Portsmouth does well in second debate tournament at Oyster River: Seacoast education news
Portsmouth comes up strong in another debate
The New Hampshire High School Debate League second tournament of the season was hosted by Oyster River High school with over 40 students competing. The competitors debated the topic of whether or not the U.S federal government should increase investments in high speed rail. The U.S. National Debate organization sets a new resolution every two months, picking current topics with substantial information on both sides of a difficult question.
Portsmouth High School continues competing with the largest N.H. high school teams and continues to perform well. In the team category, Marlon Pinto and Mariam Nada won first place, and Charlie Anderson and Isobel Horowitz earned second place. In the individual category, Marlon Pinto placed third, and Isobel Horowitz placed fourth.
Debate is a great opportunity for students. The coach of Alvirne High School who just recently created a debate team says, “After two debates, I’ve already noticed the change in those students in the classroom. The kids on our debate team just perform better.”
Isobel Horowitz, a new debater, says she has already “become much more confident and learned a lot from watching the other debaters.” The Portsmouth Debate Team is one of many academically challenging team competitions available to PHS students such as Model UN and Math Team.
As the N.H. Debate League grows, more volunteer judges are needed. For every two debate teams, one volunteer judge is needed. Tournaments start around 8:30 a.m. and complete around 2 p.m. on Saturdays. The next tournament is Dec. 17 at Alvrine High School in Hudson, N.H. If you are interested in supporting this or future tournaments, contact the PHS Debate Team volunteer judge coordinator at steven@consumegov.com.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth NH does well in debate tournament: Seacoast education news
