On Saturday morning, the Debate Team woke up at 2:30am for their first tournament of the 2023-24 season, The Grey Matter Invitational at the Cary Academy in North Carolina. After several mishaps the night beforehand, including a broken computer and lots of traffic, the team was ready to get started.
Teams competed from their own homes or at the homes of their teammates. Several people were competing for the first time since the last school year, and others were competing for the first time ever. It was certainly an early start, but one that was worth it.
Five varsity Public Forum (PF) teams and one novice Lincoln-Douglas (LD) debater participated. Vincent Galvan, a freshman, completed his first tournament in Lincoln Douglas Debate.
Siena Long, another freshman, also completed her first tournament, with her partner, PF Captain Izzy Russo. BJ Daoust and Takumi Wetherell also competed in Public Forum. The two teams are gearing up for the Jack Howe Invitational next weekend in Long Beach California. Sophia Scholz and Georgia Kasameyer will also be competing.
Some members of varsity Lincoln-Douglas debate also decided to compete in Public Forum for the first time this weekend. LD co-captains Noah Nikolai and Elayna Henderson, both juniors, finished with a 2-2 record. Oscar Amos and Nora Goldsmith went 2-2 and Gibson McIntosh and Ava Harris had 2-2 record as well.