From March 26 to April 2, Choate Debate Captain Lex Njomin ’23 and Co-Vice Captain Michael Korvyakov ’23 took to Durban, South Africa, for the 2023 World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships (WIDPSC). The annual tournament consisted of 16 teams, each representing a nation, comprised of 16 high-school-age students. As Co-Vice Captain and Captain of the Choate Debate Team respectively, both Njomin and Korvyakov have worked hard to refine their skills in order to qualify and compete in this year’s championship.
As one of the most prestigious debating events in the world, the championship is extremely challenging to qualify for. Candidates must win the best speaker award in one of seven to ten tournaments in their regional league to be considered for WIDPSC. Choate students compete in the Debating Association of New England Independent Schools (DANEIS) league, covering the Northeastern parts of the United States.
Though winning a tournament is “exceptionally challenging,” said Korvyakov, receiving qualifying scores is difficult, too. The lone judge makes subjective ratings of debaters’ performance; “judges are told to only give 90s to the most exceptional debaters” or after listening to “one of the top 10 speeches [they have] ever heard.” Thus, one judge who prefers a faster speaking cadence may mark a speaker higher for doing so while another might mark them down.
At the competition, students took part in four forms of speaking and debate: interpretive reading, impromptu speaking, debate, and a choice of either persuasive speaking or after-dinner speaking. The lattermost category is speech in which the speaker takes on a persona of their choice to entertain and inform the audience following a dinner.
Njomin qualified for the after-dinner speaking finals, which accepted only 10 speakers, despite having done it only one time prior. For his speech, he chose to be a “big pharma exec” critiquing the American government. Discussing “big pharma” issues through a comedic lens, the final proposal developed through his speech stated that “big pharma [needed] a new face,” and not one with “rhinoplasty and Botox.” Instead, Njomin advocated for national healthcare, stating that nothing will change since the government’s poor regulations and ignorance to the plights of the people are the problem. Critiquing medicare and including many statistics, Njomin wove humor and political analysis into his speech. Though not qualifying for the grand finals, he “really [fell] in love with the idea [of his speech].”
The journey of getting to the world championships was not an easy one. However, the many hardships and tournaments attended culminated in a rewarding and challenging experience for both Njomin and Korvyakov.
