Waring debaters, judges, and parents had a fabulous experience at the Harvard High School Tournament,  held in Cambridge on February 18-20. This tournament, the largest in the nation, had over 2000 debaters and judges in attendance. Waring had success in all levels of the tournament.

Micah '26 had a record of 6 wins and only 1 loss, debating with a colleague from Concord Carlisle HS. They won the trophy for elimination rounds, tying for 17th in a field of 175 teams. Robbie '29, debating alone in the middle school division, earned a trophy for 17th in a field of 168 teams. Also competing with distinction were Gigi '27 & Leo '28, Michael '26 & Ava '26, and Wilhelmina '26 & Ana '26.

Judging for Waring were our advanced debaters: Cam '23, Alex '24, Mikaila '24, and Eliza '24.

We were assisted by our parents who drove to and from Cambridge each day, and Coach Tim Averill ran the tabulation room all weekend.

The team will return to competition at the Mardi Gras Tournament at Shrewsbury HS on March 4.

For the third consecutive week, the Waring Debate Society had success, this time at the Keith West Memorial Tournament, held at Boston Latin School on Saturday, January 21. Four of our teams qualified for the Massachusetts State Tournament this spring: Eliza '24 & Mikaila '24, Gigi '27 & Micah '26, Wilhelmina '26 & Ana '26, and Thomas '27 & Leo '28. 

Also debating with distinction were our middle school teams: Robbie '29 & Maddie '29 and Cira '28 & Spike '27. Most of the competition was high school students, and I was proud of the efforts of our younger and less experienced debaters.

Waring was supported by our judges: Parents Jamie, Terry, and Alex. I worked in the tabulation room for the day. I was very excited that the tournament offered a prize for the judge who wrote the most outstanding ballots (as judged by the Boston Latin students) and this award, The Keith West Adjudication Award, went to my grandson Wilbur from Concord Carlisle High School.

Our teams of Eliza & Mikaila and Micah & Cam travel to Atlanta GA next weekend to compete in the Barkley Forum for High Schools at Emory University.

The Waring debate team took on the topic of Genetically Modified Food (GMO) in two recent debates, winning many matches.