by Hilary Brumberg
Four seniors participated in the Yale Invitational Debate Tournament from Friday, Sept. 21 to Sunday, Sept. 23.
Over 1,000 debaters from around the country participated in six round robins. The remaining 64 two-person teams competed in an elimination bracket.
Participants debated whether Congress should renew the Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994-2004.
Seniors Hoot Hennessy and Zach Rosenof went 3-3 in the opening round robins, so they did not qualify for the bracket. According to senior Jordan Ecker, a captain with Rosenof, 3-3 is “still a good placing considering the tourney’s national status.”
With a round robin score of 5-1, Ecker and senior Jonathan Kim qualified to move on to further rounds of the competition.
They won their debates in the elimination bracket rounds 64 and 32, but lost in round 16 to Riverside, the eventual tournament champions. “Overall, it was an excellent tourney for Jonathan and me,” Ecker said.
According to Kim, the four seniors practiced debating several topics in the weeks before the Yale Invitational.
“There is a lot of researching that goes into preparing for a debate, hours and hours,” Kim said. “You have to be an expert on studies that go on for over 100 pages.”