The McClancy Speech and Debate Team celebrated recent success as senior Qasim Chaudhry claimed first place for Varsity Lincoln-Douglas debate at a tournament hosted by Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School. By winning, Chaudhry has earned a half-qualification for the New York State Championship in April of 2023.

McClancy Debate competes in the Brooklyn-Queens Catholic Forensic League (BQCFL) which hosts tournaments around the Brooklyn diocese. At the October 22nd tournament, Chaudhry competed against students from other schools in three debate rounds. Qasim emerged victorious in two of the three rounds, generating enough points to win his pool outright. Over the next few tournaments, Chaudhry and other McClancy debaters will seek to earn qualifications for the state tournament at Hofstra University, where they will compete for a spot at the National Championship in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Lincoln-Douglas debate tests a competitor’s ability to conduct research, cross-examine their opponent, and defend their position using strong evidence. Qasim had to be prepared to be on both sides of the issue, which for September and October was whether the United States ought to provide single-payer health care.  The league offers a variety of speech and debate competitions. Extemporaneous speaking, for example, tasks competitors with creating a speech about recent news and delivering it to a judge within 30 minutes. Public Forum is another type of debate event, where teams of two students argue over a resolution about politics, with one team affirming the resolution while the other negates. 

The Speech and Debate team continues to seek members, especially for competition. If you are interested in joining, please register for Google Classroom and attend the next meeting.

Qasim Chaudhry, stands with his trophy. Credit: Coach Sean O’Connell