VSU debate team wins national championship - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

VSU debate team wins national championship

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VALDOSTA, GA (WALB) -

Valdosta State University has another national championship to boast about.

The VSU Debate Team placed first in a two-day national competition.

When you think of Valdosta State University, you may think of the national championship football team. But now a new team is putting the school on the map, the debate club. This group of students placed first in a two-day competition at the University of Florida over the weekend.

"This is Titletown, this is Winnersville, so it should be no surprise to anybody who's watching this tonight, that the debate team is now in the ranks of the football team, the softball team, and the other activities on campus," said Debate Coach, Dr. Michael Eaves.

The Blazers competed against 15 other schools from across the county. In the final round they beat the University of Miami and took home the 2013 national championship. Eaves says in his 20 years of coaching debate, this year is the school's most successful. He says to win, his students have to stay on top of current events.

"They did facebook, whether its good or bad, we debated prisons and whether they should be privatized, we debated Iran and our foreign policy," said Eaves.

The students get the topics 20 minutes before the debate, and say that time is crucial.

"You're going on Google, you're going on every website you can to find information," said freshman, Erin Taliaferro.

"You just try and write down anything you think could be helpful. Maybe somethings won't be helpful but it can be a lot of pressure," said sophomore, Keven Rudrow.

The team says they hope this title will help increase their school budget and bring more students into the club.

The debate team is already headed to their next competition. They'll be competing at Berry College tomorrow.

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