The Hotchkiss Speech and Debate Team opened its season with a win at the Roxbury Latin Parliamentary Debate Tournament on Sept. 15. Sixteen teams from around the league gathered for three rounds of debating. The four Hotchkiss pairs were perfect on the day, finishing 12-0 for the best team record and the First Place School award.

At the advanced level, the team won every available award, including top advanced speaker, the Olsen Prize, which was won by Maadhavan Prasanna ’25. With this win, Maadhavan qualified for the World Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in the spring.

Max Salzinger ’25 was the second place advanced speaker, and Isaiah Stephens ’25 was the third place advanced speaker. Max and Maadhavan were the first place advanced pair, and Isaiah and Vanessa Guerra ’25 were the second place advanced pair.

The novices had a strong showing as well. Andrew Roraback ’27 was the top novice speaker, and Andrew and Isabella Deng ’27 won the top novice pair award. Clover Curry ’27 and Lallie Argenti ’27 went 3-0, contributing to the team’s perfect record.

Coaches Thomas Fisher and David Conti were impressed with the team’s strong start to the 2024-25 season. They are looking forward to upcoming Debating Association of New England Independent Schools (DANEIS) competitions, including an all-novice tournament at St. Sebastian’s School on Oct. 6.

All interested students are encouraged to attend debate practice Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. in Room 302.