A Month Full of National Tournaments!
February brought with it a flurry of national tournaments! Last month, thirty-nine SVUDL students competed in at least one national competition, with almost half of those students competing at two or more tournaments over the course of the month.
Kicking off the month was the 39th Annual Stanford Invitational, held online from Saturday, February 8th through Monday, February 10th. Varsity entries at this national circuit tournament vied for coveted bids to the 2025 Tournament of Champions.
This year’s Stanford Invitational saw nineteen SVUDL students entered, including two Public Forum Debate teams from Independence High School and three World Schools Debate teams from Independence High School, Latino College Preparatory Academy, and Silver Creek High School.
Over six preliminary rounds, Public Forum debaters considered whether or not the United States should become a party to the International Criminal Court, weighing advantages and disadvantages in areas such as global human rights, conflict hotspots, and even domestic agricultural production. Meanwhile, World Schools debaters argued six different motions over the course of the weekend, with topics including the effect of visitor caps on major tourist destinations, the impact of industrialized agriculture, and the perceived dichotomy between the “natural” and the “artificial”.
Students shared that the Stanford Invitational was an excellent opportunity to test out the skills they had honed over the earlier part of the school year and identify areas of growth as they geared up for the peak of the tournament season.
Competition on the national circuit didn’t stop at Stanford. The very next weekend, over twenty-five SVUDL students woke up bright and early, ready to compete at the 2025 Cal Invitational. A classic national circuit competition and the largest high school Speech and Debate tournament in the country, the Cal Invitational was held almost entirely in-person on UC Berkeley’s campus from Saturday, February 15th to Monday, February 16th. (Only the World Schools division, a relatively new addition to Cal’s event schedule, was held online.)
At Cal, SVUDL entries were represented across eight different Speech and Debate divisions, including Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Policy Debate, Public Forum Debate, and World Schools Debate, as well as Extemporaneous Speaking, Impromptu Speaking, Informative Speaking, and Original Oratory. Thirteen in-person competitors from Independence High School, Mt. Pleasant High School, and Silver Creek High School made their way to and from UC Berkeley on Saturday and Sunday, while fourteen virtual World Schools competitors from Independence High School and Latino College Preparatory Academy gathered off-campus in San José for their rounds.
The days were long, and the competition appropriately fierce, at the biggest tournament of the season. But despite the grueling wake-up times and packed schedule, the in-person SVUDL cohort supported one another throughout the weekend at their home base in Dwinelle Hall, sharing wins and losses and prepping for upcoming rounds next to the fully-stocked SVUDL snack cart.
Interestingly, the February topics for Lincoln-Douglas and Public Forum both featured a focus on the International Criminal Court (ICC), which offered a unique opportunity for collaboration between SVUDL entries in both events. Ria Tyagi, a senior at Mt. Pleasant High School and previous Policy and World Schools debater, competed in Lincoln-Douglas Debate for the first time at the Cal Invitational in the Junior Varsity Division. Before her final Lincoln-Douglas round on Saturday night, Independence High School students and Public Forum debaters Ojas Gandhi and Frank Shau shared argument advice and evidence cards with Tyagi as she prepared to argue on the Negative against an ICC Affirmative. This was just one of many instances of cross-school collaboration and encouragement among the SVUDL cohort at Berkeley that enhanced the competitive experience for all.
SVUDL’s virtual World Schools cohort also came together within their teams to prepare themselves for diverse motions throughout the weekend. Among the topics debated included the Supreme Court’s decision to ban affirmative action in college admissions and the desirability of a world without nuclear capabilities.
The final tournament of the month was the 3rd Annual TOC Digital Speech and Debate Series 2, a virtual tournament held by the University of Kentucky (which also hosts the famed Tournament of Champions every spring). From Friday, February 22nd through Sunday, February 24th, twenty-four students represented our league across the Policy Debate, Public Forum Debate, World Schools Debate, and Informative Speaking divisions. Familiar names from Independence High School, Latino College Preparatory Academy, and Silver Creek High School competed at the online national tournament, joined by peers from Yerba Buena High School in the Policy division.
We are impressed by the dedication and skill demonstrated by SVUDL students at last month’s competitions. A special shout out goes to all of our judges, especially our alumni judges, at all three tournaments! Our students could not compete without your time and energy as hired and volunteer judges, and we are grateful to have you as part of our community.
