After a one-year hiatus, Cathedral Catholic’s debate team is slowly but surely rebuilding itself, and is currently open to and seeking new members. Although the debate team has been around on and off for the past three years, this year’s team is determined to build a strong foundation for years to come.

According to debate coach Ms. Maggie Gyben, the debate team members hope to reinstill the well-established debate team that Cathedral had seven years ago and get involved in tournaments in the near future.

Meetings for debate team started around mid-February, and continue every Tuesday at lunch and every Wednesday after school.  Though the team has no planned tournaments thus far, members have an opportunity to observe the state championships at La Costa Canyon High School on March 25^th and 26^th, and the nationals at Carlsbad High School on April 2^nd.  Members can witness the basic infrastructure of highly competitive debates, both in teams and as individuals.

Next year, a new class known as Speech and Debate, taught by Ms. Gyben, will be offered to students during zero period.  For those new to the art of debating, it is an easy way to get settled in and prepared for the competitive discussions, she said.

Although there have already been a decent number of people who have shown interest in debate team, only four have joined so far.  Ms. Gyben strongly encourages many more students to join.

“Everyone is totally new, so we have the ability to start off with everyone getting a handle on the basics of debate,” she said.

“Debate is not about arguing, it’s about thinking on your feet and having intense perseverance,” said Ms. Gyben.  “It takes quite a bit of practice and research to do debate.  You don’t always get to pick a side – you could be at any side of the argument, positive or negative.  You have to keep on your toes.  It’s a lot of fun to do on the weekend, and you get the opportunity to participate in big tournaments and travel.  Being in debate allows you to learn leadership, and it also looks great on college applications.  It’s good to learn to be well-spoken, professional, and patient. ”

The debate team hopes to be able to participate in tournaments by next year, and awaits the arrival of new members in order to be best prepared.