LHS debate team makes cut in international competition

Tierney Brown, Alex Adamczyk and James Mackey are competing in the IPPF debates. (Photo courtesy LHS)

LAKEWOOD – It’s hard to argue with success, so the Lakewood High School debate team is arguably one of the nation’s best.

The team – for the third consecutive year – is among the top teams in the prestigious Bickel & Brewer/New York University International Public Policy Forum debate competition, one of 32 international teams competing for eight berths in the finals and a shot at a $10,000 grand prize.

A Lakewood High debate team has been among the last eight teams in each of the past two annual Bickel and Brewer competitions, but both times failed to qualify for the final four and an all-expenses-paid trip to the last round in New York City in April.

This year, eight teams will qualify for the trip, said LHS debate team coach Gregory Davis, who noted the competition is unique.

“This is a unique sort of approach because the preliminary rounds are done in writing, we transmit out cases by e-mail and then the final rounds are oral debates in New York,” Davis said “It’s unique in that you have to be able to write exceptionally well to begin with, and you have to argue exceptionally well in writing and orally. So that really kind of rounds out the debate experience.”

More than 230 high schools representing 40 states and 31 foreign countries entered the competition, addressing this year’s topic, “Resolved: The United Nations should substantially increase humanitarian assistance for persons living in poverty.” The initial essays were reviewed by a review committee, which determined the Top 32 teams based on the overall quality of each 2,800-word qualifying round essay.

“Lakewood High School has proven itself in this early round of competition,” said William A. Brewer III, partner at the Bickel & Brewer law firm and founder of the IPPF. “These students now begin a challenging single-elimination written debate competition – taking part in a contest format that is unlike any other found in debate today.”

The three-person team now will compete against Atlantic Community High School in Florida in another written debate in which the teams will present a series of papers in a back-and-forth e-mail exchange. A panel of judges will review the papers in the order they are presented and their vote will determine which of the two teams will advance to the “Sweet 16” round.

The three-person LHS IPPF competition team – seniors Alex Adamczyk, Tierney Brown and James Mackey – has been doing triple duty while compiling their case, coach Davis said. The trio is part of a 76-member debate team coached by Davis.

“They are doing this in addition to their course requirements and their local debate competitions. It takes a lot of research,” Davis said.

It also takes a lot of give-and-take among the three teammates.

“They get together personally, they also edit – we use Google Docs quite a bit to be able to edit all at the same time. And they’re students, they text and talk on their cell phones constantly,” Davis said with a chuckle. “They are constantly coming up with their own, unique ideas and then running them by their other two colleagues and, ultimately, they come up with what they want to argue.”

The winning teams will be announced Dec. 23.

The next round also involves a series of papers submitted by two teams in a head-to-head competition. Judges on Feb. 17 will select the “Elite 8” teams, which earn an all-expenses-paid trip to the finals competition, April 16-18, 2010 on the New York University campus.

The format in the finals gives the teams the opportunity to supplement their written presentations with oral arguments. Some of the world’s foremost experts in debate, business, law and politics will judge the oral debates and select the 2009-2010 champion. Ret. General Wesley Clark will serve as one of the judges and will deliver the keynote address at the IPPF Finals Banquet, where the winner of the competition will be revealed. The winning school takes home a $10,000 grand prize and the coveted “Bickel & Brewer Cup,” a traveling trophy.

The complete list of top 32 schools is as follows: All Saints Episcopal School, Texas; Atlantic Community High School, Florida; Chaparral High School, Colorado; Cherry Creek High School, Colorado; Clear Brook High School, Texas; Clovis East High School, California; Fargo Shanley High School, North Dakota; Hamilton High School, Arizona; Henry Clay High School, Kentucky; Henry W. Grady High School, Georgia; Highland Park High School, Illinois; John Hampden Grammar School, England; Korean Minjok Leadership Academy, Republic of Korea; La Salle College High School, Pennsylvania; Lakewood High School, Colorado; Maritzburg College, South Africa; Mastermind, Bangladesh; McNeil High School, Texas; Nanyang Girls’ High School, Singapore; National College “Emil Racovita,” Romania; Notre Dame High School, California; Plano Senior High School, Texas; Plano East Senior High School, Texas; Princess Anne High School, Virginia; Raffles Institution-Ministry of Education, Singapore; Ross Sterling High School, Texas; Samuel Marsden Collegiate College, New Zealand; Shady Side Academy, Pennsylvania; Suncoast High School, Florida; Valley Regional High School, Connecticut; Walter Johnson High School, Maryland; and Whitehaven High School, Tennessee.

The International Public Policy Forum was founded by the Bickel & Brewer Foundation in 2001, and is jointly administered with New York University. The program is available at no cost to all high schools around the world – public and private. Since its inception, the IPPF has awarded more than $800,000 in support of forensic activities at the secondary school and collegiate levels.

It is endorsed by leading forensic agencies such as the National Forensic League, National Association of Urban Debate Leagues, the International Debate Education Association, the Impact Coalition, ALOUD and the National Debate Coaches Association.

The foundation is a private, non-profit organization funded by companies, individuals and the national law firm of Bickel & Brewer. With offices in Dallas and New York, the foundation has received widespread recognition for its efforts to create, fund and manage a variety of educational programs.

Visit the IPPF web site for more information.