Wayzata is home to several clubs, activities and communities. Each serves its own purpose, creating a positive impact on a significant portion of the student body. One of these many clubs is the Debate Team, fulfilling its essential role of developing effective communication skills, persuasive research abilities and a critical thinking mindset— all important aspects of students’ characters throughout their lives.
Recently, a chance for students to showcase the skills they developed from the season arose: Junior Varsity and Novice State. This tournament, presented at Eagan High School, hosted students of multiple schools across the state. This provided a sense of community and collective insight. A student on Wayzata’s debate team, Zuhair Khan, shared his personal experience during this tournament: “It was an experience that was not only competitive, but also fun.”
Like Zuhair, many other students highlighted the fun aspects of this tournament. Anvita Miryala, another member of the Debate Team, exclaimed that she “loved hanging out with friends and enjoyed the food,” and, as she stated, “even though it was overpriced!”
While many students found debate to be an activity to relieve stress and have fun, debate was also portrayed as an approach to improve themselves and gain skills. This personal interest and benefit was seen as a motivation for students. As Zuhair implies: “It was the final competition testing our skills.” Another member of the debate team, Akruti Narayanan, initially saw debate as “an opportunity to gain skills and confidence.”
Despite this being the common theme among students, there were, unmistakably, other factors that went into students’ motivation. As Arush Mishra stated, he “did it for the college apps.” Nevertheless, debate was proven to have a positive impact on both a student’s current and future character.
Another important aspect of the Junior Varsity and Novice state was the teamwork that was shown. In many debate formats, teamwork is essential. It is not only a requirement, but also a benefit to both sides of an argument. Zuhair described the team as a place where community was fostered and collaboration was created. He stated: “It further bonded the team and strengthened ties with other schools.” In Wayzata, community within the school is important, but building relationships and connections with others is equally beneficial. Debate provides this crucial opportunity through students’ growth and development throughout the season.
Debate has proven to be an influential sport in Wayzata, providing essential communication skills and core memories. The collaboration and teamwork present in this team will have a lasting impact on our student body. In particular, Junior Varsity and Novice state has given the chance for students to showcase their developed skills throughout the season, building relationships not only within Wayzata, but with other communities across Minnesota.
