Results from the 2009 John Chester Adams Memorial Debate Tournament are now available:
SPEAKERS
1. Isaac Bloch, Berkeley
2. Melanie Plaza, Ezra Stiles
3. Rek LeCounte, Timothy Dwight
4. Rahim Sayani, Berkeley
5. Julian Rajeshwar, Jonathan Edwards
SEMI-FINALISTS
Ezra Stiles College
Scarlett Lee and Melanie PlazaJonathan Edwards
Julian RajeshwarRUNNER-UP
Berkeley College
Isaac Bloch and Rahim SayaniCHAMPION
Timothy Dwight College
Rek LeCounte
Invitation:
The Adams Cup is an intramural debate tournament that seeks to promote competitive, lively, and thoughtful debate among Yale students, foster collaboration between the undergraduate organizations dedicated to student debating, and further cultivate spirited competition between Yale's residential colleges. The Cup is sponsored by the Yale Debate Association, with assistance from the Yale Political Union and the Yale International Relations Association.
Though today's students are well aware of Yale's longstanding tradition of debate and discourse, few know that formal competitive debate between residential colleges was once a popular embodiment of this tradition. Indeed, starting in 1946, the ten residential colleges organized themselves into an umbrella organization, the Inter-College Debate League. Membership in the league numbered in the hundreds, and included all of the standing residential college debate teams. Two years later, the Adams Cup was established as a salute to John "Jack" Chester Adams, outgoing coach of the Yale Debate Association who was retiring after 34 years of service to the Yale Debate Association, the YDA.
The standing residential college teams, all competing for glory of winning the Adams Cup, were divided into two geographic districts: Yale North (SM, TD, CC, BK, TC), and Yale South (PC, DC, JE, BC, SY). Teams debated two-on-two or three-on-three in preliminary rounds. The most successful team from each district competed for the championship cup that took place in May. The Adams Cup remained a lively and successful event throughout the second half of the 20th century until around 2000.
We believe that the spirit and values of the Adams Cup - camaraderie in critical thinking, analytical discourse, and informed discussion - highlight some of the best aspects of Yale's community and liberal arts tradition. In this light, the Yale Debate Association aims to bring the Adams Cup back to Yale for a third consecutive year, and in the spring of 2010, hopes to give this prestigious debate tournament a lasting place on campus.
Ila Nimgaonkar, Jacob Effron and David Trinh,
Co-Convenors
Copyright © Yale Debate Association 2010.