Archive

December 2022

  • On Dec.21st, at10:00am, the Bridgeport Public Schools Debate League will be hosting the fifth annual Magnet Cup. High Horizons Magnet and Discovery Magnet will be competing for the coveted Cup. The debate will take place at Discovery Magnet School  4510 Park Ave Bridgeport, CT 06606. 

  • In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, BPSDL will be hosting the inaugural Native American Heritage Debate on Dec. 7, 2022 at the Pequot Library 720 Pequot Ave Southport, CT 06890 at 5:30 pm. This event is open to the public.

November 2022

  • The Bridgeport Public Schools Debate League kicked off the 2022-23 season with a tournament on Nov 5th at Discovery Magnet School. 64 middle school students tackled the topic of the Environment and debated the resolutions: This House Would ban bottled water; This House Believes climate change is the biggest issue in human history; This House Believes electric cars are impractical.

  • Thank you to all our coaches and judges for their hard work and support in making our first tournament a great success.  

October 2022

  • In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, BPSDL will be hosting the fifth annual Hispanic Heritage Debate on Oct. 12 at Cesar Batalla School 600 Howard Ave Bridgeport, CT at 5:30 pm.

  • On Saturday Oct 8th the BPSDL will be hosting its ninth annual orientation, where we will be welcoming all our new and returning debaters

Tournament Results December 21, 2022 

2022 Magnet Cup

 On Dec. 21st, the fifth annual Magnet Cup was held at Discovery Magnet School in front of a student audience. High Horizon’s Kelci Keddo and Bernardette Kudaisi defeated Discovery Magnet’s Mary Sather and Dantae Vazquezon the resolution: This House Would ban animal testing. 

Tournament Results December 7, 2022

Native American Heritage Debate

The inaugural Native American Heritage Debate saw Fairchild Wheeler’s Margaret Carlson and Thomas Donnelly defeated Central Magnet’s Lotonia Ferguson and Tiara Campbell for the high school championship, on the resolution This House Would affirm the ruling in US v Cooley

In the middle school debate, Trey Kierans and Mary Sather of Discovery Magnet defeated Mianna Singleton and Isabella Elliott of Park City Prep on the resolution This House Believes Indian Sports Team Mascots Are Offensive

Tournament Results October 12, 2022

Hispanic Heritage Debate 

  • In the 2022 Hispanic Heritage Debate, Yale/UDL’s Alex Bavalsky and Zara Escobar defeated Harding High School’s Eythan Sanchez Rendon and Jennifer Velasquez for the high school division championship, on the resolution This House Believes sanctuary cities should not receive federal funding
  • In the middle school division championship, Luis Munoz Marin’s Edgar Ortiz and Yariana Martinez defeated Fransheily Martinez-Soda and Mia Agulair of Park City Prep on the resolution This House Believes the US Federal Government should not provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. 

April 2022

  • On April 29th, members of the Park City Prep debate team competed in the Yale/Urban Debate League Betsy Ross Tournament in New Haven. Renae Townsend and Mianna Singleton won first place for novice debaters while Isabella Conde won second place for best speaker and Trinity McCray took 3rd place.
  • On Wednesday April 6th, the Bridgeport Public Schools Debate League held its inaugural Women’s History Month Debate at Paier College, Littlefield Recital Hall. The event was hosted by the American Association of University Women. Participating in the debate were teams from, Central Magnet, Harding High, Jonathon Winthrop and Park City Prep.

March 2022

  • On Saturday March 19, the Bridgeport Public Schools Debate League held its fourth tournament of the year with 52 students debating the topic of Criminal Justice. The resolutions debated were: This house would eliminate the death penalty; This house believes prisoners should be allowed to vote; This house would defund the police. We are continuously grateful to all the support we have received.

February 2022

  • On Thursday February 17th, in celebration of Black History Month, the BPSDL will be hosting the sixth annual NAACP Douglas Garrison Debate at the Bijou Theater 275 Fairfield Ave Bridgeport, CT at 5:30 pm. The debate will be streamed live on the Greater Bridgeport NAACP Facebook page and will also be replayed on radio WPKN on Monday Feb. 21 at 12:00pm 
  • On Saturday February 5, the Bridgeport Public Schools Debate League held its third tournament of the year with 58 students tackling the topic of Education. The resolutions debated were: This house believes parents should be able to ban books from libraries and schools; This house believes homeschooling is better than traditional schooling; This house believes religion should be taught in schools. Once again, thank you to all the coaches and judges who volunteer their time to support our students.

