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UO speech and debate teams excel at national competitions
Program continues to send competitors to tournaments at schools across the country
by Rachel Coussens | Freelance Reporter |
The University speech and debate program gets plenty of national recognition. Last year, it was one of only three schools in the nation to send the maximum of four teams to a national tournament. This year, one of the teams is already shaping up to be among the best in the nation.
Students Benjamin Dodds and Katherine Preston, known in the debate community for their outstanding achievements at regional and national competitions, are currently ranked 21st out of 397 teams in the nation, and their performances at recent tournaments could move them up even further, their coach, Aaron Donaldson, says. Dodds and Preston compete in parliamentary debate, a two-on-two 45-minute debate. Competitors are given a topic and then have 15 to 20 minutes of preparation before the debate begins. Six 45-minute debates make up the preliminary rounds that decide whether a team will advance into the single-elimination quarters, semi-finals and ultimately, the finals.
Dodds and Preston spent this past weekend competing at the University of California, Berkeley, where they went 6-0 in their preliminary rounds before moving on to semi-finals for the third time this year. Donaldson said he believes this performance, along with the results of the last two tournaments, could move Dodds and Preston in with the top 10 teams in the nation.
Preston, a junior, has been involved in debate since middle school. She credits "the unique community that debate offers" for feeding her debate passion.
"It's a unique community that values politics and nerdy topics," Preston continued.
Preston's partner of two years, junior Gonzaga transfer Benjamin Dodds, was a top four-year competitor at Ashland High School.
Known for showing up to competitions in his Dennis Dixon football jersey, he and the rest of the team flaunt their spirit for the University of Oregon.
Dodds and Preston weren't the only Oregon debate team members to succeed at the Berkeley tournament. Senior Matt Rose and his partner Alex O'Dell and junior Jonathan McCabe and his partner, freshman Matt Gander, also broke through the preliminary rounds to single-elimination rounds at the Berkeley competition. Rose also finished among the top three competitors in his individual events.
Students Benjamin Dodds and Katherine Preston, known in the debate community for their outstanding achievements at regional and national competitions, are currently ranked 21st out of 397 teams in the nation, and their performances at recent tournaments could move them up even further, their coach, Aaron Donaldson, says. Dodds and Preston compete in parliamentary debate, a two-on-two 45-minute debate. Competitors are given a topic and then have 15 to 20 minutes of preparation before the debate begins. Six 45-minute debates make up the preliminary rounds that decide whether a team will advance into the single-elimination quarters, semi-finals and ultimately, the finals.
Dodds and Preston spent this past weekend competing at the University of California, Berkeley, where they went 6-0 in their preliminary rounds before moving on to semi-finals for the third time this year. Donaldson said he believes this performance, along with the results of the last two tournaments, could move Dodds and Preston in with the top 10 teams in the nation.
Preston, a junior, has been involved in debate since middle school. She credits "the unique community that debate offers" for feeding her debate passion.
"It's a unique community that values politics and nerdy topics," Preston continued.
Preston's partner of two years, junior Gonzaga transfer Benjamin Dodds, was a top four-year competitor at Ashland High School.
Known for showing up to competitions in his Dennis Dixon football jersey, he and the rest of the team flaunt their spirit for the University of Oregon.
Dodds and Preston weren't the only Oregon debate team members to succeed at the Berkeley tournament. Senior Matt Rose and his partner Alex O'Dell and junior Jonathan McCabe and his partner, freshman Matt Gander, also broke through the preliminary rounds to single-elimination rounds at the Berkeley competition. Rose also finished among the top three competitors in his individual events.
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