JACKSON, Tenn. — April 24, 2020 — 51社区鈥檚 debate team won 148 awards from the International Public Debate Association, including the top national championships, the Founder鈥檚 Cup and Scholastic Cup.
The Founder鈥檚 Cup is awarded to the team with the highest of all IPDA division points combined, and Union won first place by a 170-point margin. The Scholastic Cup is awarded to the team with the highest Novice, Junior Varsity and Varsity Divisions鈥� points combined, and Union won first place by a 136-point margin.
Although the 2020 IPDA National Championship Tournament and Convention in March was canceled due to the COVID-19 crisis, these awards reflect the season-long efforts of the debate team鈥檚 participation in seven tournaments. This year, the IPDA was made up of 128 public and private schools.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a true testament to the students鈥� hard work and putting in so many practice rounds in between tournaments for preparation,鈥� said Rebekah Whitaker, Union鈥檚 director of debate. 鈥淭heir dedication to honing their craft and staying on top of what鈥檚 going on in the world and debating ethically and beautifully, it鈥檚 all a testament to them being excellence-driven and living out all of the core values of Union.鈥�
This is the first year at Union for Whitaker, who is also an assistant professor of communication arts. Whitaker said she feels overwhelmed with gratitude for the team鈥檚 hard work and trust in her as a new coach.
The debate team includes 26 students from more than 20 majors. JD Logan, senior political science major from Flower Mound, Texas, serves as the team captain. Logan said it was encouraging to see the team continue with sustained excellence throughout the changes and variables of the year.
鈥淭here are a lot of factors that go into winning a national award, but I think the most important thing that you need to have, and this may sound very simple and obvious, but it鈥檚 having a cohesive team,鈥� Logan said.
The team鈥檚 Novice Squad and Junior Varsity Squad also won first place in their division, the Varsity Squad won second place and the Professional Squad won third place, in addition to several individual awards. A full list of the 2019-2020 IPDA National Champions is available at .