Judge a few debate rounds, and you’ll always notice that debaters are a bit ahead of the curve. We debated infrastructure a decade before Congress got around to funding it, Criminal Justice Reform while George Floyd was still alive, and Arms Sales and Russia / NATO Security Cooperation when Europe was still at peace. 

What isn’t always true is that we get to do so in front of the folks who literally do the policies we advocate for in their day to day lives. 

WUDL and the UK Embassy to the United States have been talking about hosting a public debate for 18 months, and it was delayed a year due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine (which would have been our subject.) A year later, we were finally able to put this event on, and by all accounts, it was a huge success. 

8 WUDL teams representing Banneker, BASIS, Capital City, Douglas, DuVal, Phelps, and School Without Walls, competed in two preliminary rounds before an array of staff from the UK Embassy, and in the spirit of trans-Atlantic cooperation, some experts from the US State Department too. 

The students chose to narrow the topic to just NATO security cooperation around bio-technology, meaning that most had to re-write new cases over the three weeks before the event. Competing in front of an audience well versed in NATO and international relations also led to additional adaptation, instead of the usual teachers and community members who judge many of the local tournaments.

After all the dust settled, BASIS DC’s Leah and Daniella prevailed. They were the youngest entries, heralding a bright future for WUDL. 

From tournament champ Leah: 

“It was an unforgettable opportunity, I had fun at every moment,” 

From Marie-Celeste, who advanced to, but lost the final round:

While my partner and I were unprepared (meeting the night before), the Ambassador’s Cup was a great opportunity to hear from experts on the topic, and I feel like I really grew as a debater, especially in “thinking on the fly” as our judges put it.”