BERKELEY, Calif., — The pairings are announced and the squad has 45 minutes to get everything set for a pivotal round of debate against Liberty University. Dylan Quigley and Sean Kennedy don’t let the nerves get the best of them but they are increasingly aware that they need one more win in order to head to the elimination round, and thus be eligible to compete for the national championship.

Quigley, a senior from Wichita, paces around the room rubbing his dark beard in sheer focus while organizing the cards he and Kennedy, a senior from Leawood, will be reading from during their debate. It’s not just them though — they have their unwavering coaches by their side helping them with some last-minute objectives.

The coaches are in it as much as the debaters.

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Debate team competes at national level

The Kansas debate team traveled to the University of California-Berkeley to face other universities.

This debate team is truly a family, with one head coach, nine graduate student coaches and four alumni, all there to support the six debaters.

Though serious about its objective, this team knows how to keep the mood light.

On the way to day three of the National Debate Tournament, a day in which the results could prevent a second KU team from qualifying for the elimination round, the mood is buoyant.

The witty remarks, laughter and anecdotes from team members and coaches alike help ease everyone’s nerves on the trip to the debate site.

The team doesn’t allow the gravity and prominence of competing for a national title to stifle their jovial demeanor. But with only thirty minutes until the debate begins, it’s all business.

Kelly Winfrey, a graduate student from Cheyenne, Wyo., and Lindsey Shook, a graduate student from Tulsa, Okla., sit in deep concentration in front of their laptops attempting to track down more evidence to further their argument. Mick Souders, a graduate student from Anacortes, Wash., chats with Quigley about the arguments; doing so ensures there won’t be any holes in their defense.

The opposing team walks in. The KU team hushes. Their discussions are now classified.

Scott Harris, head coach of the squad, is on his computer printing off cards he has just cut — “cutting cards” is the lingo for abridging the author’s claim to easily present arguments.

Kennedy is absorbed in what he is reading as he rubs his wrinkled forehead, pushing back his hair from his face. Harris begins whispering to Kennedy. Their exchange is too quiet for anyone else to hear, but their discussion is crucial.

This continues for the remainder of the preparation. Then the three judges arrive.

Winfrey, Shook, Souders and Harris leave.

Some of them are off to judge two other schools debate. Some are off to scout other team’s arguments. And some just don’t want to throw off the KU team.

“Alright, rock chalk guys, have fun,” Shook adds before leaving.

Quigley and Kennedy succeed in winning their fifth debate and qualifying for the elimination round.

But the win isn’t just theirs.

They credit their coaches. They’re the ones who fill in the holes.

“Since the coaches have been doing this for so long they often can find different kinds of evidence that the squads may not initially think they need,” said Ben Warner, a graduate student from Price, Utah. “They can analyze the evidence in a more thorough manner than debaters.”

But to Quigley, the coaches are more like the moms and dads to this family of debaters. The coaches want to make sure the teams are mentally and physically strong. They calm them down when they’re angry, cheer them up when they’re sad and help in any way possible.

The arguments have been worked over since the topic — whether or not to decrease the United States’ nuclear arsenal — was announced in June.

The coaches are now fine-tuning every intricate detail of each side of the argument.

The leader of the pack

Head coach Harris is in the zone.

He’s preoccupied with all kinds of affirmatives, resolutions and counter plans. His focus is 100 percent on his teams. And 100 percent on winning.

Harris writes arguments for this tournament all year, researching things for the debates that no one knows about until the moment they’re needed.

Team members revel in having him as head coach.

“The joy he gets from fighting an argument or from the process of what we do is really cool and it’s really infectious,” Shook said. “In that way it’s a lot of fun working with him because you can’t help but love debate when you’re around him.”

What team members can’t get over is his habit of pulling all-nighters throughout the five-day tournament. The word is eating chocolate and sipping milk help him stay awake.

“He is an aberration,” Shook said. “If you asked any random person that’s around here they would say that Scott’s ability to stay up all night is almost unsurpassed.”

His dexterity will continue today, the last day of the tournament, where rounds of octofinals will finally be held.

This is the day the nation’s top debate teams will go head to head in the supreme psychological battle of the year.

This is when the real competition for the national crown starts.

— Edited by Sarah Bluvas