LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE RETURNS TO PENINSULA
This year, Peninsula’s Speech and Debate program is reintroducing the Lincoln- Douglas (LD) debates, a competitive form of one-on-one debate. According to Debate Coach David Dosch, it consists of fast paced, 30-minute rounds meant to test competitor’s quick thinking skills and resilience. Sophomore Anish Ramireddy, a member of the LD debate team, explained that back when Peninsula’s debate began, LD was one of the most popular forms of debate. They won multiple large-scale competitions, and were one of the most successful programs at Peninsula.
According to Dosch, LD debate is extremely different from other types offered at Peninsula, and covers topics that increasingly challenge the debater’s depth of knowledge.
“Getting a rotation of topics in advance allows for further depth of knowledge,” junior Junshik Ham said. “It is key to understanding the ethical implications and tangible outcomes of certain ideologies and mindsets, which is what LD resolutions are based on.”
Because of its widespread popularity and triumphs, LD was greatly missed last year when Debate Coach Scott Wheeler stopped coaching the program when he decided his efforts would be more effective if he focused them primarily on policy debate. With difficulty finding another LD coach, it was temporarily shut down.
However, with the emergence of new a coach this year, Dosch, the team welcomes him to the program as interest in LD has sparked once more.
Dosch explains that this year, the LD program is mainly focused on bringing in new students and growing the team.
“If you are unsure about whether or not debate is something you might have interest in, the best way to decide is by coming to a practice,” Dosch said. “Often students don’t realize debate is something they have interest in until they have gone to a tournament and have gotten some competitive experience under their belt.”
According to Ramireddy, in order for the team to go to nationals this year, they have to participate in several competitions to qualify beforehand. He explained that this year the team is simply hoping to gain experience, as most of the team has never done high school LD level debate before. Dosch has trained nationally ranked teams, and the students are very hopeful that if they put in the effort they will do well this year and in years to come.
“Winning the tournament is more about learned skills than intrinsic talent, and that’s what I love about it,” Ham said. No one is naturally good or bad at the event, it is about how much you want it.”
