Coming off big wins at the State Championship last February and with team members qualifying for nationals this spring, the Deering High School Debate Team is looking strong again this year, according to teacher Molly Callaghan, who co-coaches the team along with Krista Simonis. In an exciting new event this year, Deering also will be hosting an all-events speech and debate tournament on Nov. 19.

“We have a huge group of kids coming to our meetings, and we've had eight new freshmen compete so far in the first two tournaments of the year,“ Callaghan said. “Last year's returning debaters are also fired up because it’s everyone's first time experiencing in-person debates – as we've returned to in-person after two years of virtual debating.” 

She said that in the first tournament of the year, a novice tournament at Lincoln Academy on Oct. 15, Deering had six freshmen competing for the first time, plus senior captain Colby Drabik acting as a student judge. Then, in the Oct. 29 regular season opening tournament at Bangor High School, the Deering team took first, second and third place in varsity Public Forum, first and second place in novice Public Forum, and third place in varsity Lincoln Douglas. “We also won a sweeps trophy for first place overall in the debate category,” Callaghan added.

At the Nov. 19 tournament, called the Deering High Machigonne Meet, about 150 students are expected to attend, along with up to 60 volunteer judges, plus coaches and others on site helping everything run smoothly. Learn more about this event.