Updates From The TISB Debate Club

The leaders of the TISB Debate Club have recently had significant successes. Advika from Gade 9 was selected to represent India at the International Championship of Young Debaters. To participate in the finals round debaters had to pass through highly competitive regional rounds and be selected by their national debate organisation. TISB Grade 11 student, Ananya, has been selected to the Indian Schools Debating Society, which is the national organisation responsible for selecting and training the Indian team for the World Schools Debating Championships. We reached out to Advika and Ananya to learn more about the successes and developments.

I think debating is incredibly important because it forces me to be aware of controversial issues happening in the world and develop viewpoints on them – Advika, Grade 11

Different countries from around the world take part in the International Championship of Young Debaters (ICYD). It is the largest British parliamentary competition in the world for students of 15 years and younger. Advika was one of them and part of a team of eight debaters to represent India. Over 1000 students competed across 12 regional rounds, with 56 teams making it to the Finals day. Advika and her team made it through these competitive rounds, debating topics such as ‘Making voting compulsory’ and ‘Displaying graphic images of animals suffering on food packets’.

“After having made it through the competitive regional rounds, the feeling of making it through to finals day was incredible”, says Advika, who was nervous in the beginning as she was attending without her partner from TISB, and had to wait until one week before the finals for Cambridge to approve the team. In the final rounds Advika and her team mates took part in three different debates involving topics, such as the ‘Provision of welfare benefits on the basis of academic performance’ and ‘Whether or not leaders should approach Russia with a policy of containment’. During the rounds of the Finals Day, Advika and her debater partners beat teams from several prestigious institutions and various countries – winning the championship. 

Advika strongly likes debating as it exposes her and her team mates to different viewpoints and forces to engage with in many different ways. “As the world is becoming increasingly interconnected, the importance of awareness and tolerance is becoming more and more important”, says Advika, who also has made many new friends from around the world through her debate experiences. 

Now Advika has been selected to represent India in the Oxford Schools Debating Championships. Oxford Worlds is a highly competitive style tournament consisting of national teams from around the globe. “We are currently training very hard in preparation for it”, says Advika who – together with her team mates – will receive coaching and mentorship from some of the world's best debaters through the year.

Advika’s co-leader of the TISB Debate Club, Ananya, has recently been selected to represent the Indian Schools Debating Society (ISDS). Due to the pandemic, the selection process was largely online. The first round of selections consisted of six different tournaments and selection camps at the regional level, resulting in a national camp made up of 70 debaters in December 2020. Out of all participants, 16 were selected to the national squad and five to the main team going to the World Schools Debating Championship. 

The ISDS is the national organisation for schools debating, and is responsible for selecting and training the Indian team for the World Schools Debating Championships. Ananya is happy to have been selected for the organisation. “It feels really special – to know that I was chosen out of nearly a thousand students who applied to represent the nation is a humongous honour and responsibility”, says Ananya, who together with her colleagues will carry out extensive training and coaching for Advika and her team mates. The trainings will include practice debates, research tasks and lectures. 

To learn more about debating, watch the TISB Debate Club’s video on YouTube (4:30-8:15), or read about the thoughts and experiences of the leaders of the TISB Debate Club.