By Alex Mosher

Last year, the University of Nevada, Reno debate team ended its season ranked eighth in the nation.

“We really wanted top five, but we didn’t quite get there,” said president of the debate team Jonathan McGuire. “This year, we got there.”

For months the team was ranked as the number one debate team in the nation until midway through its season, when it was defeated by Washburn University.

“I didn’t mind losing to that team,” McGuire said. “They have substantially more resources, coaching staff and debaters with years of competitive experience. One of our top four debaters…this is his first year.”

One week ago, before McGuire and the team drove down to Flagstaff, Arizona for two national parliamentary debate tournaments, McGuire said he believed UNR would end the season ranked second in the nation.

Instead, the UNR debate team took home the top prize.

“It was a flood of emotions,” McGuire said. “But more than anything else I was proud of the team. Throughout my career I have placed emphasis on team cohesion, and top to bottom strength. Winning that award was one of the happiest moments of my life.”

During the final review of point calculations at the national tournament, UNR received a total of 126.02 points, just above Cedarville University, which had a total of 123.84 points. Points were accrued throughout the season at a variety of tournaments located in Oregon, California, Arizona and Utah.

McGuire said he believes it’s the team’s chemistry that gives them an edge over their competition.

“We compliment each others skills very well,” McGuire said.

In parliamentary debate, pairs of debaters from two different universities are given a topic 20 to 30 minutes before the debate. During that time they must recall any information they’ve learned on the topic, research what they don’t know and then develop a strategy for their assigned side of the argument.

“For example, in a debate on whether or not we should intervene in Syria, you need to make the right argument on how it would benefit us and how we have a moral obligation that outweighs possible negative outcomes,” said Kelly Brill, a senior debate team member. “You have to be smart about weighing things and how things would work out in the grand scheme of things.”

Under the guidance of their debate coach Philip Sharp, the debate team meets every day except for Monday. Practices start at 5:30 p.m. and practice rounds sometimes don’t end up finishing until 9 p.m.

Friday mornings, the team leaves for tournaments and they return late Sunday night in time for class on Monday.

Because topics in debate tournaments change every round, the debaters must be well versed in a vast array of issues.

“We do substantial amounts of research, like just ridiculous amounts,” McGuire said. “The more you know about the world, the more you’re going to be able to get down in that 20 minutes.”

One of the reasons UNR student Jakob Christensen said he’s on the debate team is because it gives him an opportunity to inform himself on a variety of topics.

“I’m an engineering major, so I don’t get to do a lot of reading about current events and political theory,” Christensen said. “I get to diversify my education through debate.”

But Christensen said the most important skill a debater has to learn is the ability to think quickly on his or her feet. McGuire calls this skill, “impromptu critical thinking ability.”

Coach Philip Sharp said winning the national title shows that it’s not only one or two members of the team who are excellent at this “impromptu critical thinking ability.”

“The national title represents a full season of hard work and commitment on the part of every member of our team,” Sharp said. “It shows that our program is more than just one or two quality teams, but is made up of twenty four of the best and brightest debaters in the nation. As a coach you can only hope to have such great students and a supportive administration.”

Although this is the last year McGuire will be eligible to compete in college debate, he’s confident in the team’s future.

“There’s not a team left in the country that I do not believe we can beat,” McGuire said.

Alex Mosher can be reached at amosher@sagebrush.unr.edu.