Thanks to Our Competitors
In the immortal words of Ross Kennedy Smith, writing on edebate 2009:
“…
Thank you competitors.
Every one of you, coach and debater, who face our teams and push our teams to think harder, research deeper, get outside of our narrower confines. You pose questions to our coaching, without which questions we could not learn and improve.
On occasion, hopefully rare, we do not reciprocate or we fail to appreciate. When we (being human) are at our worst we might denigrate. I hope and trust not, but know that we mean not.
We can’t do it without you.
What are the best debates you have judged or debated in? They are closely contested. They reflect a commitment to excellence. That attribute can never be one sided.
We are at our worst and best when we put everything we have into a debate and come up on the short end. But who gave us the opportunity to be triumphant and feel that the win was meaningful in the first place?