January 2022

  • On Friday Jan 21st, the Bridgeport Public Schools Debate League held its inaugural Martin Luther King Day Debate at Harding High School. The team from Harding (Government) defeated the team from Central High School (Opposition) on the resolution, This House Would defund the police. This was the first league debate held during school hours and in front of a student audience.

December 2021

  • On Dec.17th, at 10:00am, the Bridgeport Public Schools Debate League will be hosting the fourth annual Magnet Cup. High Horizons Magnet and Discovery Magnet will be competing for the coveted Cup. The debate will take place at Discovery Interdistrict Magnet School  4510 Park Ave Bridgeport, CT 06606.
  • On Saturday Dec. 11th, the Bridgeport Public Schools Debate League held it’s second tournament of the year with 73 middle school students tackling the topic of Health. The resolutions debated were: This House Believes everyone should be legally required to get COVID vaccines; This House Would allow only fresh fruits and vegetables to be sold in grocery stores; This House Would require facemasks in all public buildings.   Thank you to all the coaches and judges who again came out to support the students of the Bridgeport Public Schools debate league. 

November 2021

  • The Bridgeport Public Schools Debate League kicked off the 2021-22 season with a tournament on Nov 6 at Geraldine Claytor Magnet Academy. 70 middle school students tackled the topic of Technology and debated the resolutions: This House believes tablets should replace textbooks in K-12 schools; This House would allow internet service providers to block access to political groups or individuals who spread falsehoods or disinformation; and This House would allow the use of electronic and internet voting in all elections.
    Thank you to all our coaches and judges for their hard work and support in making our first tournament a great success.  

October 2021

  • Pass The Gavel 
    Meet our partners and benefactors… 
    Zach and Zara Yusaf are High School students from the Hackley School in Tarrytown, N.Y. In addition to being nationally ranked debaters, they started a non profit organization to spread the art of debate and public speaking. www.passthegavel.org Through Pass The Gavel, they conduct free debate camps & seminars and have donated funds, computers & other supplies to debate programs across the United States.  In addition, they also created a Youtube channel to provide instructional debate videos for students nationwide.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-jvoNlWn7rpqZ216r6ClEA 
  • Radio Amor has invited BPSDL to debate live on the radio Saturday, Oct 23 at 10am at 261 Portsea Street, New Haven, CT, 06519.
  • In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, BPSDL will be hosting the fourth annual Hispanic Heritage Debate on Oct. 13 at Discovery Magnet School 1450 Park Ave Bridgeport, CT at 5:30 pm.
  • The BPSDL will be hosting Orientation Saturday on Oct 9th. We will be welcoming all our new and returning debaters!!

Tournament Results April 6, 2022

2022 Women’s History Debate

  • The 2022 Women’s History Month Debate was held at Paier College, Littlefield Recital Hall and was hosted by the American Association of University Women. Central Magnet’s Lotonia Ferguson and Iris Stephanie Rivera defeated Harding High’s Lena Graham and Shawanda Newby on the resolution This House Believes working mothers hinders their childrens’ development. 
  • In the middle school debate Renae and Townsen and Mianna Singleton of Park City Prep defeated Jaliah Wiggins and Briana Rosario of Jonathon Winthrop on the resolution: This House Believes that women in the military should not serve in combat areas.

Tournament Results March 18, 2022

2021 Magnet Cup

  • The 2021 Magnet Cup (postponed from December) was held at Discovery Magnet School in front of a student audience. High Horizon’s Maria Santos and Bernardette Kudaisi defeated Discovery Magnet’s Haley Nguyen and Amy Cruz-Flores on the resolution: This house would require vaccinations for children.

Tournament Results February 17, 2022

NAACP Douglas-Garrison Debate  

  • In the sixth annual NAACP Douglas-Garrison Debate, Central Magnet’s Lotonia Ferguson and Thomas Donnelly defeated Harding High School’s Shawanda Newby and Zaire Davis, on the resolution This House Believes civil disobedience in a democracy is morally justified.
  • In the middle school debate, High Horizons’ Benardette Kudaisi and Kelci Keddo defeated Maliya Pierre- Louis and Ashley Bedford of James J. Curiale School on the resolution, This House Would make Election Day a national holiday.

