Posh thinking aloud...: My debate favorites

I've been in the debate community for a long time. A lot of people would probably raise a brow upon knowing this because of the idea that we will only grow up upon leaving our comfort zones. Admittedly, debate has always been my comfort zone. But you see, debaters are strong believers that cultural perception is subjective. People don't just leave the community. There's a saying that debaters don't retire, they only become adjudicators. Right. Just like me, I did not retire (at least not yet), I only became an adjudicator. Well, since I've had my share of fabulousity in debate (pun intended), allow me to take you to a trip down memory lane as I take note of my debate favorites.

NB: these are relatively recent tournaments because I don't have the patience and the time to scan dinosaur pics :). And oh, these are local tournaments only. Might make another blog for international tourneys or tourneys participated by different nationalities.

After Debate Hang out: WAI YING

Wai ying is a chinese restaurant in Benavidez. We would often go there after a physically and mentally exhaustive debate training. Actually, Wai ying is loved by Manila debaters in general. According to Jayson, a debater from San Beda, "Hindi ka debater pag hindi ka pa nakakain sa Wai Ying". I think he's right. Debaters from as far as Katipunan go here to hang out with fellow debaters.

Post-training chill with our CSB-IVs shirt :)

Highschool Debate Tournament: PSDC (Philippine Schools Debate Championship)

PSDC is an annual debate tournament hosted by Ateneo de Manila Debate Society (ADS). I like this tournament because of its balance nature. Debate tournaments are usually toxic and stressful but PSDC always has a fun break night party. I remember the time when I was invited by ADS to become a Deputy Chief Adjuducator (DCA), we had a costume party for break night!

Adj Core in action
(with Dino from DLSU, Miko from ADMU, BJ from UP and Noel from SU)

break night party
(Berna as Sarah Palin, Jess as himself, Keith as Naruto,
Kip as Jason, Moi as Pocahontas, Jayson as a religious servant
and Gian as some random tambay sa kanto)

Announcement of winners at the Championship Dinner

Ma-drama Tournament: National Debate Championship (NDC) hosted by Ateneo de Davao University and National Debate Championship hosted by University of Baguio

Debate is really a rollercoaster ride, emotion-wise. One can celebrate like there's no tomorrow after a good round then the next moment, you can see debaters cry like a baby after a bad round or a terrible adjudication. Drama is everywhere. You can experience drama during debate rounds (this usually happens among institutions) which I consider as "external drama" or "internal drama" which happens after or before debate rounds (within your contingent). FEU is really not a "ma-issue" institution. We take pride on solidarity of its members. Basta in these two tournaments, we experienced internal drama. ;p

Pre-Championship Dinner with Steph and Jess at ADDU

We occupied a lot of rooms for our contingent but true to the
spirit of camaraderie, the kids and joeven
(he was a DCA in this tournament so he was billeted in the hotel suite)
would always gravitate to our room before going to sleep.
The drama happened in this room. hahaha

University-wide Tournament: 1st Nicanor Reyes Debate Classic

This tournament was the brainchild of the ORADEC during Gee's term as the President. It was actually a brilliant idea to expose the students to debate. Debaters are usually tagged as the school "elites", intellectual or otherwise, and this tournament helped in disproving such debate stereotype.

1st NRDC

In-house Training: Tagaytay Highlands

Before participating in a national competition, we would schedule a debate lockdown. This is a common practice of debate organizations. It is basically a debate camp where you debate, matter load and debate over and over again. It can go on for 3 days, 5 days or even longer. Our Bulacan lockdown was pretty memorable but since I don't have the patience to scan the photos, I would make do with one in-house training. This was memorable because we had one-on-one sessions. We also had group critique and bull sessions. I will never forget Gee for saying this "Honestly, hindi ko gusto yung mga bull sessions natin. I only learned one thing: kung paano magtanim ng galit." hahaha. Priceless.

laughing at our bad cases

Finally, we were able to see the sun!

PIDC tournament: 1st PIDC, Tarlac City

Philippine Inter-collegiate Debating Championship (PIDC) is a tournament hosted by the University of the Philippines Debate Society (UPDS). I love this PIDC tournament because I was able to exprience a lot of firsts: 1) This was my first time to become a DCA in a national collegiate debate competition. 2) My first time to be contingent-deprived (Mark was able to go with me and I'm perpetually grateful for that). 3) My first time to really hang out and bond with debaters from different institutions.

The 1st PIDC Adj Core (CSB, UPD, UPM, FEU, ADMU, DLSU and UST)

With debaters and adjudicators from ADMU, San Beda, DLSU and Lyceum
in my hotel room after break night party.

Fashion-friendly Tournament Venue: Baguio

During elimination rounds, debate tournament fashion is basically composed of t-shirts, shorts, jeans, tank tops and havs. Yup. Debaters seldom dress up during rounds because a room with pumped up debaters and a humid weather is a bad combination. You go for your most comfortable clothes during rounds and dress up when your team reaches octos. Baguio is a fashion-friendly tournament venue because you can experiment with your look by layering clothes and putting on accessories without fear of experiencing the oh-so-dyahe jabar while giving a make or break speech.