Debating Junior League 2026 Rounds 1-4

This season’s Junior League has been very intriguing so far. On Thursday 22 January our school had the opportunity to host the season’s first two rounds.

We were visited by five schools from nearby and competed against each other. At 1 p.m. the schools arrived and enjoyed the delicious buffet our fellow students and the school provided us with. At 1.30 p.m. the motion for the first round was announced. Then the schools had an hour to prepare and find arguments in favour and against the motion. From 2.30 p.m. it was debated whether only vegan food should be sold in the school canteen. At 4.30 p.m. the second round of the Junior League started. That debate was about professional football. Unlike in the first round, the students were able to deal with this topic in advance and prepare the best arguments. The schools discussed whether this house would rather watch their favourite player playing professional football in their average home team (eg. Werder Bremen) over watching them play for a big international brand (eg. PSG). There were a lot of interesting debates. Many thanks to Ms Fix for the organisation and leading this debating Junior League.

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The third and fourth round led us to Karls Gymnasium in Stuttgart. We travelled there by train and bus (thanks to DB and rail replacement bus service – but it all went smoothly). On our journey we had already met familiar faces, for example the Schubart Sharks, whom we competed against in the first round. At Karls Gymnasium we were welcomed by a yummy cake buffet and soon the impromptu motion was to be announced: THBT parents should give pocket money only as a reward for doing chores. The prepared motion was a very unusual one. It was an actor motion, which means we had to argue as if we were Lucy: This house, as Lucy, would publish Titan's formula.

In order to understand this motion some background information is needed: Lucy has developed a formula, called Titan, that can both be used for a dangerous application: an undetectable deadly virus, and for good: to cure cancer (assume both of these options are equally feasible). While both drugs cannot be created by easily attainable chemicals, you can find the chemicals on the black market/hospitals/etc. The debates were very interesting, but also very complex. It was a close call, but unfortunately, we did not win the round. Nevertheless, we gained a lot of experience and had a great day in even greater company. We are already looking forward to our next round!

Nora, Wiktoria, Vera (9d)