Parker School hosted its first Neighbor Island Debate Tournament in person after two years of online debate on January13th-14th. Eight schools from neighboring islands flew over on Thursday and Friday to compete in speech and debate at the first state qualifying tournament of the year. The campus was bustling with excitement and preparation as debaters flocked between classrooms. After rounds, debaters enjoyed hot chocolate and s’mores around a bonfire while catching up with each other.
The tournament ran smoothly thanks to the amazing work and organization of Aunty Mahea, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Delgado, Uncle Eric, the entire maintenance team, and the many parent volunteers who arrived early in the morning and stayed long after sunset to support the debate program. It was also Mr. Bartz’s first tournament as the head coach of Parker’s debate team.
All debaters gave their best and learned valuable lessons from the tournament, and many advanced to elimination rounds and qualified to compete at the state tournament later this year.
In novice Lincoln-Douglas debate, Hugo Amos (a senior) placed 6th, Oscar Amos (a freshman) placed 4th, and Noah (a sophomore) placed 3rd.
In novice Public Forum debate, Takumi Wetherall (a freshman) and BJ Doust (a freshman) placed 2nd.
In Champion Lincoln Douglas debate, Genevieve Savage (a senior) won first place.
The debate team will be traveling to Oahu on February 17th-19th to compete at the Iolani Debate Tournament, which is the next chance to qualify for states. Wish them luck!