Sibling Sidekick: Three senior debaters chose to compete with freshman siblings for the fun and different debating experience

Senior Luke Audus jumps out of his desk chair after going six and “O” in his all virtual debate tournament, shaking the paintings on the walls as he celebrates. His mom and younger sister, now-freshman and beginner debater Mae Audus, overheard him and his partner’s celebration. They knew instantly: Luke had taken another win in a debate tournament.

Luke isn’t the only four-year debater with a sibling in the beginners’ class. Seniors Ibrahim Sufi and Sam Huntley also encourage their younger siblings freshmen Mariam Sufi and Gus Huntley this year. 

Gus, Mariam and Mae watched their older siblings succeed as debaters in winning tournaments and qualifying for state in middle school, and began their debate career this year with help and motivation from their brothers.

Luke has always thought it would be a fun change of pace to compete with his sister as his partner — even if it meant losing a round or two.

“Sam and I at the beginning of the year decided debate wasn’t going to be super competitive for us,” Luke said. “One idea we had to make it really fun would be to debate with our younger siblings who are freshman.”

Despite the freshmen siblings having just started, all three seniors decided to attend a competition with their siblings as partners and share their debate wisdom and all the tips they’ve learned over their four year debate career.

“[Sam] would practice his speeches and that for sure motivates me,” Gus said. “He taught me this thing called spreading where you go through your speech really fast.”

With debate, competitors are expected to do their own research and prepare for each competition with their partners for the arguments they might face. While Luke researched this year’s debate topic — water resources and the environment — at the beginning of the year while also using on-the-fly arguments to get across a point, Gus rehearses his speech, timing it to ensure he can fit all his points into the eight-minute window when competing.

The Auduses and the Huntleys prepare to debate on Nov. 20 while the Sufis have yet to pick an exact date. As the regular debate season comes to an end, this will be one of the last hurrahs for the freshman-senior sibling duos.

On a normal occasion, freshmen compete in the novice division and junior varsity and varsity debaters compete in the open or varsity division. Since the seniors can’t debate down into the freshman division, the freshmen have to compete against more experienced, knowledgeable debaters in the open competition.

“I will probably say my same speeches but simplify my ideas a little bit so [Mae] can understand what I’m saying and contribute to my arguments too,” Luke said.

Debate students have to argue both affirmative and negative points, but since they’re in open division, the novices will be exposed to a broader range of argument topics through their siblings and competitors. There’s a limited number of points and cases the freshman themselves can run, so it could affect their record.

Sam has been to state for debate three times, placed in tournaments six times and qualified for nationals, with his freshman brother and parents — especially mom Leah Huntley — strictly only knowing his success from afar.

“That’s probably the most painful thing about being a parent of a debater,” Leah Huntley said. “ I will never see one of them debate. Sam has won some big tournaments and even qualified for nationals, but we just have to go with that they won.”

All three seniors have debated and gotten a rhythm down for the most ideal way to beat the competitors in each round with experiencing 6:00 A.M. wakeup calls for tournaments since freshman year — none of which their siblings are used to. 

Not only will the actual debate be impacted by their varying knowledge levels, but also the sibling bonds. While Luke and Mae have a normal sibling relationship, teaching Mae about the best way to win a round adds a new level to their daily interactions.

“This is an experience we can both enjoy but also a learning experience for her and introducing her into higher levels of competition,”  Luke said.

However, competing together isn’t about getting an easy win. For the three duos, it’s about getting a chance to spend more time running through every affirmative and negative round, as well as giving extra tips to the beginners to become just as successful as their siblings.