ILS is home to some of the most intelligent, agile debaters there are. On January 22nd, they represented La Salle in another tournament and, with the help of their amazing coach Mr. JC Moya, were extremely successful once again. Senior Delia Sauer won 5th place in Original Oratory, and senior Sophia Mena won 4th place in Lincoln Douglas Debate.

“I was expecting to hear some interesting speeches. It’s always fun to see the array of topics other competitors come up with and I really do learn a lot,” said Sauer. 

The team consists of students from all grades, and they’ve been working hard to get where they are today. They are also hoping to go to Washington D.C this year, something the team did annually before the pandemic hit.

“My expectations weren’t the highest because it was a very negative-biased resolution, so creating an affirmative case was really tough,” explained sophomore Mia Mena, whose topic was if illicit drugs should be legalized.

Sophomore Victoria Pla, being Mena’s debate partner, covered the same topic she did. While Pla did face some challenges when it came to her resolution, she found the overall topic interesting.  “I was not very fond of the resolution, so I did find it hard to prepare,” explained Pla. “Nonetheless, I was excited to see how things would play out during rounds.”

Other students, such as senior Delia Sauer, competed in Original Oratory, where there isn’t a specific topic set. However, the topic of one of her speeches covered the flaws of the American veteran healthcare system and methods to minimize challenges in said system. 

Overall, the Royal Debate Team had a successful tournament!