“STEINERT!” The roar of applause around us took me by surprise, a sudden wave of relief amid seas of anxiety and anticipation. Although my feelings were definitely caught off guard, there was an undeniable comfort: for the first time in our history, we were the champions of the entire CVC Debate League. It wasn’t until the bus ride home that I was able to reflect on the path we took to get here, starting from the beginning of this school year.

“The United States federal government should substantially increase its security cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in one or more of the following areas: artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and cyber security.” Following an undefeated season with my partner Cole Brady and overall success for Steinert’s Debate Club, we had high expectations. Our team as a whole had grown unexpectedly under Mr. Freeman, with multiple JV teams being formed. This notably included Alexander Difalco, Annesimone Farid, and Jack Haber. Unfortunately, this year’s resolve seemed complicated and far-fetched. We didn’t know much about NATO, nor did most of us have any true knowledge of the three “areas.” Given how in-depth and technical our meets can be, this posed a challenging threat to our former victories. As such, we knew that a lot of effort and research were sure to come.

Essentially, every debate has an affirmative and negative team. Affirmative debaters, such as Cole and I the previous year, agree with the prompt and have to propose a plan. Negative sides, like Fadi Farag and Evan Ziccardi, have to dispute or disprove their ideas. Each team has constructives, which are uninterrupted monologues. Cross-examinations are like interrogations, and rebuttals are the closing remarks. Now, in general, both sets of debaters require an abundance of information in order to properly function. This can include pages and pages of research, data, precedents, and more. Accordingly, we finally felt ready after several late-night calls and discussions.

The beginning of the actual season came by incredibly quickly. We had multiple practice debates against each other and participated in a scrimmage, but serious meets had a different feel to them. Considering that other schools order hefty rule books and have preexisting advantages, we were usually the underdog on paper. Fortunately, given our previous success, we knew that we could overcome our first opponent: Notre Dame at Notre Dame. Now, to make a long story short, it was a complete victory for our varsity teams. We also received both Best Speaker awards, which account for some points, so we were initially tied for first in the league. Likewise, our JV teams finally had the chance to partake in what was mostly their first-ever debate. With high hopes, we moved on to Week 2.

The second meet was coincidentally also against the home team. Facing Nottingham, given its close connections to Steinert, had another aspect of competition to it. Still, it was another sweep for our varsity teams. With Best Speaker awards again falling to Fadi and me in our respective matches, we were still going strong at the top of the league. Through experience and some practice debates, our JV teams were also rapidly approaching similar levels of success.

Week 3, for some odd reason, was again against the home team: Lawrence at Lawrence. Now, this debate was expected to be challenging. Lawrence has always been one of the best teams in our division, so we knew that we couldn’t afford to mess up. After each of our intense debates, however, it was great to see a similar result: complete wins across the board. In terms of the JV matches, we had yet another victory. Even with the challenges ahead, Steinert was in an incredibly strong position.

The fourth week was just an inter-divisional scrimmage, so Cole and I faced MCTS - Sypek as Fadi and Evan were matched against West Windsor Plainsboro South. Again, we found success, but it was really the next week that mattered.

Week 5, the ultimate test, was against Bordentown. At this point, both of our varsity affirmative teams had perfect records and received every possible Best Speaker award. Fortunately, though, whereas Fadi and Evan were undefeated, their negative side had lost two debates. This meant that, if we could secure any points or a single Best Speaker award, Steinert would be the official champions of the Colonial Division. Going into the debates, everything was on the line. We also knew that their teams were incredibly successful and efficient at conveying points, so doubts started to creep into our minds. Now, as expected, the matches were extremely competitive. Unlike previous weeks, neither Cole and I nor Fadi and Evan could confidently claim that we won. Waiting for the final score sheets to come out was a torturous and lengthy experience, but, finally, we saw our negative team’s judge return with the results.

We finally did it: Fadi and Evan had won and received the Best Speaker award. At that point, any of our other results didn’t even matter in terms of the standings. This was the first time Steinert was ever first in the league, giving us enough reason to celebrate and act joyously. With this accomplishment and our history of winning, we looked forward to the final championship match against the other division’s best team: Robbinsville.

The days leading up to the debate were marked by technical concerns and aimless anticipations of their quality and evidence. Robbinsville was unquestionably the strongest opponent we had ever faced, so we knew that being prepared and confident was the only way to succeed. We had the choice to send either our affirmative or negative team and, after much deliberation, Cole and I had been put forth. As such, our entire team scoured over every preconceived weakness in order to create an impenetrable plan. Eventually, on the day of the meet, we were faced with an unusual setting: the center of the auditorium with cameras and microphones. Although we were certainly surprised, we began with the same determination, and, thus, the debate had begun. Tensions continued to seep in as the match progressed, but we eventually finished with a sense of suspense. After what felt like hours of waiting, the judges finally led us back to the cafeteria to announce the official winners.

“STEINERT!” All of our victories and efforts culminated in the single moment of lifting the trophy in front of everyone. Mr. Freeman shared the success, saying, “When Sajid, Fadi, Cole, and Evan came as freshmen, it saved the debate program. Before that, it was hit-or-miss in terms of student participation and the ability to compete. It’ll be hard in the future to find a group as impressive as the ‘Fab Four.’” With his established support, we reveled in our triumphs: Steinert Debate Club was the official champion of the CVC Debate League.