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Universities have always been considered a place of dialogue and development, where students not only acquire knowledge related to their career, but also their personal skills. One of the main bearers of this ideology are the university associations, such as the URJC Debate Club, specialized in oratory, communication and debate. During the last two weeks of October, its members have put these skills to the test, participating in a series of national tournaments that were held in different Autonomous Communities.
Great results in different competitions
His first success of the month began in Valencia, where the IX BP INTERPOLI Parliamentary Tournament took place from 22 to 24 October. The couple formed by the members of the URJC Debate Club, Rosalía García and Silvia Campos, have been declared semi-finalists in the competition.
The following week, on October 29 and 30, the V Adolfo Suárez National University Debate Tournament was held. Following the academic format, the teams had to address the same question: "Agenda 2030: should Spain further promote the fight against climate change?"
This year, the URJC team was made up of Laura Ballester, Andrea La Parra, Marcos Caballero and Miguel Flores; and had two trainers, Qquillaccori García and Andrés Lagar. "Although I had already attended several academic tournaments in person, this was the first in which I participated offline after the start of the pandemic," explains Andrea La Parra, a member of the URJC Debate Club and a of the debaters in the competition.
The team began their preparation for the tournament about three weeks in advance due to the breadth and depth of the topic. "Currently the climate summit is taking place in Glasgow", continues Andrea La Parra, "so we see the great relevance that issues such as the environment and the 2030 agenda are having in society." All the hard work has paid off as URJC has reached the final of the tournament. In this, they faced the Carlos III University team, and finally finished as runner-up.
On the other side of Spain, in Salamanca, another competition has taken place: the IV BP ADUSAL Parliamentary Tournament. Organized by the Debate Association of the University of Salamanca, it was also held on October 29, 30 and 31. Of the three couples that have attended the event, one of them, formed by Delia García and Leyre Puyuelo, have been proclaimed semi-finalists, and were ranked as the 9th and 10th best speakers of the tournament respectively.
Next destination, the URJC
After a long month of work and success, the Rey Juan Carlos University will become the venue for its own competition at the end of this month. From November 19 to 21, the VII edition of the URJC Parliamentary Tournament, one of the most important debate events nationwide. This year, it will host more than 120 participants from all over Spain.
All these events mark an important change in the world of debate: its return to face-to-face events after an almost exclusive year of remote tournaments. “Having face-to-face competitions again gives you the opportunity to meet new people,” explains Delia García, member and secretary of the URJC Debate Club. Although the tournaments online they have their advantages, that closeness that it gives us when you meet up with your friends from other debates, it also marks your personal development.”