Fredericksburg, VA – (October 21^st, 2021) The University of Mary Washington debate team hosted their annual debate tournament on the weekend of October 15-17. This year’s debate tournament featured one hundred and thirty-six competitors from twenty-six different colleges representing fifteen states. Undergraduate students competed across three divisions based on experience levels Novice, Junior Varsity and Open.

The event 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 twelve Open, top ten Junior Varsity, and top thirteen Novice teams advanced.

The Novice division showcased competitors with little to no experience in debate and cleared to a partial Octafinal featuring teams from George Mason University, James Madison University, Samford University, the United States Naval Academy, the University of Houston, and the University of West Virgina. The Final Round saw a 2-1 victory for fifth seeded Austin Emery & Christopher Tatum from George Mason over third seeded Grace Blackwell & Abigail McKibben from Samford. Wajih Rehman from Houston was recognized as the Top Speaker of the division.

The Junior Varsity division showcased competitors with limited experience in debate and also cleared to a partial Octafinal featuring teams from the California State University – Fullerton, Emory University, Emporia State University, George Mason University, James Madison University, Liberty University, Missouri State University, the University of Houston, the University of Michigan, and the University of Minnesota. The Final Round saw a 3-0 victory for second seeded Brett Krambeer & Savana Reed-Valizan from Emporia State over fourth seeded Emma Gavriliuc & Faith Tabler from Michigan. In addition to winning the tournament Brett Krambeer from Emporia State was recognized as the Top Speaker of the division.

The Open division is the highest level of competition in CEDA debate and also cleared to a partial Octafinal featuring teams from Emory University, George Mason University, Harvard University, Liberty University, Missouri State University, the University of Houston, the University of Mary Washington, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the University of Minnesota, the University of Wyoming, and Tufts University. The Final Round saw a 2-1 victory for top seeded Owen Phoenix-Flood & Bryce Rao from Minnesota over third seeded Mary Beth Armstrong & Nicholas Loew from George Mason. In addition to winning the tournament Bryce Rao from Minnesota was recognized as the Top Speaker of the division.

The tournament marked the fifth weekend of the competitive season and provided a total of over sixteen 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.