If you are interested in joining the Debate Team, just come to one of our meetings! Meetings are held every Monday and Thursday at 5 p.m. in Stern 103.
The HWS debate team competes throughout the school year at tournaments around the world. We regularly compete against, and beat, teams from Harvard, Yale and Stanford discussing current questions of politics, international relations, and law as well as more abstract or “fun” debates about art, science-fiction and social media. Our teams often advance to the elimination rounds of the national championships and in 2012 an HWS team won the US national championship title!
Our team hosts two tournaments each year, a large fall event - The Fall Classic - with nearly 400 participants from across North America and a more exclusive 16-team event - The International Round Robin @HWS - bringing together the best debaters from around the world in early April.
We meet three times a week for practices where members debate with and get feedback from one another and the coaches. Members are not required to attend all three meetings to be part of the team and each practice has a different focus to help new and returning members grow. Our members also enjoy hosting on-campus debate events, social gatherings and team parties throughout the year.
Hart House IV, Oct. 13-15, 2023, at the University of Toronto.
United States University Debate Championship (USUDC), Oct. 21-23, 2023, at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
Yale IV, Oct. 28-29, 2023, at Yale University.
World University Debate Championship (WUDC), Dec. 26, 2023-Jan. 5, 2024, in Vietnam.
MISSION STATEMENT
The HWS Debate Team is dedicated to promoting debate at the highest level. We promote a culture of excellence, of critical thought and of strong teamwork. Our members are confident public speakers who continually hone their analytic and rhetorical skills to master the art of persuasion.
PREVIOUS RESULTS
Advanced to the Octo-Finals of the 2022 World Championship
Ranked 13th at the 2021 North American Universities Debating Championship
Ranked 6th at the 2022 Uhuru Worlds Panthera Division Championship
Won the 2022 Vermont Debate Championship
Advanced to the Novice Semifinals of the 2022 National Championship
Advanced to the Finals of the 2022 Western Regional Debating Championship
Advanced to the Finals, Novice Finals, and Novice Semifinals of the 2022 Cornell University Debating Championship
Advanced to the Partial Octo-Finals of the 2021 World Championship
Won the 2021 Cross Debsoc Pre-United Asian Debating Championship
Won the 2021 Silver Championship at the Strathclyde President’s Cup
Won the 2021 English as Secondary Language category at the Hart House Intervarsity Debate Competition
Ranked 12th at the 2021 Yale Intervarsity Debate Competition
Ranked 22nd at the 2021 Oxford Intervarsity Debate Competition
Ranked 3rd at the 2021 Singapore Management University Debating Competition
Won the 2017 US Eastern Regional Novice Championship
Advanced to the octo-finals of the 2016 US National Championship
Advanced to the finals of the 2016 Colgate Open
Won the 2016 Cornell IV
Won the 2015 Brad Smith Debate Tournament @ University of Rochester
Advanced to finals of Queens in 2015
Gerald “Buzz” Klinger ’12 won Queens in 2014
Advanced to finals of Ottawa in 2014
Advanced to the finals of the 2013 Colgate Open
Advanced to the semi-finals of the 2013 US National Championships
Won the 2012 US National Championships
Advanced to the elimination rounds of the 2012 World Championships
Ranked 21st out of 396 teams at the 2012 World Championships
2012 Northeast Regional Champions
2011 Hart House IV Semifinals
2011 Yale IV Semifinals & 4th best speaker
2009 Northeast Regional Champions
judge results
Advanced to the EFL finals and Open octo-finals of the 2022 World Championship
Advanced to the Grand Finals of the 2022 Hart House Intervarsity Debate Competition
Advanced to the Grand Finals of the 2022 Western Intervarsity Debate Competition
Advanced to the OctoFinals 2023 North American Universities Debating Championship