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2001 Kuwait Debate League Tournament Was One For the Books!
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The Kuwait Debate League Season ended in style with a two-day, two level championship. Though Al-Bayan Bilingual School retained its crown as Kuwait National Champions, and claimed all four of the top speaker awards, other schools clearly distinguished themselves as well.
As late as the third round, indeed, it appeared that either Gulf English School or Universal American School could win everything. GES distinguished itself not only by posting the second strongest regular season record, but also by winning squad awards and winning some major matches in the tournament itself. Further, it got a chance to win the entire tournament in the final, climatic match against BBS. GES debaters Nadine Abou Gheit and Altaf Malallah represented GES in the final.
Universal American School distinguished itself by winning two of the top four squad awards. After the second round, indeed, it boasted the best record of any of the schools. Only a couple of upsets in the final round kept UAS from debating BBS. Ghassan Haddad claimed an individual speaker award.
New English School ended its first season on an up note, winning and tying its last two matches and inadvertantly changing the order of the top three schools. Sally Mansour claimed the sixty place speaker award.
While BBS also claimed the junior varsity title, newcomer Kuwait National English School distinguished itself by coming in second, and receiving a certificate, in its first formal debate.
All schools should be feel, rightly, proud of their performance and attendance at the second KDL Championship!
Mr. Dan and Ms. Joan with the awards.
The following article in a slightly appeared on page three of The Arab Times.
Al-Bayan Bilingual School Wins Second Straight Kuwait Debating Championship
On Thursday, April 5th, Al-Bayan Bilingual School (BBS) won its second consecutive national debating championship win at the KFSAC/Kuwait Debate League (KDL) Championship. It overcame extremely strong opposition from KDL rivals Gulf English School (GES), Universal American School (UAS), and New English School (NES). Commented League Coordinator and BBS coach Daniel Fruit:
"I was really impressed with how much league debating has improved in just two seasons."
The championship culminates the Kuwait Debate League season. The Kuwait Debate League welcomes any school that is willing to debate American-style policy debates. This year, the league invited over forty schools to participate including Indian, Pakistani, American, British, and Filipino. The topic debated was:
"Resolved: That the United States should substantially change its foreign policy towards the Indian sub-continent."
Before the championship debate itself, GES, UAS, NES, and BBS underwent three rounds of practice debates that sent fourteen different squads of debaters against each other in head to head competition. As late as the end of the second round, GES and UAS both led BBS. However, in the final preliminary round, BBS defeated both GES squads while NES came up with win and a draw against UAS. This left BBS in first place with 64% and UAS and GES in a tie for second at 50%. Since GES enjoyed the better regular season record, they went to the finals to face BBS.
The final debate pitted BBS's top squad, Nabil Al Khaled and Saad Al Ghawas, against GES's Nadine Abou Gheit and Altaf Malallah. For GES to win, they'd have to win on both judges ballots. As it was, both judges voted BBS the winner.
Award winners included Khaled and Ghawas (top squad), UAS's Alan Chiwara and Ghassan Haddad (second place squad), and the brother sister team of Khadeeja and Abdu-Hameed Sayegh, (third best squad). BBS claimed four of the sixth top speaker awards with Mohammad Fakhral-Deen (first), Nabil Al Khaled (second), Saad Al Ghawas (third), and Adel al Omar (fourth). Ghassan Haddad of UAS (5th) and Sally Mansour of NES (6th) rounded out the top six. GES and UAS tied for second overall.
In the junior varsity division, BBS also claimed the title with Kuwait National English School (KNES) in second. BBS debaters Latifa Ben Essa, Abdullah al Sayer, and Yousef Dashti took the top three speaker awards. The top squad awards went to Al Sayer and partner Ahmad Abduljader (1st), Ben Essa and Bader al Tukhaim (2nd), and Dashti and Abdullah Bourhamah (3rd).
Commented League Coordinator, Daniel R. Fruit:
"There is no academic activity more challenging than American policy debate. The four KDL schools at the championship can do this, and do it well. This is what excellence looks like."
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The KDL Finale: The Debate Off
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For the second year in a row, the KDL ended it season with a "debate off" to determine the school champions.
BBS debated a challenging affirmative. Saad al Ghawas's and Nabil's Al Khaled's plan called on the US to give India the software and hardware to conduct nuclear testing without the necessity of real-world testing. Such a plan would not only save India money and eliminate pollutants caused by testing, but it would also improve its relations with the rest of the world.
Saad explains the affirmative's plan.
GES speakers Nadine Abou Gheit and Altaf Malallah countered by trying to prove the plan unworkable. Further, they pointed out that the plan would do nothing to take care of BBS's ostensible harm, the damage already done by such testing.
UAS's coach, David Reid, judging, apparently liked a remark made.
Altaf questions the affirmative's harms.
The judges sides, however, with BBS. Hence, we can assume that had the US really adopted the affirmative's plan, the US, and India, would benefit from it.
SCHOOL RECORDS*
1 BBS 6-0 100% 37.3, champions
2* KNES 0-2 0% 25.0
3* UAS 0-2 0% 21.0
4* GES 0-2 0% 0.0
* (Due to identical records, speaker points were used to determine the ranking.)
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TOP DEBATERS*
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Top 1-3 receive awards
1 Latifa Ben Essa BBS 20
2 Abdullah Al Sayer BBS 20
3 Yousef Dashti BBS 20
4 Bader Al Tukhaim BBS 19
5 Ahmad Abduljader BBS 19
6 Abdullah Bourhamah BBS 16
7 Fat'ma Al Ibrahim BBS 16
8 Fajer Al Tammar UAS 13
9 Farzal Siddiqui KNES 13
10 Raza Al Siddiqui KNES 12
11 Shaima Behbehani UAS 8.5
Latifa is thrilled to win top j.v. debater award!
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SQUAD RANKINGS
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Top two receive awards
1 BBS J2 Abdulullah Al Sayer/Ahmad Abdulajader 100% 39 pts.
2 BBS J1 Latifa Ben Essa/Fatma Al Ibraham/Bader Al Tukhaim 100% 37 pts.
3 BBS J3 Yousef Dashti/Abdullah Bourhama 100% 36 pts.
4 KNES Farazal and Raza Al Siddiqui 0% 25 pts.
5 UAS JV Fajer Al Tammar/Shaima Behbehani 0% 21 pts.
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Round By Round Results
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ROUND ONE
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BBSJ1 Fatma Al Ibrahim(15.5)/Latifa B. Essa(21.5) defeats KNES Farazal (14)/Raza Al Siddiqui
(11.5)
BBSJ3 Abd'h Al Sayer/Ah'd Abduljader wins forfeit over GES3 Yas. Al Sabwi/Nancy Hamchaoui
BBSJ2 Yous. Dashti (16)/Abd. Al Bourhamah (20) def. UASJV Fajer Al Tamar (11)/Shaima Behb. (8)
BBS 3-0
GES 0-1
KNES 0-1
UAS 0-1
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ROUND TWO
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BBSJ1 (Bader Al Tukhaim/Latifa Ben Essa defeats KNES Farazal (12.3)/Raza Al Siddiqui (12.5)
BBSJ3 Abd'h Al Sayer (20)/Ah'd Abduljader (19) def. UASJV Fajer Al Tamar (14)/Shaima Beh. (9)
BBSJ2 Yousef Dashti/Abd. Al Bourhamah wins foreit over Yasmine Al Sabwi/Nancy Hamchaoui
BBS 3-0
GES 0-1
KNES 0-1
UAS 0-2
Overall
BBS 6-0
KNES 0-2
UAS 0-2
GES 0-2
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