2008-03-11
Perspectives Hosts 1st Annual Round Robin
Philadelphia, PA-Perspectives is pleased to announce the First Annual Perspectives Round Robin, a special invitational competition for the top high school debaters in the nation, to be held April 18, 2008, in the City of Philadelphia.
"I am thrilled with the competitors in the round robin" says Ali Huberlie, Head of Afterschool Programming for Perspectives and the Director for the Round Robin. "They are talented, intelligent individuals who, more importantly, have expressed a real desire to become leaders in the debate community."
Round robins are unique competitions where each debater debates all other debaters in the competition. The Perspectives Round Robin has selected eight of the brightest students who will engage in seven rounds of competition on Friday, April 18th, 2008, before serving as volunteer judges at the Second Annual Voices of Philadelphia Debate Tournament, held Saturday, April 19th, 2008, at Drexel University. Whereas many round robins charge fees for participation, the Perspectives Round Robin is a donation-based, volunteer-driven event, meaning that participants make a donation in lieu of an entry fee to support Perspectives' programs.
Perspectives' first round robin boasts highly talented competitors from three mid-Atlantic states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York. Two competitors, Alex Koren ‘06-'07 and Ellen Noble ‘07, are former students of Perspectives' Philadelphia Debate Institute. All participants have received at least one qualifying bid to the Tournament of Champions, the most elite level of competition in high school debate.
The competitors are:
Isaac Bloch (Berkeley Carroll School, NY)
Alex Bores (Hunter College High School, NY)
J.P. Gooderham (Upper St. Clair High School, PA)
Alex Koren (Pennsylvania Leadership, PA)
Nikita Lalwani (Scarsdale High School, NY)
Ellen Noble (Walt Whitman High School, MD)
Vineet Singal (Bronx Science High School of Science, NY)
Marc Wallach (Collegiate School, NY)
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Perspectives is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization promoting youth debate education. Students who debate dramatically increase their reading comprehension, critical thinking, and public speaking skills. In the process, debate becomes a forum to foster youth achievement and civic responsibility. Perspectives has worked with over 400 students in 8 states through afterschool, summer, and special events. www.philadebate.org