Tournament Results January 21, 2022

Martin Luther King Day Debate

  • In the 2022 Martin Luther King Day debate, Harding High School’s  Shawanda Newby and Bertony Georges defeated Central High School’s Lotonia Ferguson and Clementine Gnoto on the resolution, This House Would defund the police 

Tournament Results October 13, 2021  

Hispanic Heritage Debate 

  • In the 2021 Hispanic Heritage Debate, Central Magnet’s Iris Stephanie Rivera and Evelyn Saqui-Lima defeated Fairchild Wheeler’s Keyring Pastora and Sofia Perez for the high school division championship, on the resolution This House Believes immigration reduces labor opportunities of less skilled natives.  
  • In the middle school division championship, Luis Munoz Marin’s  Shenay Calzada and Madelin Sirin defeated Amy Cruz-Flores and John Carlos Cruz-Flores of Discovery Magnet on the resolution This House Believes DACA and the DREAM Act are good for America.  

2020/2019 Winners

Tournament Results January 8, 2020

   Magnet Cup

  • Discovery Magnet debaters Abraham Lima and Dylan Padua defeated Multicultural Magnet debaters Rosa Navarro Pulla and Leah Santos in the second annual Magnet Cup Tournament.  The topic was the environment.

Tournament Results December 10, 2019

    Environmental Challenge Debate- Discovery Museum

  • Harding’s Zach Billings and Ziona Jackson defeated Iris Stephanie Rivera and Clementine Gnoto in the inaugural Environmental Challenge at the Discovery Museum in Bridgeport.   The final’s resolution was This House would restrict ‘fracking’ to extract natural gas from shale.  Also competing were Latonia Ferguson and Larissa Fernandes ( Central) and Massiel Goris and Derrick Ballejo (Harding).

Tournament Results December 7, 2019

  •  40 middle school teams competed in the second tournament of the 2019-2020 season.  The topic was the Environment with the students debating issues on wind power,  plastic bottles and animal testing.

Tournament Results November 9, 2019

  • 38 middle school teams competed in the opening tournament of the 2019 – 2020 season. The topic was Education with the students debating issues on public school funding, evaluating schools based on test scores and the elimination of home schooling.

Tournament Results November 2, 2019 

Vassar College Debate

  • High school debaters from the Bridgeport Public Schools Debate League traveled to Poughkeepsie, NY to participate in the Vassar Invitational Debate Tournament held on the campus of Vassar College.
  • The League’s top speakers were Kenny Pineda (Fairchild Wheeler), Clementine Gnoto (Central Magnet) and Iris Stephanie Rivera (Central Magnet).
  • Also competing were Latonia Ferguson (Central Magnet) Thomas Donnelly (Fairchild Wheeler) Carlos Aguilar (Fairchild Wheeler) Anna Ovalle (Fairchild Wheeler).

​Tournament Results October 15, 2019 

Hispanic Heritage Debate

  • In the 2019 Hispanic Heritage Debate Fairchild Wheeler’s Kenny Pineda and Roberto Hernandez Velez defeated Central Magnet’s Iris Stephanie Rivera and Evelyn Saqui-Lima for the high school division championship. The resolution was This House Would make English the
    official language of the United States.
  • For the middle school division championship, Cesar Batalla’s Atila Rivero and Melissa Jaco, defeated and Discovery/Park City Magnet’s Abraham Lima and Jhilary Garcia on the resolution, This House Would end standardized testing for all elementary school students.

Tournament Results September 28, 2019

Superintendents’ Cup

  • In the finals of the inaugural Superintendents’ Cup (novice division), Discovery Magnet’s Abraham Lima and Jason Velasco prevailed on the resolution THBT private schools are unethical. 

In the varsity division, Fairchild Wheeler’s Annaliese Ovalle and

Thomas Donnelly took the runners-up spot.

  • Also competing and congratulations to:
    Kelliece Dixon/Ciara Feliciano (Park City Magnet)
    Isabella Valencia/Janelle Newell (Multicultural Magnet)
    Clementine Gnoto/Iris Stephanie Rivera (Central Magnet)
    Kenny Pineda/Andrew Rosario (Fairchild Wheeler)

Championship Final Results May 20, 2019

  • In the 2019 Bridgeport Public Schools Debate League Championship, Betsy Ross’ Gihon Mack and Jayla Anderson defeated Discovery Magnet’s Abraham Lima and Nataly Valencia. The resolution was “This House would require government to obtain warrants to access information such as telephone and internet data that can be used to track an individual”.
  • In the semifinals, Mack and Anderson defeated Aldin Medunjanin and Thomas Donnelly​ of Discovery Magnet and Lima and Valencia defeatedGenesis Bendolph and Laila Kelly-Walker of Betsy Ross. The resolution was “This House would remove the words ‘under God’ from the American Pledge of Allegiance as a violation of the First Amendment”.

