Last year, Cambree decided to try a new debate competition called UIL Congress Debate. She did amazing and advanced to State her first year, just missing finals. This year she was determined to medal at State (place in the top 6th) and she worked HARD at it! She advanced to State and ended up reaching her goal! It's hard to describe the competition, so here's the way the UIL website describes it.
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. At the tournament, students caucus in committees, deliver formal discourse on the merits and disadvantages of each piece of legislation, and vote to pass or defeat the measures they have examined. Parliamentary procedure forms structure for the discourse, and students extemporaneously respond to others’ arguments over the course of a session.
