HWS News
28 August 2020 HWS Debate Success at Malaysian Institute Tournament
HWS Debate once again showed its caliber as Sarim Karim ’22 and Sreyan Kanungo ’23 ranked in the top six teams competing in a tournament hosted by the Malaysian Institute for Debate and Public Speaking. The event was held online. The HWS pair competed in five preliminary rounds in the Youth Debate Open and finished as semi-finalists. This tournament marks the duos debut competition together.
In addition to their strong team performance, both speakers were individually ranked in the top 10 performers at the competition. Karim took home the honor of being the sixth best speaker overall. Kanungo also earned distinction by ranking ninth. Participation at this tournament was open only to debaters who have competed in major, prestigious tournaments such as the World Championships.
HWS Debate will officially begin its season Monday, Aug. 24. Despite being on summer break, members of the team have been competing and ranking in tournaments, including the competitive Asian Queer Open and the Battle of the Bandwidth.
All tournaments for the coming semester will be held online. HWS will host its annual International Round Robin on Sept. 12-13, and then host the 2020 US National Championship on Oct. 3-5.
“It’s going to be a very exciting semester and we expect to recruit a big group of new team members,” says Associate Professor of Philosophy and Debate Coach Eric Barnes. “The pandemic isn’t stopping the debate team from achieving great things. In some ways, the online tournaments are better, because you can compete with a more diverse international field.”