On Monday, January 21, the Calhoun High School debate team of Dana Higgins and Ben Jordon advanced to the late elimination rounds of the "Big Lex" debate tournament at Lexington High School near Boston. This win gave Calhoun its first bid to the Tournament of Champions, which will be held in May. The TOC is widely considered to be the toughest invitation-only tournament of national high school debate competition. With one bid, Calhoun can seek to qualify as an at-large invitee to the TOC. If they win a second bid later this spring, Calhoun will be automatically invited to compete.
     This is the first Tournament of Champions bid that Calhoun has won in more than a decade. Calhoun Debate Coach Edward Williams said, "Calhoun had come close to qualifying at several other tournaments, but we had always come up one ballot or one win short." Williams added, "I am very proud of the effort of these students, and of the support of their teammates and the faculty and staff at Calhoun High School, which has led to this success."
     Coach Williams is in his second year as Calhoun's debate coach, and has coached three other high schools to the Tournament of Champions.
     The next tournament for the Calhoun oralists is this coming weekend, when they will attend the prestigious "Barkley Forum" debate tournament at Emory University. Calhoun has won the Barkley Forum three times; most recently in 1979 when Monty Powell and Mike Hancock were coached by Calhoun's legendary coach, Sandra Worthington Silvers.

pictured Ben Jordon and Dana Higgins