Panther Debaters Claim Third Place at Hays

Mr. Heath
October 2, 2018

HAYS, KS (09/29/18) —Varsity debaters Daniel Abbott and Patrick Heath teamed up to earn
4 th place medals and lead the GBHS debate squad to a third-place sweepstakes trophy at the
Arrowhead Classic debate tournament held at Hays High School last Saturday.
Five panther duos travelled to Hays for the tournament and all finished with winning records.
In the varsity division, Bayle Sandy and Geoffrey Pafford went 3-2 and earned 8 th place
medals. In the novice division, three teams also won 3 of their 5 rounds of competitions.
These teams and their placings included: Robby Brining and C.J. Gibson-7th, Skylar Fletcher
and Isaiah Smith-10 th (tie), Tia Mitchell and Christopher Clark-10 th (tie).
The Panthers top three finish out of 17 schools was their best so far this season. The varsity
division featured 34 teams and the novice division 24.
“All of our debaters finished in the top half of competition, and all had winning records,” said
first year coach, Kim Heath. “One of our goals for the season was for all of our teams to finish
a tournament with winning records. That goal has been met thanks to the hard work and talent
of these awesome kids.”
The debate topic chosen by the National Speech and Debate Association for this year focuses
on the resolution: Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially
reduce its restrictions on legal immigration to the United States.
“The topic this year is a national hot-button issue,” said Coach Heath. “With all of the media
attention focused on immigration, our kids feel much more connected to the topic than in
previous years. They are finding out how complicated this issue really is. Immigration policy is
something that almost everyone agrees is broken, but how to fix it has stymied leaders since
our country first erected the Stature of Liberty.”
The GBHS debate squad will not debate next weekend as they will be hosting their own
invitational tournament at the high school. Eight area schools are signed up to bring their
squads to Great Bend. Coach Heath and the team are still looking for local community judges.
According to Heath, “You do not need debate experience, only an open mind and a willingness
to give up a few hours to support some of the brightest young people in this part of the state.”
For more information about judging or how you can help support the GBHS debate team,
contact Kim Heath at the high school, 620-793-1521, or e-mail her at [email protected].