The debate team was at state Friday through Sunday. I had the privilege of interviewing three of the debaters, Jordan King, Ella Erwin, and Maddie Lauritzen. Jordan King, a sophomore at Lake City, participates in congressional debate, duo interpretation, expository speaking, oratorical analysis, extemporaneous speaking. King says that her favorite part of debate is her teammates. The other two agreed that this was one of the best parts of debate, although there are some strong personalities on the team.

Ella Erwin, also a sophomore at Lake City, participates in public forum debate, humorous interpretation, retold story, and editorial commentary. She said that her favorite part of debate was “the tournaments, and getting to compete with others, and it brings a sense of teamwork and accomplishment.”

Maddie Lauritzen, who participates in congressional debate, duo interpretation, interpretive reading, and oratorical analysis, joked that her favorite part of debate was, “Winning. We win a lot, so it’s very fun when we win. We bring home trophies, which is fun.”

All jokes aside, the debate kids work insanely hard to prepare for tournaments. There is a reason that Lake City’s debate team is so successful, and the answer resides in the hard work and determination of the students involved in debate. From personal observation, I have found that the debate kids are so committed to their purpose that they spend a lot of time thinking and discussing debate. “Everybody hates us because all we talk about is debate,” Maddie Lauritzen laughs. To learn more about the debate team at Lake City, you can visit this link.