Meet the TISB Debate Club

During the past year, TISB’s Debate Club, led by Ananya (Grade 11) and Advika (Grade 9), has been busy, participating and having successes in many different competitions around the world. Inspired by the achievements on the international circuit, TISB’s Houses decided to have two Inter-House debating competitions, one for Senior (Grades 9-12) and one for the Junior (Grades 6-8) students. In the Senior competition, Voyagers (Ananaya, Amogh P and Shrishti) won the first place, followed by Explorers (Amogh M, Devarya and Shreya) in second place, Pioneers (Eshana, Vedant and Ira) in third place, and Discoverers (Aditya, Aanandita, Avi and Siya) in fourth place. In the Junior competition first place went to Discoverers (Harshika, Agastya, Advait and Renee), trailed by Explorers (Ruchi, Rithika, Rayan and Anaaya) in second place, Voyagers (Keya, Veruschka and Gauri) in third place, and Pioneers (Shreeya, Ranjan and Tvisha) in fourth place. We got in touch with Ananya and Advika to learn more about the Debate Club and their accomplishments.

Our main goal is to get as many people as possible to debate and see more and more TISB students debate and excel, whether that be on the domestic circuit or as part of the Indian National Debate Squad – Ananya, Grade 11

The two leaders of the TISB Debate Club, along with other members, have been participating in several debate competitions during 2020: ‘The International Competition for Young Debaters (ICYD)’, an annual competition hosted by either Oxford and Cambridge each year; the ‘Vancouver Worlds Schools Debating Championships (VWSDC)’, a prestigious tournament that took place in the lead up to the Worlds Schools Debating Championships; the ‘(Online) Worlds Schools Debating Championships (WSDC)’; the ‘North, South and East Zone Senior Selections’ for the Indian National Debate Team; ‘ Contemplative Dialogue’, a tournament that featured teams from across India and other countries; and the ‘Aditi Parliamentary Debate’. In all of the competitions the participants from TISB have performed very well, and have won several of the competitions and placed high as individual speakers. Both Ananya and Advika were recently selected to be part of the 16-debater team representing India in the ‘Asia Pacific World Schools Debating Championship’ on the 30-31 of December 2020. Ananya’s team went on to win the tournament. Advika's team, despite being an Under 16 team, had the highest score out of all teams in the preliminary rounds, she was the 6th best open speaker and the third-best under-16 speaker. 

The reason why Ananya and Advika became interested in debating was their interest in issues and real life problems that goes on around us. “Some of it was wanting to learn more about the world and discuss policies and problems with others with similar interests”, says Ananya, who together with others have watched their seniors at TISB engaging and excelling in similar activities. This has made them want to learn how to be as persuasive, well-read and skilled as them. For Ananya and Advika debating is important because it exposes you to new perspectives on pressing issues and makes you more empathetic and aware. “There are so, so many reasons to debate – from building up your general knowledge to learning how to be more persuasive and analytical to making new friends and meeting people who could go on to be your closest friends and support systems”, explains Ananya.

The Debate Club at TISB takes place every Wednesday. During a typical Debate Club meeting, the members have a variety of different activities that range from learning how to construct arguments and speeches to partaking in actual debates and fun activities like ‘alley debates’, - where students go one after the other and have to deliver new arguments for the same motion – constantly thinking and coming up with new arguments if the one they had is taken by another student. “We miss being able to debate and meet each other in person, but it is still extremely fun”, says Ananya who believes the Debate Club is open for everyone. Debaters are often associated with a stereotype image of someone who is very academic and usually really interested in the social sciences and History, “but debates take place on a broad spectrum of issues – from pop culture to International Relations, and we believe everyone can love debate and do well at debate”, says Ananya.

To join the TISB Debate Club, get in touch with Mr Tarun or the organisers, Ananya and Advika.