Thursina IIBS Debate Team Secures Runner-Up Position at 2023 WSDC
Three Thursina International Islamic Boarding School (IIBS) students successfully secured the runner-up position at the 2023 WAPPIM School Debating Championship (WSDC). Farras Hakim Rakhmadi, Dzaky Zhaffran Razzansyah, and M. Naufal Anugerah Mahardika accomplished this impressive feat on March 19 at an event organized by the Student Scientific Reasoning and Development Vehicle (WAPPIM) Student Activity Unit (UKM) at Malangkucecwara College of Economics (STIE).
Held in the STIE Malangkucecwara hall, the championship brought together 22 high school teams from all over East Java. At the start of the competition, each team was given 30 minutes to prepare their debate materials which cover topics such as economics, politics, and science and technology. “During the competition, all participants gathered in the hall for the motion release. There, they were presented with a set of topics to explore and develop. Then we began to prepare our arguments,” explained Zhaffran.
To prepare for this competition, these students had less than a week worth of practice. All three of them were particularly focused on learning the strategy while strengthening their arguments on the materials given during the debate. “We didn’t have much time, so we rushed through the materials given by our advisor. Following our advisor's guidance, we concentrated on classifying the information into definitions and descriptions. From there, we could begin to strengthen our arguments,” revealed Farras.
According to Farras, their biggest challenges during the competition stemmed from within, including feelings of inferiority when facing more experienced teams and exhaustion that affected their focus due to the long hours of the event, which lasted from morning to evening. Nevertheless, they managed to overcome these obstacles by taking advantage of the gaps in their opponents' arguments and closely monitoring the points being presented. “Eventually, we regained our focus when we saw a feasible opportunity, which alhamdulillah, we executed well,” he added.
The three students expressed their gratitude for the support and mentorship from Thursina IIBS, particularly thanking their advising teacher for guiding them throughout the competition process. "We received careful guidance and learned a lot about systematic thinking from Ustadz Umar, our advisor," noted Dika.
Looking ahead, the trio aims to further develop their debating skills and hopes to represent their school in national and even international competitions. “Hopefully, in the future we can compete further in other debate competitions and earn more achievements,” Dika concluded.