Debate students went up against other schools in the first debate tournament of the year at Legacy High School on Sept. 7.

When the debate students walked into Legacy High School, they had no idea who they were competing against nor what side of the debate they were on. A bulletin board with numbers posted outside told the students who their opponent was and then what side of the debate they were.

The debate topic involved Lincoln Douglas, which is a one-on-one debate, and a public forum which is based more on statistics and is a partnered debate. The students debated on the topic for six to seven minutes each student taking a turn speaking, and then each spoke about the other’s debate.

Each of the students prepared for one to two weeks on their debate, and wrote both the affirmative and negative side when writing their speech.

Faced with her first tournament debate, Ninno had not only written the wrong speech but had only one night to prepare the right debate. With help from Nze she not only succeeded in getting it done but also won her debate competition.

“I was very stressed and on my toes, but luckily Issac Nze had researched about the correct topic and emailed me, so I was very lucky,” Ninno said.

Sophomore Madeline Ninno and junior Andrew Boyd tied with 4-0 records in the Novice debate on Lincoln Douglas, with Ninno winning with speaker points. Senior Daniel Guin and sophomore Aadit Vyas won first place Varsity Public Forum. Along with the four other wins, junior Issac Nze won first place Varsity in Lincoln Douglas.