Championship Tournament Results May 18, 2019

  • 31 teams competed in the season ending championship tournament of the Bridgeport Public Schools Debate League. The topic was US Constitutional Amendments. Teams from Betsy Ross (2 teams), Geraldine Claytor(1 team), Discovery Magnet (3 teams), Park City Magnet (1 team) and Jetti Tisdale (1 team) advanced to the quarterfinals, with Betsy Ross (2 teams) and Discovery Magnet (2 teams) advancing to the final 4.

Tournament Results May 6, 2019

  • In the 2019 Hispanic Heritage Debate Cesar Batalla’s Joaquin Chunga and Atila Rivero defeated Multicultural Magnet’s Sofia Atehortua and Rosa Navarro Pulla, in the novice devision. The resolution was “This House believes that the U.S. should take in more refugees.” In the varsity division, Geraldine Claytor’s Evelyn Saqui-Lima and Iris Stephanie Rivera defeated Park City Magnet’s Ciara Feliciano and Daniela Aguero. The resolution was “This House supports illegal immigrants becoming citizens.”

Tournament Results May 1, 2019

  • ​​Discovery Magnet’s Aldin Medunjanin and Thomas Donnelly defeated Park City Magnet’s Kelliece Dixon and Ruth Morgan in the 2nd annual Greater Bridgeport Bar Association’s Law Day Debate. The resolution was “This House would regulate the press.”

Tournament Results Mar. 30, 2019

  • 28 teams competed in the season’s fourth tournament. The topic was criminal justice.

Tournament Results March 2, 2019

Superintendents’ Cup

  • Cancelled due to inclement weather

Tournament Results February 27, 2019

Douglas-Garrison Debate

  • Park City Magnet (Kelliece Dixon and Ruth Morgan) representing the government, defeated Discovery Magnet (Thomas Donnelly and Aldin Medunjanin) in the Third Annual NAACP Douglas-Garrison Debate. The resolution was This House would treat White Supremacy groups as terrorist organizations. In the varsity division, Central High School (Jada Burgess and Katerina Ruiz) also representing the government, defeated Fairchild Wheeler (Heer Thakkar and Kenny Pineda) on the resolution This House would make Bridgeport a gun-free zone.

Tournament Results Feb. 2, 2019

  • 32 teams competed in the season’s third tournament. The topic was the environment.

Tournament Results Jan. 25, 2019

Twin City Classic

  • Jettie S Tisdale (Annaliese Ovalle and Lindsey Mohammed) defeated New Haven’s Betsy Ross in the inaugural Twin City Classic Tournament held at Yale University. Central High School (Ezequiel Fontan and Chunjang Bruynder) was the runners up in the varsity division. The topic for the debate was immigration reform.​

2018 Winners

Tournament Results January 8, 2020


Tournament Results Dec.18, 2018

Magnet Cup

  • Geraldine Claytor (Clemintine Gnoto and Iris Stephanie Rivera) defeated Discovery Magnet (Aldin Medunjanin and Thomas Donnelly) in the inaugural Magnet Cup Tournament. The topic was education.

Tournament Results Dec. 15, 2018

  • 32 teams competed in the season’s second tournament. The topic was technology.

Tournament Results Nov.10, 2018

  • 36 teams competed in the season opening tournament. The topic was education.

Past News

January 8, 2020

Congratulations to Abraham Lima and Dylan Padua of Discovery Magnet,  winners of the second annual Magnet Cup Tournament.  Runners up were Rosa Navarro Pulla and Leah Santos of Multicultural Magnet.  Also participating were Park City Magnet and High Horizons.


December 10, 2019

High School debaters from Central and Harding competed in the inaugural Environmental Challenge sponsored by the Discovery Museum and former Mayor and Museum Director Bill Finch.  In a very close debate,   Hardings’s Zach Billings and Ziona Jackson defeated Central’s Iris Stephanie Rivera and Clementine Gnoto.  Also competing were Latonia Fegurson and Larissa Fernandes ( Central) and Massiel Goris and Derrick Ballejo ( Harding).


