St. Luke’s Debate Competes in National Tournament

St. Luke's Upper School Varsity Debate Team traveled to Kentucky from June 11-18 to compete in the 2022 National Speech and Debate Tournament. St. Luke’s was the only school from Connecticut that qualified to compete. Each St. Luke’s debater won a minimum of two ballots in preliminary rounds to be eligible for the national tournament.

The resolution for this tournament was: The U.S. federal government should substantially protect water resources in the United States. 

During the tournament, Will Moskowitz ‘25 and Charlie Adams ‘24 were partners. This was their first time qualifying for nationals. Will won his first round of extemporaneous debate in the supplemental events. Chris Briggs ‘24 competed in impromptu, and Laurel Aronian ‘25 competed in impromptu and spoken word poetry. Both Chris and Laurel not only qualified to represent St. Luke’s but also policy debate representing the Hudson Valley Debate District. Each won a ballot from Jimin Park, the former winner of the NSDA tournament in 2019. Sally Picon ‘24 competed in expository speech with her topic being "The Harms of Social Media."

St. Luke's Debate Coach Meredith MacLeod was asked to judge the final round of the Public Forum Debate. St. Luke’s Upper School Biology Teacher Hannah Gousse and Middle & Upper School Spanish Teacher Karen Rolfini-Beckenstein helped MacLeod chaperone the trip and also assisted in judging at the tournament.

While in Kentucky, the students enjoyed visiting the Muhammad Ali Center and local attractions and eateries. The debaters are excited to start their new season next year and look forward to hopefully qualifying for nationals again.