CDA

Westfield brought 11 debaters to the January Connecticut Debate Association Competition:  Kyle, Brendan, Ryan, Patrick, Kay-Lin, Isabelle, Panchali, Ananya, Claribel, Jackson and Marlah. For Kay-Lin, Isabelle, Ananya and Marlah it was their first time at a CDA tournament.

Marlah took 6th Place Overall Novice and three Firsts in the Room!  Ananya took 11th Overall Place Novice.  Marlah and Claribel took 10th Place Novice team and Ananya and Panchali took 11th.  Kay-Lin and Isabelle were not far behind at 17th.

Ryan took 16th Place Overall Varsity.

Sometimes, despite our best planning, at the last minute someone can't attend and we can't find a replacement. This happened at this competition.  Luckily, at CDA tournaments they pair singletons.  Sometimes, you get paired with someone who is a perfect match and sometimes not.  Ultimately, you are scored as an individual so it is possible to win an award even if your partner doesn't do well.  Jackson's partner had to drop out and so he was paired with a boy from another school.  As it turned out, Jackson was a much stronger debater than his assigned partner.  Every experience you get to debate teaches you important lessons.  But it would have been very human for Jackson to complain.  He chose to take the higher road.  Jackson ended up placing third highest Novice for our school based on his individual performance.  Even more importantly, he demonstrated exemplary behavior.  I want to publicly acknowledge how polite and mature Jackson was on Saturday.  Way to go Jackson!

Congratulations to all our debaters!