Junior Debating in Tübingen

Friday 5/7/24
On Friday, the first day of the finals tournament of Junior Debating, we were introduced to the other finalists and, of course, to where we would stay. The event was held in Tübingen, and we were accommodated in a youth hostel along the River Neckar. Our debaters were excited to present their speeches, although they were a little nervous and stressed.
The first debate of the day was a prepared one against Gesamtschule Bergedorf, discussing the motion "This House believes that humanity is incapable of learning from its past." We were on the proposition side. The other team was a decent challenge, but our speakers were much better prepared and more confident, which is why we won the first round relatively easily. With that happy win, we finished our first day, went to sleep, and also prepared for the next big debates.

Saturday 6/7/24
Saturday was going to be a busy day, depending on how well we did in our debates. We started directly with our first debate of the day, which was an impromptu one. Again, we were the proposition team against Lessing Gymnasium Winnenden, discussing the motion "Should online shopping be forbidden?"
The speakers for today weren't the same ones as before; for this debate, we selected our three best debaters to secure our qualification to the next rounds. The debate was interesting, with both sides bringing up amazing points, making it pretty hard to tell which team would win. But in the end, we won all the judges' votes.
The day was still not over yet. Our speakers had to participate in another debate a few hours later, which was a prepared one. This time, we were the opposition team, tackling the same motion from the previous day: "This House believes that humanity is incapable of learning from its past." Despite being tired and stressed, our debaters managed to convince the judges, and we broke through to make it to the semi-finals.
In the late afternoon, we faced a tough challenge in the semi-finals with an impromptu motion: "This House believes that alpine sports should be forbidden." The debate was heavily fought over, and unfortunately, the team that was later announced as the winner of the Junior Finals, Goethe Gymnasium from Emmendingen, won against us here.

Sunday 7/7/24
On Sunday, the finals took place with an impromptu debate on the motion "Family is more important than friends." Goethe Gymnasium from Emmendingen, the same school we had faced in the semi-finals, won the final debate.
Although we were ultimately eliminated as semi-finalists, we were proud of our performance throughout the tournament. Competing against the 10 best-ranked schools of the season 2023/24 was an incredible experience, and we look forward to participating again next year.