Gonzaga debate team headed to the ‘Big Dance’ of college debate competition
While Gonzaga’s men’s basketball team is primed for a Sweet 16 appearance this Sunday, another university squad will also compete this weekend in a different national tournament.
Molly Martin and Avalyn Hine, Gonzaga’s top debate team, picked up a top district qualifying slot for the 75th annual National Debate Tournament (NDT) hosted by Harvard Debate.
The NDT was cancelled for the first time last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Glen Frappier, the team’s coach and Gonzaga’s director of forensics. With pandemic restrictions in mind, debaters will compete virtually starting today through Tuesday, March 30. Many debates will be livestreamed; information will be posted on the tournament’s Facebook page.
“This tournament is the culmination of the year for all the teams,” Frappier said. “It’s kind of like our version of the Big Dance.”
This year’s tournament will mark the third-consecutive year that Martin, a junior from Sacramento, has qualified for the NDT. She and Hine, a sophomore from Boise, have been a team together for the past two years.
The pair took part in 68 competition debates on their way to the Big Dance, trailing only teams from Dartmouth and Navy for the most debate rounds of any team in the nation.
“It’s an intact team that’s debated together for two years, so that’s obviously a big advantage,” Frappier said. “They’re right now trying to crack their way into the top 25 area. I think they’re right on the cusp of doing that. They had some pretty good performances at a few tournaments this year.”
Frappier said the teams competing in the NDT are among the upper echelon in college policy debate. NDT administrators said there are 78 pairs of debaters representing 45 schools from 22 states and Washington D.C.
Beyond standard competition, Martin said she and Hine have prepared by running debates against each other along with scrimmages this past year against other squads in Gonzaga’s district. The district includes Washington, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming.
“Qualifying for this tournament is such an honor for us, and one we don’t take lightly,” Martin said. “It’s what everything we do and what hours of practice is ultimately looking toward. I definitely feel humbled and inspired by a legacy of really great debaters that have done incredible at this tournament over the years, including a strong history of Zags qualifying to the NDT.”
Martin said she found a passion for policy debate while attending the Gonzaga Debate Institute, a university debate summer camp, in her sophomore and junior years of high school.
Frappier, who’s worked with a number of teams over the course of his career, said Martin and Hine are among the most committed and likeable squads he has ever coached. He described the two as bright, committed, well-informed with current events and strong advocates for what they believe in – adding that those qualities translate into competition debate success.
“College policy debate is the most research intensive, academically rigorous and intellectually challenging of the forms of debate, and I think there’s a lot of factors for that,” he said. “It just takes a whole lot to succeed in this, and so I think that dedication and that commitment they show really shows up here.”
While the National Debate Tournament is among the biggest in collegiate debate, Frappier said he encourages his students to look at it like any other competition.
Martin, meanwhile, said she views the tournament as something of a celebration for the debate community.
“The National Debate Tournament is such a huge community event,” she said. “Of course competition is a main goal, but it’s also the time to reflect on a year of really great debates and celebrate those debaters who are having their final debates. It’s also a time to celebrate the dedicated coaches and judges who hold this activity up and make debate possible.”