WHS debaters ranked No.2 in GGSA

The Windsor High School debate team is rolling right along in
its third year in the Golden Gate Speech Association, finishing the
first half of the league schedule with a 37-16 record and a no. 2
ranking overall.
The defending league champs lost some of their most experienced
debaters to graduation last year but continue to challenge some of
the top high schools in the Bay Area for the overall title in
parliamentary debate. Varsity teammates Jakob Christensen and
Cameron Lane are the league’s only undefeated team at 8-0, followed
closely behind by Brenda Nelson and Amy Jeffrey. The two Windsor
teams finished 4-0 at a league tournament at Santa Rosa Junior
College last month.
Coach Bryan St. Amant said winning and rankings come second to
the students’ continued improvement in debate and public speaking,
but he was thrilled all the same by the team’s success. “We attract
kids who like to argue and like to win,” he said. “We teach them to
be effective public speakers and we put them into contests that
allow them to compete.” The rest comes naturally.
St. Amant volunteered to coach the team three years ago when his
daughter Helaine was a student at Windsor High School. She
graduated last year, but he decided to continue on with the
program. He competed in debate when he was in high school and in
college, and he believes it helped him get into UC Berkeley and
later MIT. He hopes to help provide Windsor students similar
successes.
His team is more than happy to take him up on the offer. Team
captain Nelson is in her third year on the team and plans on
competing for SRJC’s debate team next fall. Her father Mark Nelson
is a longtime professor at the college and coaches the team.
“I like everything about debate,” she said. “It’s the only thing
I’m competitive in. I’ve met some good friends through it and
dragged others to it.”
Christensen is only in his second year with the team but has yet
to lose this year. “I really liked arguing and when I learned there
was a place I could do that formally, and improve, I thought that
would be the place to be,” he said.
He’s found that arguing only gets him halfway there. In
parliamentary debate, teams are given a subject they must defend or
attack 20 minutes before the competition. They must have prior
knowledge of the subject if they have any hope of winning. This
means studying current events and relevant issues.
The team’s success and stability has attracted new students to
the program. Antonette Arasa joined the team after watching a
debate competition in the school’s theater. “I didn’t have the guts
to join until I saw a camp last summer, and I went,” she said.
She’s now in her first season and is discovering that she’s more
competitive than she thought.
Arasa and her teammate Matt Shilling took home honors at SRJC in
the novice category. Other awards went to Anthony Ver-Meer and
Jillian Janairo (junior varsity), Patrick Foster and Jared Lefebvre
(novice), and Chuck Roady and Mason Holt (novice). All seven
Windsor High School teams entered in the competition earned at
least two victories each against league opponents, including Analy,
Bishop O’Dowd, Livermore, Lowell, Monte Vista, Santa Rosa, Sonoma
Academy and Washington High School.
“I’m very happy for our students,” said St. Amant. “Our veteran
speakers are setting a great example for the entire team by working
hard on their persuasive skills, knowledge of philosophy and
current events. At this point in the season, we’re seeing their
hard work pay off with an impressive winning record.”
The debate team is currently on hiatus for the holidays and
final exams and will return to competition at Logan High School’s
Martin Luther King Invitational on Jan. 15-17. For more information
visit www.whsdebate.com.