If you have seen the movie THE GREAT DEBATERS you have seen much of what we do and what it takes to do it well. We compete against teams from other schools at the local, regional, state, national, and on rare occasions, international levels. West Meck debaters have earned 5th and 7th place national finishes in past years, captured two United Nations/NFL Special Recognition Awards for International Legislative Debate (competing against debaters from more than 30 nations), and have twice competed at Harvard University’s National High School Invitational Speech and Debate Tournament, the most prestigious high school debate tournament on the planet.
In addition to traditional debating events, we participate in Mock Trial and Moot Court competitions sponsored by the NC Bar Association, and we have captured several “Best” awards in both. Our governing organization is the National Forensic League (“NFL”), and student debaters who earn a specified number of ”points”--awarded for performances in debate tournaments--can qualify for induction into the NFL, whose members include presidents, statesmen, business persons, actors, entertainers, and world-class members of many other professions.
Due to the complex nature of debating events, it is a considerable advantage to have taken at least one semester of classroom debate; however, on rare occasions we have had dedicated, motivated, hardworking students who were able to succeed as competitive team members without having taken formal debate classes.
Our meeting days and times vary according to our competition schedule. “West Meck Debate: On a Collision Course with the National Championship!”