invalid, while Walkersville argued that the quote held true no matter the time or place. Frederick ultimately came out on top by a single-point. Walkersville’s debate club advisor Mrs. Kuske believed that the tournament was a great success despite their loss, saying that the event was the first real debate competition on a wider scale, and that WHS’ students really stepped up. “Last year, when we were first figuring out how a debate tournament would work, we had a friendly bout with FHS. Our kids were blown away. The debate students at FHS were confident and had practiced in class,” said Mrs. Kuske. “It could have been a blow to our confidence, but it was a motivator. My team got serious about competition, and it showed at this tournament.”
The first FCPS Debate Tournament marked an important milestone for the county, showcasing the resilience, talent, and determination of Walkersville High School’s debate team among others. Despite facing challenges and narrowly missing victory, the students demonstrated exceptional skill and a commitment to excellence that left a lasting impression. As debate continues to grow in Frederick County, Walkersville’s performance serves as an inspiring example of how passion and perseverance can overcome the odds. This event not only fostered critical thinking and collaboration but also laid the foundation for a thriving debate culture in the city of Frederick for years to come.
