This past week was the beginning of the YCQ 2022-2023 debate season. The Yeshiva Debate League is run by Commissioner Waterman, who sends the resolutions to all the participating yeshivah day schools (HANC, Moriah, BPY, HAFTR, Noam, JKHA, Yavneh, and the Yeshiva of Central Queens). The YCQ Debate Team is coached by Mr. Miles Ehrenkranz, who led the team to victory in last year’s championship and debates. “Debate competition exercises our brains and therefore improves multiple skill sets. The increased ability to think critically, as well as more swiftly, are skills that exhibit themselves in debate competition. But what sets YCQ apart, and places us in position to win numerous individual and team awards, is our constant focus on improving.
“Our success last year sets the bar we need to beat, not meet,” said Mr. Ehrenkranz. “Our recipe for success always starts with respect. Respect for each other, respect for our opponents, and respect for the league’s honorable judges. We then skill-build with a focus on public speaking by enhancing debater voice projection annunciation, research, speech writing, cross-examination, and extemporaneous argument presentation skills. I am proud of every student on our YCQ Debate Team, and strongly believe we will live up to, and conquer, the challenges that a year-long, four-tournament season demands.”
Last year’s team had only three debates because of COVID-19, but this year’s team has four prescheduled debates. The students on the debate team work extremely hard to perfect and hone their debating skills, whether it’s speech writing or cross examination. The Grade 8 Co-Captains include Assaf Davidov, Yair Davidov, Adam Kaykov, Micheal Zavulun, Eliana Aminov, Emily Abkashev, Jonathan Khimov, Ben Toobian, and Max Basalely. The team members include Joni Musheyev, Binyamin Flamenbaum, Ethan Mordukhay, David Nikolsky, and Mikey Fried, David Kovan, Eylon Wortzel, Moria Cohen, and Elisheva Schutzman.
Adam Kaykov, Co-Captain, reports, “Our success is really based on our ability to work together as a team. Since we are many talented debaters with many different styles of debating, we take all of our abilities and put it together to make one championship debate team.” While the team prepares for the first upcoming debate, Rabbi Landsman, Principal of YCQ, acknowledged the hard work and effort of the team. “I am extremely proud of our debate team for their hard work to win last year’s debate championship, and of Mr. Ehrenkranz for his advice and leadership. He is an excellent coach, and we couldn’t have won the championship without him.”