Debate squad rocks the 'Big D'

By: Nick Barron

Posted: 1/10/05

As most students were busy stuffing stockings and opening gifts, the UMKC debate squad readied for the start of what looks to be another successful semester.

Two tournaments, the William R. DeMouget Debates and the University of Texas-Dallas Fear and Loathing in Dallas, kicked-off the squad's winter semester activities between Jan. 4-9.

As of press time, third-year debaters Malcolm Gordon and Austin Case took first place in the DeMouget tournament, winning all 10 of their debates, and were poised to finish first or second in the second debate.

"I can't predict how it's going to turn out, but we're [Gordon and Case] either going to wind up first or second," Linda Collier, debate squad director, said by telephone Sunday night.

Gordon and Case finished all six preliminary rounds of the DeMouget tournament with a perfect record and sailed through the four elimination rounds undefeated to take the top prize.

The team with the best combined record of both tournaments will be awarded the Best Two Stepper Trophy, which Gordon and squad coach Bryce Dietrich, a former member, won last year. Collier said the Two Stepper Trophy was set to be awarded at the completion of the second debate on Monday.

Gordon was named Fifth Best Speaker at the DeMouget tournament.

The Dallas tournaments were the first competitions for the squad since a tournament at Wake Forest University in November, but the break didn't mean time off for squad members, who have spent the past month preparing for the new semester.

Members were given assignments at their final meeting last semester in early December and were asked to research and prepare arguments prior to leaving for Dallas, work that appears to have paid off.

"I feel really good [about the results] because it was the fact that they did their assignments...over the break," said Linda Collier, debate squad director. "They take a tremendous amount of personal responsibility."

At least "a couple of hours a day" were spent preparing over the break, according to Gordon.

"We read through a lot of literature, organize arguments, produce a couple of strategies," Gordon said.

At the beginning of each debate season, the Cross Examination Debate Association issues a resolution that will be the basis of each debate tournament for that year. This year's resolution deals with energy policy.

Debaters then spend countless hours researching and preparing arguments based on the resolution, constantly tweaking their arguments, both pro and con.

"So half of our debates are on the affirmative for the resolution, and the other half are against," Case said.

Along with Collier, the squad is aided by full-time coach Matt Vega, part-time coach Justin Stanley and student coaches Josh Coffman and Dietrich.

"I may be nuts, but I think this is the earliest the UMKC squad has started the semester," Collier said.

The Dallas tournaments signal the beginning of the most intense and grueling stretch of the debate season as squads from across the country begin "scrapping to qualify for the national tournament," Collier said.

Debate squads will compete in two national tournaments in March, one of which, the National Debate Tournament, is by invitation only, much like the NCAA Basketball Championships.

Only 78 teams will compete in the national tournament at Gonzaga University on March 25-28, "where only a select number of teams are invited," Collier said.

One way for members of the UMKC squad to make it to the big dance is by winning the District 3 Tournament, comprised of teams from Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas, the last weekend of February. This process is much like the Kangaroos basketball teams winning the Mid-Continent Championships and thereby being invited to the NCAA Championships.

Dietrich and Gordon won the district tournament last year.

The other national tournament is hosted by the Cross Examination Debate Association and features nearly any debate squad that is a member of the organization.

"So it generally winds up being in excess of 300 teams that end up being in the tournament," Collier said.

While national rankings will not be officially available until April 1, Collier estimates her squad is currently "in or near the top 10" in the country.

Up next for the local squad is a tournament hosted by Baylor University on Jan. 22-24.

nbarron@unews.com