Debate: numbers up across the board, and a season of state champions

This year, debate in the state of Michigan saw numbers increase across many forms of debate. Coaches of new programs at both the middle and high school levels continue to recruit, encourage competition, and grow their teams. The 2019-2020 debate season also saw an abundance of tournaments and competitive opportunities for students during the months of September through November. More and more programs are also continuing to expand their horizons by competing in the NSDA circuit, national qualifiers and attending national competitions in various states. Debate in the state of Michigan continues to evolve to mirror guidelines and expectations set forth by the NSDA to bring our state closer in line to the procedures and approaches implemented throughout the nation.

The 2019-2020 debate season culminated with the MIFA Debate State Finals held at Wayne State University on December 13 & 14, 2019. Competition was held in Public Forum, Policy, and Legislative debate with numbers at this year’s state tournament being up across the board. At a time when national discourse and debate is fervent in our society, it is inspiring to see the growth in participation by many of the debate programs out there. We are also starting to see more programs grow in their participation in multiple forms of debate versus solely focusing on one.

At the tournament, the highest levels of success were achieved by multiple teams. Congratulations to the following coaches who each coached a State Champion team and/or speaker:

• John Lawson, Groves High School (Varsity Policy speaker & Novice Policy team)

• Amy Bushey, HH Dow High School (Varsity Policy team & Novice Policy speaker)

• Deborah Marsh, Dexter High School (Varsity Public Forum team & Middle Level Public Forum team)

• Shelly Venema, Saline High School (Novice Public Forum team & speaker)

• Courtney Bassett, Birmingham Covington School (Middle Level Public Forum speaker)

• Chris Kuhlman, Utica Academy for International Studies (Varsity Legislative speaker)

• Andrea Brown, Wayland High School (Novice Legislative speaker)

These are only a few of the myriad of coaches who went out of their way to make this yet another highly fruitful season for student debaters.

At the MIFA state tournament this year, special recognition was given to Birmingham Groves coach Ryan Nierman who received this year’s Elise Howard award. This award is given yearly at the tournament to recognize the contribution and dedication of a coach who goes above and beyond for their team and the debate community at large. Ryan has worked with the Groves debate program for numerous years, helps to facilitate debate tournaments throughout the season, and is an acting member of the MIFA Debate Committee.

Originally published in the MSCI Year in Review, May 2020.