At the home tournament this past Friday, Becton’s debate team performed exceptionally, with Seniors Ryan Strauss and Zak Kandiel winning third place and Junior GaHyun Yoo being nominated for Best Judge.

January 6 was the only home debate tournament this year, and teams from schools all across Bergen County attended. These included River Dell, Leonia, Tenafly and Bergenfield. Seniors Ryan Strauss and Zak Kandiel won third overall with a record of three wins, one loss. Junior GaHyun Yoo was nominated by several of the visiting coaches to win Best Judge, only narrowly losing to another judge.

This is Becton’s third trophy of the year, and with two varsity tournaments left to go, Coach Mr. Carr is optimistic. “It’s great to see all of our hard work paying off. Without all of the effort that these teams put in, this year’s fantastic season would not be possible.”

The next varsity tournament will take place on February second at Fort Lee, with the final tournament happening on March first in North Bergen. Mr. Carr expressed his hopes to win big at the upcoming tournaments, saying the team is putting in even more work to prepare to the fullest.

As for the Junior Varsity teams, Juniors Rebecca Collette and Victoria Gramlich went 2-0 at the last tournament on December thirteenth. Their performance has been so strong and consistent that Mr. Carr moved them up to the Varsity level where they competed at this last tournament. Rebecca Collette conveyed trepidation, saying, “Varsity is a big step up from JV. There is double the amount of debates, and not only are the teams more prepared but debating in front of a full classroom is certainly a new atmosphere.” The next Junior Varsity tournament will be held at Becton on Thursday, January 12. With four tournaments still to go, the Junior Varsity season is still in full swing.

With Penn Model Congress quickly approaching, Mr. Carr and the debate team have begun practices at lunch. Practices cover a range of things, from parliamentary procedure, to writing bills, to how to compose an extemporaneous speech. Some members are returning and others are new, but they are all excited for Model Congress just the same. The Model Congress session will be from March 30 to April 2 at the University of Pennsylvania.

With Penn Model Congress quickly approaching, Mr. Carr and the debate team have begun practices at lunch. Practices cover a range of things, from parliamentary procedure, to writing bills, to how to compose an extemporaneous speech. Some members are returning and others are new, but they are all excited for Model Congress just the same. The Model Congress session will be from March 30 to April 2 at the University of Pennsylvania.

With Penn Model Congress quickly approaching, Mr. Carr and the debate team have begun practices at lunch. Practices cover a range of things, from parliamentary procedure, to writing bills, to how to compose an extemporaneous speech. Some members are returning and others are new, but they are all excited for Model Congress just the same. The Model Congress session will be from March 30 to April 2 at the University of Pennsylvania.

From Varsity to Junior Varsity, Becton’s reinvigorated debate team has been making waves in the Bergen County Debate League. As one of the smallest attending schools, the amount of awards and accolades has been unprecedented. Mr. Carr said he could not be happier with the results. He looks to continue growing the membership of the team, both through recruitment of underclassmen, and sponsorship of the Carlstadt Novice team, which is run by Carlstadt teacher Mrs. Garrabrant in conjunction with the senior captains of the Becton Debate team.

As far as what the future holds, “The sky’s the limit,” said Mr. Carr.