Eight policy debaters won the Oak Hills speech and debate tournament on Oct. 25, beating out seven other schools in the competition.

Junior Miles Stepleton and senior Lukas Schwab won the varsity debate category, and freshmen Lea Kapur and Kate Weeks took third place in novice debate. Four other Lincoln competitors took home awards based on their oratory debate skill. “Tournaments are exhausting, and most rounds are super suspenseful,” Schwab said. “That wears off quickly, though.”

Unlike other tournaments, Oak Hills was unique in that the only event it offered was policy debate. Coach Jennifer Owen was “delighted though not completely surprised” at Stepleton and Schwab winning because they placed second in a tournament earlier in the month.

Policy debate, also known as cross-examination debate, is one of the four main forms of debate offered in Oregon. It’s one of the more intense forms, in which partners argue over the merits of policy changes. One side, the affirmative, gives a plan designed to support a certain policy resolution, while the negative side takes the opposite position. It is considered to be so intense because of the speed of speaking in the debate form, up to 500 words per minute in certain states. As Owen put it, “Policy debaters are renown for their ability to not only speak fast but think just as quickly.” Policy debaters often attend summer camps to hone their skills, where they pick up new policy techniques and jargon, she said.

At the start of the year, Lincoln added a speech and debate class along with two policy coaches and teachers, Dylan Amo and Jake Weigler, both Lincoln alum. “We’re building a program that I expect could feature prominent state and maybe even national competitors in upcoming years,” Owen said. “Given the administration’s support of debate through the addition of the class this year and the coaching boost we’ve had with Jake and Dylan, our policy future looks bright.”