“Judges ready? Opponents ready? Time starts now.” This is debate—the art of persuasion.
Debaters use their room as the canvas, their thoughts as the sketch, their voices as the paintbrush, and their words as the individual strokes. With each line, they attempt to persuade the judges by depicting their perspective under a unique light. After a year of qualifying regional debate competitions in eleven cities with over 5000 participants, the top 120 teams were given the opportunity to participate in this year’s China Nationals. From August 12 to 14, SAS Puxi’s Public Forum debaters dedicated three full days to attend the Fourth National High School Academic Debate and Speech Championship Tournament.
This year, students from ninety schools around China debated a resolution about whether the
United Nations Security Council should be expanded to include more permanent members. From early prepping sessions to late night calls, all of the teams spent days researching and crafting both their affirmative and negative cases. Everyone wanted to be fully prepared for all of the obstacles that they could potentially face at their highly competitive tournament ahead.
On competition day, all of the debaters faced the challenge of maintaining their best game, while having to debate four intense rounds each. From the first constructive speech until the last final focus, these debaters constantly pulled out evidence cards, brainstormed new rebuttals, and tried to lure their opponents into well-set traps. For instance, some tricked their opponents to concede that effectiveness overweighs efficiency, which was a key to winning the debates on the affirmative side. After six preliminary rounds, only 32 out of the 120 teams were able to advance to the next round. Luckily, all of the SAS teams made it, three of which had perfect 6-0 records!
However, this was when it all became one step harder. Now, it came the elimination rounds.
Every debater brought their A-game because one misstep would equate to a daunting thought,
“I’m going home.” This meant that they will not be able to move up to the following round.
Thankfully, there were no worries, because SAS debaters went all out for the trophies. As a
matter of fact, two out of the four semifinalists were from SAS Puxi, and one team advanced to debate in the finals of the 2016 China Nationals against a team from Ren Da Fu Zhong (RDFZ).
Although SAS was ultimately not able to bring back the first place trophy, they were able to have fun and compete, making it all another worthwhile experience.
Currently a junior, Alina Zhu believes that it was overall “a very enlightening experience” which helped her to “better understand [her] strengths and weaknesses regarding debate.”
Matt Song, a fellow sophomore remarked that “China Nationals is a great opportunity for youth to discover and pursue their passion for speech and debate in an extremely competitive environment. I can’t wait to attend again next year!”
Lastly, Jenny Gao, another sophomore reminisced about “every moment of the tournament being forever cherished and remembered.”
To them, debate isn’t just a hobby. It’s their passion. Here are a few well-deserved congratulations!
Public Forum (High School Division):
2nd Place — Bridget Lu and Jenny Gao (Sophomores)
3rd Place — Renee Liu and Ray Tsao (Sophomores)
Top 8 — Alina Zhu (Junior) and Livia Zhu (Sophomore)
Top 16 — Matthew Song and Brian Li (Sophomores) and April Wang and Brandon Zhang
(Freshmen)
Top 32 — Marcus Khoo and Justin Zhou (Sophomores)
Public Forum (Middle School Division):
Top 32 — Ted Chang (Freshman) and his partner
Original Oratory
1st Place — Bernice Zhao (Junior)
Bridget Lu
Debaters use their room as the canvas, their thoughts as the sketch, their voices as the paintbrush, and their words as the individual strokes. With each line, they attempt to persuade the judges by depicting their perspective under a unique light. After a year of qualifying regional debate competitions in eleven cities with over 5000 participants, the top 120 teams were given the opportunity to participate in this year’s China Nationals. From August 12 to 14, SAS Puxi’s Public Forum debaters dedicated three full days to attend the Fourth National High School Academic Debate and Speech Championship Tournament.
 |
| Taken by Renee Liu |
United Nations Security Council should be expanded to include more permanent members. From early prepping sessions to late night calls, all of the teams spent days researching and crafting both their affirmative and negative cases. Everyone wanted to be fully prepared for all of the obstacles that they could potentially face at their highly competitive tournament ahead.
On competition day, all of the debaters faced the challenge of maintaining their best game, while having to debate four intense rounds each. From the first constructive speech until the last final focus, these debaters constantly pulled out evidence cards, brainstormed new rebuttals, and tried to lure their opponents into well-set traps. For instance, some tricked their opponents to concede that effectiveness overweighs efficiency, which was a key to winning the debates on the affirmative side. After six preliminary rounds, only 32 out of the 120 teams were able to advance to the next round. Luckily, all of the SAS teams made it, three of which had perfect 6-0 records!
However, this was when it all became one step harder. Now, it came the elimination rounds.
Every debater brought their A-game because one misstep would equate to a daunting thought,
“I’m going home.” This meant that they will not be able to move up to the following round.
Thankfully, there were no worries, because SAS debaters went all out for the trophies. As a
matter of fact, two out of the four semifinalists were from SAS Puxi, and one team advanced to debate in the finals of the 2016 China Nationals against a team from Ren Da Fu Zhong (RDFZ).
Although SAS was ultimately not able to bring back the first place trophy, they were able to have fun and compete, making it all another worthwhile experience.
Currently a junior, Alina Zhu believes that it was overall “a very enlightening experience” which helped her to “better understand [her] strengths and weaknesses regarding debate.”
Matt Song, a fellow sophomore remarked that “China Nationals is a great opportunity for youth to discover and pursue their passion for speech and debate in an extremely competitive environment. I can’t wait to attend again next year!”
Lastly, Jenny Gao, another sophomore reminisced about “every moment of the tournament being forever cherished and remembered.”
To them, debate isn’t just a hobby. It’s their passion. Here are a few well-deserved congratulations!
 |
| Taken by SAS Parents |
2nd Place — Bridget Lu and Jenny Gao (Sophomores)
3rd Place — Renee Liu and Ray Tsao (Sophomores)
Top 8 — Alina Zhu (Junior) and Livia Zhu (Sophomore)
Top 16 — Matthew Song and Brian Li (Sophomores) and April Wang and Brandon Zhang
(Freshmen)
Top 32 — Marcus Khoo and Justin Zhou (Sophomores)
Public Forum (Middle School Division):
Top 32 — Ted Chang (Freshman) and his partner
Original Oratory
1st Place — Bernice Zhao (Junior)
Bridget Lu
