Every Monday after school, one can find the Madison Debate Team discussing the latest month’s topic. The team of about 37 practices in mock debates, holds in-depth discussions of current events and works on writing speeches, all in preparation for the month’s tournament.

“The individuals that invest the time, attend the tournaments and our weekly practices demonstrate a tremendous amount of commitment and the results speak to that fact,” Debate Coach Michael Biddick said.

The team has enjoyed great successes this season, with Madison having at least one team place in every regular season tournament. One-third of the team will be attending a postseason tournament.

The team has not always been this successful. Two years ago, the team had just eight students. After the advisor for the team decided not to return in 2016, Jodi Fink took on the role of Debate Team Advisor. Using different marketing strategies, the team was able to grow. Then, Biddick, a former debate coach for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, became the head coach this year.

“Now that we are an organized team and have a real presence at Madison, we will only continue to grow,” Fink said. “Being a part of the Debate Team helps to foster critical thinking and public speaking skills that are so useful across all disciplines.”

Debaters enjoy discussing real-word topics, but they understand the difficulty of having to debate both sides.

“We focus on current events,” Helen Krieger (’20) said. “Debate team members must create pro and con cases for each topic and be prepared to argue both sides.”

Echoing the coaches, the team members understand the advantages of participating in debate.

“Debate has allowed me to hone my public speaking skills and organize my thoughts in a way I don’t think any other activity could,” Ayaad Akand (’19) said.