During the 2020-2021 school year, Irvington Debate has achieved the first rank over 79 other high schools across the United States in the National Parliamentary Debate League (NPDL). Competing in tournaments across the nation almost every other week, Irvington Debate’s success has reached new heights. 

High school debate teams compete in tournaments for points, calculated by a formula which factors in the size of the tournament and the team members’ placings. Irvington currently has 542.5 points, 99 higher than Menlo-Atherton high school which holds the second place position. This year is the first in Irvington Debate history where the team achieved and maintained the first place rank with such a high lead. 

Every high school debate team in the NPDL competes in registered tournaments held in high school and college campuses. However, due to COVID-19, tournaments have shifted to a fully virtual format, operating primarily on Zoom. Varsity Parliamentary Captain Drishti Gupta (12) described how the online format has been benefiting Irvington Debaters. 

 “We’ve been able to go to a lot more local and East Coast tournaments, which we wouldn’t be able to go to if we were in person.” said Gupta, “That has allowed us to compete better and get more points because we are able to divide and conquer at all the tournaments.”

Misha Meswani (9), a recent co-champion at the Vikings Invitational Tournament, explained how Irvington Debate has helped her achieve success.  

“Irvington Debate has really good coaches and mentors,” said Meswani, “The novice Parliamentary Captain especially helped me learn the basics and answered any questions I had.”

The Irvington Debate officer team works hard to provide opportunities and resources to all members, whether they are novice or varsity, which has played a significant role in their achievement. 

“I’m extremely proud of Irvington Debate’s success,” said Drishti Gupta. “Every single year that I’ve been in, it has only gotten better. I know that in the future, I will continue to judge tournaments and give all the help that I can to make sure that everything continues on in the coming years.”