The 2025-2026 debate season marked a full year of preparation and competition, as the team participated in 11 tournaments across the state, earning first place in five tournaments.
Debaters spent the season by researching the national policy topic: “The United States Federal Government should significantly increase its exploration and/or development of the Arctic.” The team worked hard to develop their speeches and practice both the affirmative and negative strategies. Throughout the season, students worked on skills, such as argument construction, evidence comparison and public speaking.
“I think the biggest improvement came in confidence and adaptability,” debate coach Paul English said. “At the start of the year, many of our debaters were hesitant to take risks or to challenge complex arguments. Midway through the season, they began trusting their preparation and really leaning into analysis and clash. We went from teams trying to ‘survive’ rounds to teams trying to win them strategically and persuasively. In addition, we had several novice teams move up and show great success at junior varsity and varsity – three of them rising up and qualifying for the state tournament.”
The team attended multiple invitational tournaments, where debaters gained experience with a variety of debate competitors and judging styles. In addition, over the course of the season, members refined their approaches to cross-examination, strengthened their use of evidence and adapted to different debate situations.
“This team has handled adversity with a lot of maturity,” English said. “Whether it was tough losses, scheduling conflicts or the pressure of a big tournament, they’ve supported each other and shown real resilience. They’re learning that setbacks don’t define a season – responses do.”
While returning debaters expanded their understanding of the activity, new team members learned the fundamentals of debate, including the structure of speeches, the role of evidence and the techniques to communicate with a partner during fast-paced rounds.
As a novice debater this year, freshman Tatiana Hernandez said. “It is really fun and gets the adrenaline going, and it challenges my brain and helps me improve academically. I enjoyed the really challenging debates – the ones that got my mind moving. I disliked getting up early, but I enjoyed the people.”
The season also included team practices focused on speaking drills, research sessions, practice rounds and coaching feedback.
“I learned that leadership is about letting students take ownership of their success,” English said. “The best growth happens when they are trusted to try, fail and learn from those experiences. They have taught me as much about teamwork as I hope I have taught them about debate.”
As first semester ended, the team concluded its final tournaments in the regular season. However, the varsity team still has two tournaments remaining, including state and nationals.
“We have state in January and national qualifiers for the other speech and debate events coming up, so our focus is sharpening for those big moments,” English said. “The energy is high, and our goal is to continue building momentum. Beyond this year, we’re looking at expanding into middle school outreach and summer programs to grow the next generation of Hays debaters.”
