Hockaday Debate Advances to International Debate Finals
Students from The Hockaday School’s debate team have advanced to the finals of the 22nd-annual International Public Policy Forum — a global debate contest sponsored by the Brewer Foundation and New York University.
This includes an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City for the May 6 contest.
The Hockaday School is one of eight teams — representing schools from five U.S. states, Canada, and Singapore — competing for a $10,000 grand prize. The team consists of students Aarnah Kurella, Ariana Wang, Diya Hedge, Evita Nino, Sanika Argarwalla, and Sidney Murray, coached by Charles Walts.
“The IPPF is the most rigorous debate competition on the high school circuit,” said William A. Brewer III, chairman of the Brewer Foundation and co-founder of the IPPF. “This year’s final eight teams spent months researching the topic resolution and crafting written scholarship. The teams now advance to one of the biggest stages in debate, where they will supplement their scholarship with oral advocacy.”
The IPPF is the only competition that allows high school students around the world to engage in written and oral debates on issues of public policy.
This year’s competition began in October 2022 with more than 220 teams submitting 2,800-word qualifying essays on the topic, “Resolved: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an effective model for international cooperation.” Those essays were reviewed by a committee which determined the top 64 teams based on overall quality.
In November, the “Round of 64” teams began a single-elimination, written debate competition. Each team was assigned a position (affirmative or negative) and volleyed papers back and forth with another team via email for six weeks. A judge panel reviewed the essays and selected the winning teams. The following two rounds also took place in written form.
The IPFF Finals give students an opportunity to practice oral debates in front of experts such as NYU president emeritus Dr. John Sexton and journalist and scholar James Traub.
The contest will be broadcast live on the IPFF Facebook page beginning at 9 a.m. May 6.
