Cumberlands Debate Team wins National Championships

Members of the University of the Cumberlands Debate team

The debate team at University of the Cumberlands was recently named National Debate Champions in their division at the National Christian College Forensics Invitational (NCCFI) in San Diego, CA. The team was also named Quality Award Champions which is given to the team with exceptional overall performance.

“This debate team has done an incredible job this year, winning over 65 awards,” said UC Professor Jay Bourne, director of forensics and associate professor of communication arts and journalism. “They have worked hard all year and in particular developed and increased our research preparation for tournaments. Collectively our team members spend over 50 hours a week in practice, research and scrimmaging.”

Prior to each debate round, team members have 30 minutes to work together to research and prepare for the debate topic.

“This team is extremely dedicated to getting better every single round,” said debate team captain, Caleb Stoffle.

“Everybody on the team had questions and always wanted to improve upon what they did in the previous round.”

UC debate team members also came home with a number of individual awards in International Public Debate. Heather Greene (Ocala, FL) and Bethany Wilson (Tunnel Hill, GA) were named Novice Co-Champions; Anna Poynter (Mt. Vernon, Kentucky) was named Junior Varsity Champion and Caleb Stoffle (Seymour, Tennessee) was a Varsity Quarter-Finalist. Additional debate team members include Esmeralda Garcia (West Covina, CA) and Jordan Floyd (Corbin, KY). UC Graduate Students Justin Durbin (Somerset, KY) and Katie Detherage (Barbourville, KY) also traveled with the team and served as team coaches and judges.