Policy Debate Becomes Full-time Job in Salt Lake City

From http://www.sltrib.com/slc/ci_10795964

The great debaters
Rowland Hall-St. Mark's team will compete around the U.S.
By Natalie Dicou
Close-Up Staff
Salt Lake Tribune
Article Launched:10/23/2008 02:50:33 PM MDT
At Rowland Hall-St. Mark's Upper School, debate is not for the faint of heart.
Being a member of the private Salt Lake City school's debate team is more than a hobby.
"It's almost like a full-time job [when preparing for a tournament]," said Rowland Hall debate coach Mike Shackleford.
This year, Rowland Hall's debaters will compete in 20 tournaments, traveling to Chicago, Los Angeles, Massachusetts, Atlanta, Tennessee and other destinations.
The team will spend countless hours studying in libraries to prepare for the high-stress competitions.
Some students - including senior Melissa Leeworthy, for example - spend their summers at seven-week-long debate camps where they live, eat and sleep debate.
The hard work is paying off. Rowland Hall recently returned from a national tournament in Chicago where two of the school's two-person teams reached the equivalent of college basketball's Sweet Sixteen. The senior team of Leeworthy and Ankita Gupta and the junior team of Andrew Arsht and Mario Feola beat out some of the country's top prep schools. "Seniors dominate the national tournaments," Shackleford said. "I was surprised that our junior team did so well."
More than 100 teams from 60 schools took turns arguing for and against the following statement: "The United States federal government should substantially increase its alternative energy incentives."
In preparation for the tournament, the debaters became alternative-energy experts, Shackleford said, adding that high school debaters spend as much time researching academic articles as a master's student working on a thesis.
A good debater, says Shackleford, is feisty and has a desire to win and be tested intellectually.
Leeworthy fits the bill. Spending the summer honing her debate skills is paying off for the feisty senior. She was named a Top 10 speaker at the Chicago tournament.
Junior Jordan Friedman is the fifth member of the Rowland Hall debate team's Fab Five. She didn't compete in the recent tournament but will likely be a key part of Rowland Hall's success in upcoming tournaments.
"In terms of the activity itself, my favorite part of debate is how it's helped me become a more informed citizen," Friedman said. "I love that we're given the opportunity to travel."
Friedman - who hopes to attend Yale someday - said being a member of the debate team has become a lot more demanding since the 25-year-old Shackleford took over the program.
Shackleford's philosophy: "If you want to go to tournaments, then you need to work," Friedman said.
"I honestly think it's better," said Friedman of Shackleford's high standards, noting that it's better to enter a tournament knowing your stuff.
ndicou@sltrib.com