Portsmouth High School debate team wins awards in 2023-24 season opener

Special to Seacoastonline
·1 min read

PORTSMOUTH — The New Hampshire High School Debate League season opened at Portsmouth High School on Sept. 30.  Twelve Portsmouth High School debaters competed against students from four other schools, including Phillips Exeter Academy, Oyster River, Spaulding and Alvirne.

More than 30 students debated in the public forum format on the resolution “whether or not to increase a military presence in the Arctic.” In this format, a coin flip determines if a team will argue pro or con the resolution, so competitors need to be prepared for either argument.

Portsmouth High School debate team members, in front, from left, are Charlie Anderson, Hailey Venuto, Anya Bake, Mariam Nada, Lexi Lambert and Addyson Demers. In back are Marlon Pinto, Owen Coffey, Charlie Honeyman, Rithika Rajavel, Nina Cummins and Vritti Mehra. The team hosted a competition Sept. 30, 2023.
Portsmouth High School debate team members, in front, from left, are Charlie Anderson, Hailey Venuto, Anya Bake, Mariam Nada, Lexi Lambert and Addyson Demers. In back are Marlon Pinto, Owen Coffey, Charlie Honeyman, Rithika Rajavel, Nina Cummins and Vritti Mehra. The team hosted a competition Sept. 30, 2023.

Many of those competitors had never debated before including four students from Portsmouth: Charlie Honeyman, Vritti Mehra, Addyson Demers, and Sofia Mohenda.  After three rounds, the team of juniors Owen Coffey and Captain Hailey Venuto went undefeated and came in first in the team category   Portsmouth swept the individual speaker category with Owen Coffey coming in third, junior Charlie Anderson coming in second, and Hailey Venuto coming in first.

Charlie Anderson, Hailey Venuto and Owen Coffey of the Portsmouth High School debate team were award winners in a Sept. 30, 2023 competition.
Charlie Anderson, Hailey Venuto and Owen Coffey of the Portsmouth High School debate team were award winners in a Sept. 30, 2023 competition.

Portsmouth will travel next to Phillips Exeter Academy. PHS in February is aiming to debate at the Harvard tournament.  As more students compete, the team is required to provide a judge for every two competing teams.  Residents who could travel to other New Hampshire schools to help judge can contact, parent/judge coordinator steven@consumegov.com.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth High School debate team opens 2023-24 season