November 2, 2019

High school debaters from the Bridgeport Public Schools Debate League traveled to Poughkeepsie, NY to participate in the Vassar Invitational Debate Tournament held on the campus of Vassar College. The League’s top speakers were Kenny Pineda (Fairchild Wheeler), Clementine Gnoto (Central Magnet) and Iris Stephanie Rivera (Central Magnet).  Also competing were Latonia Ferguson (Central Magnet) Thomas Donnelly (Fairchild Wheeler) Carlos Aguilar (Fairchild Wheeler) Anna Ovalle (Fairchild Wheeler). 


October 15, 2019

Congratulations to Fairchild Wheeler’s Kenny Pineda and Roberto Hernandez and Cesar Batalla’s Atila Rivero and Melissa Jaco winners of the 2019 Hispanic Heritage.

Runners-up were Central Magnet’s Iris Stephanie Rivera and Evelyn Saqui-Lima and Discovery/Park City Magnet’s Abraham Lima and Jhilary Garcia.


September 28, 2019

Congratulations to Discovery Magnet’s Abraham Lima and Jason Velasco who took first place in the finals of the inaugural Superintendents’ Cup, novice division.

In the varsity division, Fairchild Wheeler’s Annaliese Ovalle and  Thomas Donnelly took the runners-up spot.


May 20, 2019

Congratulations to Betsy Ross’ Gihon Mack and Jayla Anderson, winners of the 2019 Bridgeport Public Schools Debate League Championship. Runners-up were Discovery Magnet’s Abraham Lima and Nataly Valencia.

Also competing in the championship round were Genesis Bendolph and Laila Kelly- Walker from Betsy Ross and Aldin Medunjanin and Thomas Donnelly​ from Discovery Magnet.

Best Speaker Medals were awarded to:

  • 1st Place Ruth Morgan (Park City Magnet)
  • 2nd Place Abraham Lima (Discovery Magnet)
  • 3rd Place Gihon Mack (Betsy Ross)

May 6, 2019

Congratulations to Cesar Batalla’s Joaquin Chunga and Atila Rivero and Geraldine Claytor’s Evelyn Saqui-Lima and Iris Stephanie Rivera winners of the 2019 Hispanic Heritage Debate. Runners- up were Multicultural Magnet’s Sofia Atehortua and Rosa Navarro Pulla and Park City Magnet’s Ciara Feliciano and Daniela Aguero.


May 1, 2019

​​Congratulations to Discovery Magnet’s Aldin Medunjanin and Thomas Donnelly winners of the 2nd annual Greater Bridgeport Bar Association’s Law Day Debate. Runner-up were Park City Magnet’s Kelliece Dixon and Ruth Morgan.


 March 5, 2019

Forty-three middle and high school debaters travelled to Boston to participate in the Senate Immersion Module (SIM) at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute, where they tapped into their negotiation and debate skills to learn about the legislative process. Using high-touch technology on tablets provided by the Institute, the students work together to create a bill on immigration policy. As part of their trip, the students also enjoyed a visit to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.


February 27, 2019

Congratulations to Park City Magnet’s Kelliece Dixon and Ruth Morgan​ and Central High School’s Jada Burgess and Katerina Ruiz, winners of the Third Annual NAACP Douglas-Garrison Debate. Runners-up were Discovery Magnet’s: Thomas Donnelly and Aldin Medunjanin and Fairchild Wheeler’s Heer Thakkar and Kenny Pineda. The debates centered on controlling gun violence and terrorist groups.


January 25, 2019​​

Congratulations to Jettie S Tisdale students Annaliese Ovalle and Lindsey Mohammed winners of the 2019 Twin City Classic Tournament. Congratulations as well to Central High School students Chunjang Brynder and Ezequiel Fontan who took second place in the varsity division of the Twin City Classic.


December 18, 2018

Congratulations to Clementine Gnoto and Iris Stephanie Rivera of Geraldine Claytor Magnet Academy winners of the Bridgeport Public Schools Magnet Cup. Runners up were Aldin Medunjanin and Thomas Donnelly of Discovery Magnet. Also participating were Park City Magnet and High Horizons.


October 13, 2018

The Bridgeport Public Schools Debate League will be kicking off the year with an Orientation Workshop on Oct. 13 from 9:00-11:00 at Claytor Magnet Academy 240 Ocean Terr Bridgeport, CT 06650.  In addition to a mock debate, we will have sessions for judges, coaches and students.