KAYSVILLE—Being part of a debate team is much more than just arguing. It takes dedication and knowledge about a variety of topics and the ability to stand up and defend a position. However, that's not all – it’s also fun. 

The Davis High School debate team proved they have what it takes to be successful. They won the 6A State Championship earlier this month.

“We went to region with the hope and expectation of winning,” said debate coach and teacher Natalie Leavitt. “But Syracuse had a particularly good day and got first. We took second. We were surprised and disappointed.”  

Leavitt said the kids worked really hard to prepare for state. “We took about 20 kids to state. There were 14 schools represented.” 

Speech is the team’s biggest strength, she said. “We won that by far and then we competed in Debate. We did well in Debate. Corner Canyon (high school) was our biggest competitor. We earned 103 points and Corner Canyon earned 98 so we edged them out by five points.”

There are different events in debate, said Leavitt. “It’s a little bit like track in that just because you say you’re on the debate team doesn’t mean that anyone really knows what you do in the same way that you’re on the track team, you might be a hurdler or a distance runner or a thrower or in short races.”

So that’s kind of what debates are like, she said. “Different students are focused on different events. Some of them are speech and some are on the fly where they’re given a prompt and a short amount of time to plan a speech and they stand up and deliver the speech just based on a prompt that they get while they’re at the tournament.”

There are other speeches that are carefully crafted, Leavitt said. “Students have spent a lot of time writing and memorizing a speech and then delivering an incredibly polished speech, kind of like a TED talk. They don’t have any prompts or any notes.”

In the Debate event there’s either an individual versus an individual or a team versus a team, she said. “At the end of the debate the judge decides who won and who lost the debate. You don’t get to choose which side you’re debating, you find out just before your round. So the students are prepared to argue a resolution that’s been decided by a national organization but they’re prepared to argue for or against that resolution.”

Senior Isabella Wilt is team vice president. “I’ve been in debate for three years,” she said. “I joined my sophomore year.”

Wilt said she was first drawn to debate in junior high. “I always really liked talking about stuff I was passionate about and of course arguing with my parents. I know that’s the thing that initially draws a lot of people. Everyone’s like ‘oh debate you can voice your opinions and get the word out and talk about things that you’re passionate about.’”

Wilt said she thought she’d be good at argumentation and decided to give it a try her sophomore year. “I thought it sounded really fun.”

At state Wilt said she participated in three main events. “The first one was a public forum debate, which is a true person debate on a topic. The one we did this season was ‘should corporations ban acquisition of single family housing?’”

The other one was similar but it was a Lincoln Douglas debate which was solo, she said. “It’s only one person. The final one I did at state was extemporaneous speaking. It's a speech event where you have 30 minutes to prepare a seven minute speech. They give you the topic right then and there. You have three choices to choose from but you still have to be pretty quick on your feet thinking you need to come up with ideas pretty fast.”

Wilt is planning to use her communication skills for a career in law. “Hopefully after I get my undergraduate degree I’ll go to graduate school to practice law. I definitely want to go into law. I want to use my communication skills and argumentation to be someone who can be there to help people.”