The Thomas County Central High School Debate team has been contending in various tournaments across the state for several months with the hope of advancing to state competitions. Several students on the team have succeeded in qualifying.

Team members Ethan Nicoll and Jack Cantrell each qualified in policy debate, and Nathaniel Bellamy qualified in impromptu and student congress debate.

“I enjoy impromptu because they are the most random topics that are funny at times and help me think outside the box,” Bellamy said of his decision to compete in his chosen categories. “Student congress has always been a favorite of mine because seeing both sides of an argument has always been important to me, and with many different speakers there are many different arguments.”

These students spent a great deal of time preparing for their competitions. They participated in practice debates with the help of sponsor Brian Bellamy and their fellow team members and classmates. A copious amount of time and research went into preparing their arguments as well.

“I was excited when I found out I was advancing,” Ethan Nicholl said. “It showed that all my hard work had really paid off.”

Debate is an academic competition in which students compete in tournaments by arguing for or against an issue and formulate counter arguments for the opposing side’s argument. The purpose of this type of competition is to teach students to think critically, to see both sides of an issue, and to research and create evidence based arguments, Bellamy explains.

TCCHS Debate students have expressed their enjoyment of the program because it allows them to argue in a structured environment and expand their thinking processes. Several of the students have stated they joined debate to improve their speaking skills and learn how to formulate and present an argument even if they are nervous. These same students admit competing has taught them to have more confidence when presenting an argument.

However, like in most competitions, there are different levels of debate. One of the upper levels is state. There are two versions of this level: first or second year debaters and varsity debaters.

First and second year state competition requires that students compete in invitational tournaments, competitions held by schools across the state and in the same event at least twice to qualify for state. Varsity state differs because it requires students to place in the top 25 percent in order to qualify. For example, if a group of 12 students were to compete, only the top three would advance to state.

Another level of state competition is student congress. This level also requires advancing students to place in the top 25 percent.

Student congress is held the same weekend as first and second year state competition while varsity state is held at a separate time. This means it is possible for a student to qualify and compete in either student congress or first and second year state as well as varsity.

As the state competitions near, the sponsor and qualifying students are working harder than ever to prepare. They are still competing in as many tournaments as possible to gain as much experience as possible. The students are also participating in several more practice debates in the classroom, conducting their own research and piecing their arguments together outside of school.

“The best way for these students to prepare for the state competition is to do a lot of outside research,” Brian Bellamy explains. “And, if needed, they should do some writing to bring their argument together as well as have discussions among each other.”

To him, seeing these students work so hard and gain a positive impact from their participation is very rewarding. He believes a student has to want to learn and the dedication these students have shown proves they want to learn. He knows debate can teach students many skills they can utilize not only in competitions but in every aspect of their lives.

“I’ve seen some students leave here and do better in their college classes because they learned to speak up,” Brian Bellamy said. “They learned that they can speak their own minds and support their arguments with evidence.”

The first and second year and varsity student congress state competitions will take place on Feb. 8-9, 2019, at Johns Creek High School. The students are looking forward to the competition and several already have hopes for their achievements.

“I hope to achieve more strategies than wins,” Nathaniel Bellamy states. “That way I will know what to expect for next year.”