churchill debaters rank second in the nation
Year after year, elite schools like The Greenhill School, Pace Academy, College Prep, St. Mark’s School and Bronx High School of Science dominate the national policy debate circuit in the constant pursuit of a Tournament of Champions (known as the TOC) championship, the most sought after prize in all of high school debate. The 2011-2012 school year has been no different.
Two months into the debate season, the lists of top debaters are growing crowded with the usual suspects. However, even as these and other perennial national powers continue their usual winning, ways a pair of debaters from Churchill High School has started to make quite a name for themselves as they too, aim to lay claim to the end of season championship.
Churchill seniors Max Birnbaum and Adam Lipton have been debate partners since the first tournament of their freshmen year of high school. While they have experienced a lot of successes over their debate careers, nothing compares to what they have accomplished this fall. Since early September, Birnbaum and Lipton have been ranked among the top 10 debate teams in the nation and, as of November 3, were tied for second. With a third of the season already gone, they are proving themselves much more than just an afterthought when it comes to true championship contenders.
High school debate is a high stakes activity involving students and schools who spend thousands of dollars to maintain their competitiveness. A number of private schools in the country spend hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to fly their students to tournaments all over the country. The TOC, founded in 1972 and a prominent subject in the 2007 HBO documentary Resolved, is their ultimate goal.
Fewer than 80 teams are invited to the TOC each year, with invitations extended only to those teams who perform the best at the most competitive of national circuit tournaments. Birnbaum and Lipton, who have faced teams from California, Alabama, Washington D.C. and a number of other locations this year, have already earned their invitation to the 2012 edition of the tournament with outstanding performances at tournaments held at The Greenhill School, Grapevine High School and Houston Memorial High School.
Birnbaum and Lipton will next debate on the weekend of November 18 when they travel to Chicago, Illinois to compete at The Glenbrooks, one of the largest invitational debate tournaments in the nation.
Posted on November 11, 2011