Dallas, Tx – (January 11, 2022) the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Texas San Antonio cohosted back to back tournaments over the winter break. The “Fear and Loathing” took place on January 4-6, while the “Rowdy Debates” took place on the 7-9.
Both tournaments featured six preliminary rounds of competition, where students argued on both sides, on the topic “Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially increase prohibitions on anticompetitive business practices by the private sector by at least expanding the scope of its core antitrust laws”. Followed by a single elimination tournament where the top twenty teams advanced based on the results from the preliminary rounds.
The Fear and Loathing tournament provided an opportunity for forty-six competitors from eleven colleges and universities to compete in two divisions of debate, Junior Varsity and Open.
The Junior Varsity division showcased competitors with limited experience in debate and cleared the top four teams to a Semifinal round featuring teams from Johnson County Community College, Missouri State University, the University of Minnesota, and Wichita State University. The Final Round saw third seeded Grace McManus & Sean Wentling from Wichita State upset top seeded Thea Munson & Nyah Rudd from Minnesota on a 2-1 decision. In addition to being tournament champion Sean Wentling from Wichita State was recognized as the Top Speaker of the Junior Varsity Division.
The Varsity division is the highest level of competition in CEDA debate and also cleared the top eight teams to a Quarterfinal round featuring teams from Johnson County Community College, the University of Kansas, the University of Texas at Dallas, the University of Wyoming, Wichita State University. The Final Round saw fourth seeded Samir Rahaman & Lily Ottinger from Kansas defeat Dustyn Beutelspacher & Hasan Mubarak from Texas-Dallas on a 3-0 decision. Travis Babcock from Johnson County Community College was recognized as the Top Speaker of the Open Division.
The Rowdy Debates tournament provided an opportunity for forty-two competitors from eleven colleges and universities to compete in two divisions of debate, Junior Varsity and Open.
The Junior Varsity cleared the top two teams to a Final Round that saw Grace McManus & Sean Wentling from Wichita State defeat Desiree Chamberlain & William Cook from Texas Tech on a 2-1 decision. Grace McManus was recognized as the Top Speaker of the Division.
The Varsity division cleared the top eight teams to a quarterfinal round featuring teams from Columbia University, Johnson County Community College, the University of Central Oklahoma, the University of Kansas, the University of Texas at Dallas, and Washington University in St. Louis. The Final Round saw third seeded Lily Ottinger & Samir Rahaman closeout with their eighth seeded teammates Ethan Harris & Jacob Wilkus from Kansas. Bobby Phillips from Wichita State was recognized as the Top Speaker of the Division.
Congratulations to all the participants of the 2022 Texas Two Step tournaments as it kicked off the second and third tournaments of the Spring competitive season. The tournaments combined to provide a total of ten thousand minutes of speaking time for undergraduate students. Students engaged in a minimum of three debates in favor of the resolution and three opposed, requiring them to test their hours of research and preparation on both sides of the topic. The format enables students to build skills in critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.
About CEDA
Cross Examination Debate Association was founded in 1971. CEDA is currently responsible for formulating the annual intercollegiate policy debate topic used in tournament competition throughout the nation. Throughout the season, CEDA calculates National Sweepstakes Standings, the national and regional rankings of member institutions based on compiled tournament results.