SAN ANGELO, TX — Three Central High School students won the trifecta at the 2023 UIL Congressional Debate contest for Region XV. All three debate contestants are headed to the state UIL contest in January. They are (in ranked order):
- Jack McLaughlin
- Annabeth Dusek
- Bell Royer
According to the UIL, “Congress is an individual contest in a large group setting. It models the legislative process of democracy, specifically, the United States Congress. Within this mock legislative assembly competition, contestants draft legislation (proposed laws and position statements) submitted to the tournament, and they research the docket of bills and resolutions dealing with real-world social and political policies prior to the contest to prepare their speeches.”
The contest required students to caucus in committees, argue the merits and disadvantages of each piece of legislation, and then vote to pass or defeat the measures presented.
Students are exposed to the parliamentary procedures and the contest encourages students to extemporaneously respond to others’ arguments, as if the students are participants in a legislative session.
The San Angelo Central Debate coach for this team is Cody Evers. There are about 130 students participating in Central’s debate program.
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