Hilo High School’s 2-year-old debate program is heading to an international debate tournament on Oahu next week that organizers hope will help give the small team some visibility.
Hilo High School’s 2-year-old debate program is heading to an international debate tournament on Oahu next week that organizers hope will help give the small team some visibility.
The debate tournament is part of the 2017 Global Tourism Summit, previously called the Hawaii Tourism Conference. The three-day event will take place at the Hawaii Convention Center and is sponsored by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
The round-robin student debate portion of the summit aims to bring teens into the “discussion on tourism’s future,” a Wednesday news release said.
Hilo High is among 18 teams competing in the tournament that begins Tuesday. Other teams are from Japan, China and New Zealand, among other countries. Parker School in Waimea, well-known for its debate program, is sending three teams.
Hilo High and Parker School have scheduled practice rounds leading up to the tournament.
Teams will spar on the topic “Resolved: Tourism Helps to Preserve Culture,” according to the release. The top two teams will compete in a finale debate.
Hilo’s debate club started in the 2016-17 school year. It reportedly is the only speech or debate program offered at a public school on Hawaii Island. Despite being new and having just a handful of members last year, two of the club’s six members competed in the Hawaii Speech League’s State Forensic Championships on Oahu.
The club re-formed this school year but still only has a few members and all are first-timers. Members from last year moved to different schools. Team coach Greg Laliberte said Thursday that he and his wife, faculty adviser Liz Laliberte, are actively working to increase student interest. He said he’s also working to add debate as a credit course in the future, which he said could further help boost membership.
“I think debate is just really challenging,” Laliberte said. “And it’s going to take tenacity to get it up and running. I think if we can keep a core group together, I think that will go a really long way to growing the team.
“We need kids who, win or not, just want to learn experience (debating).”
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.