- TLDR: WUDL Team Mazumdar and Lockwood (BASIS DC) Wins National Championship!
This weekend, students from across the nation gathered for the 4th Annual Urban Debate Middle School National Tournament. This tournament brings together students, grades 6-8, who have excelled at debate in their respective Urban Debate Leagues all season and qualified to represent their leagues at this prestigious national competition. The competition has grown more robust and the competitors more skilled every year, a testament to the hard work and dedication of young people all over the country and some great support from their UDL teams. WUDL sent six teams to represent the league:
- BASIS DC: (Ward 2) Seth and Pierce
- BASIS DC: (Ward 2) Lockwood and Mazumdar
- Montgomery Village: (MoCo) Anjum and Elangovan
- Oyster Adams: (Ward 3) Leonard and Goldblatt
- Stuart Hobson: (Ward 6) Neuroth and Kyd-Bruneau
- Statesman Academy: (Ward 8) Corbitt and Blalock
These teams have all displayed growth and competitive excellence throughout the season and are great community members to represent the WUDL. Some have been to the tournament before, while others are brand new qualifiers. Goldblatt/Leonard were Octo-Finalists last year. Elangovan and a different partner were also Octo-Finalists, while at Stuart Hobson, Neuroth is half of the reigning Middle School National Championship team from last year.
After the dust settled on preliminary rounds, BASIS Lockwood/Mazumdar advanced to quarter-finals, while Stuart Hobson Neuroth/Kyd-Bruneau advanced straight to Semi-Finals, the top seed after preliminary rounds. In their Semi-Final Round, they met BASIS, who had defeated iPrep Academy from Miami to advance to Semi-finals. Semi-Finals was a dramatic WUDL v WUDL round came down to the last ballot, with the final judge agonizing over their decision in a closely contested round. Ultimately, Lockwood/Mazumdar from BASIS DC advanced to the final round against MS 50 in (NY Urban Debate).
After another challenging and engaging debate with MS 50 about community activism, the role of government, indigenous rights, and fracking, BASIS DC emerged victorious. Like most of the rounds in this competition, the level of scholarship and poise demonstrated on both sides was far beyond the debaters’ years and comparable with many regional high school tournaments we’ve attended. This is MS 50’s best finish in the tournament, having been semi-finalists in previous years and we appreciate their creativity and drive that stand out among teams nationwide.
Speaker Awards:
- 2nd Speaker: Mazumdar, BASIS DC
- 6th Speaker: Neuroth, Stuart Hobson
- 8th Speaker: Pierce, BASIS DC
- 11th Speaker: Corbitt, Statesman Academy
- 12th Speaker: Seth, BASIS DC
- 14th Speaker: Lockwood, BASIS DC
- 16th Speaker: Blalock, Statesman Academy
Shout outs:
- WUDL Staff McAlister Clabaugh, Danielle Dupree, and Dr. Omar Price for leading our prep sessions
- Coaches / volunteers Greg Almeida, Myles Caliguire, Alexa Figueroa, Cesar Fortuna, Renee Fuentes, Dennis Martinez, Patrick McMullen, Kip Plaisted, Katie Proch, Guillermo Vidaurre, and Messai Yigletu for being great judges, coaches, and supporters.
- Danielle Dupree (again), whose great research and prep support proved pivotal in the final round.
- Isaac Allen at Debate! Kansas City for being a great tab partner this weekend