The joint MVHS/LAHS Speech and Debate team partook in the Great Midwestern Novice & JV Debate Championships at Iowa City West High School from April 5 to 7. This competition attracted first year and junior varsity debaters, who went head to head in multiple rounds of Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, Legislative and Public Forum debate.

The MVLA team sent only one debater, freshman James Naumovski, to the tournament. James, a first year Lincoln-Douglas debater, brought home several titles from the novice nationals. He seeded fourth, meaning he was awarded fourth overall best debater in terms of the number of rounds he won and his total speaker points. James was also named ninth best speaker and remained in the game up to octos, a stage consisting of the final 16 debaters.

“I was hoping to do better, but I did really well in [pre eliminations],” James said. “I was the only person from my team, so I was disadvantaged slightly, but I met a ton of new people who helped me out.”

The topic used at the championships for Lincoln-Douglas debate was, “The United States is justified in intervening in the internal political processes of other countries to attempt to stop human rights abuses.” Lincoln-Douglas debate, commonly referred to as LD, is a one-on-one form of debate that usually brings up issues regarding morality.