Created by Upper School Student Tony Yu. Edited by Roberto Jones

During the second weekend of April, the ASF Speech and Debate Team assembled its wonderful members for yet another challenging tournament. This time hosted by PrepaTec Esmeralda.

Our coaches, Roberto Jones & Magally Stransky decided to create three balanced teams in order for novices to compete alongside more experienced debaters, switching things up for once. The first powerful group of Bears was composed of Tony Yu - yours truly - , Renzo Silva, Gabriel Rodríguez, and Roberto Ovilla. The second demonstrated their power with Alexandra Alles, Xaviera Manzano, Maya Miller, and María Coor. Lastly, Manuela Jaramillo, Natalia García, Rinpei Okubo, and Tomas Romero came together to unleash their voices against the competition. 

On Friday, right after lunch, the buses arrived to take all of us 25 km away to Prepa Tec Zona Esmeralda, the site of the competition. After a few hours of exploring their beautiful campus and admiring a part of the city we barely come to, it was time for the real deal. 

Hearts were pumping and eyes dilating while the announcers gave the draw for the first round and the topic everyone was about to engage in. We had to either defend or support a ban on TikTok. 

Each team had to run from the Nishikawa Auditorium to the preparation rooms as there were only 45 minutes available to prepare for this first debate. Some even started planning on the move while gasping for air.

Inside the prep rooms, tensions were high. What evidence to use? How to tackle the debate? Who should participate? How complex! No one had enough time available to respond. Despite this, each team, even if it was using the very last few seconds, was able to find a way to build a whole entire case to defend for the debate. 

We walked together, eager to begin. It was a walk full of thoughts. No matter how experienced the debater was, everyone was either nervous or excited about their upcoming performance. But as soon as the first foot stepped in the room, these thoughts faded, and the mind became focused on one thing and one thing only: the match at hand. 

In the center was the speaker using their voice to persuade the audience and the judges. Some were calm, others aggressive, and many somewhere in between. While on the sides, their teammates and rivals would take notes on the entire debate, finding their points of clash and preparing for their own turn.

After almost two hours of competing and judging, the results came out. Each team silently waited for the deliberation, feeling all their emotions dwell inside their stomach, making them grumble with enthusiasm. A win brought great happiness, while a loss brought initial disappointment, but great lessons for future debates.

Unfortunately, only our team, (Tony, Renzo, Gabriel, and Roberto), won this first round against an extremely competitive rival, barely winning by a few points. Seems like we were in for a ride!

The quiet moonlight reflected the disappointment of our debaters, spirits low. Yet, the beautiful night passage brought hope, and perhaps distracted the minds of them to appreciate the beauty of nature. To accept defeat and to come back stronger than ever.

Early in the morning on Saturday, the three teams were ready to bounce back and silence their self doubts.

The preparation for the first round was quite a challenge; some of us needed more sleep. Yet, this time, nobody was ready to lose, and hence, everyone became determined to achieve another victory. Subconsciously, the students knew that the only way for this to happen was teamwork. This paid off! All teams, without an exception, won this round, despite it being a difficult topic regarding the implementation of social policies. 

The second round had the same dynamic with similar results. This time two teams won in a debate about education. Alexandra, Xaviera, Maya, and María alongside Manuela, Natalia, Rinpei, and Tomas took on a victory! Whilst the remaining team did not win, it was still a wonderful display of might since Roberto, one of our Middle School debaters, alongside his teammates, went up against a rather loud opposition much older than them. Their attempts of intimidation never worked and it came down to a close call. 

The third round of the day was decisive. It would determine who got to compete in the semifinals on the following day. As every team now had two victories and one loss.

The judges would have to deliberate on a complex debate which questioned the priority of personal life over career.

The prep room was intense, everyone was pretty exhausted at this point but no one gave up. Whilst resting on Sunday sounded tempting, the glory of qualifying for the semifinals and representing our school’s name was much more convincing. 

Each team faced tough rivals, engaging in an intense debate with high stakes. Putting all of their effort into the present moment. 

As we finished this last round, we got ready to learn about the break. Everyone sitting next to their teammates, some even praying, were eager to know the results. Two ASF teams made it to Sunday. And while Manuela Jaramillo, Natalia García, Rinpei Okubo and Tomas Romero’s team did not qualify. It was not due to a lack of effort or hard work, but simply luck, as they barely lost by a few points to a high-level team. 

On Sunday, the remaining teams and our coaches arrived at the school early in the morning once again, sacrificing their weekend for an opportunity to shine.

Despite not winning the semifinals we all learnt valuable lessons. 

Virtually most of us did not expect to make it this far or to create such competitive teams. Some of the teammates did not know each other and debated together for the first time. There was also a gap in experience and skills. Yet, perhaps it was during this tournament that most of us exceeded our own expectations in terms of performance. Maybe, all of us learnt one important lesson… there is power to teamwork. We learnt that a focused and collaborative team might as well overcome anything that comes their way.