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Winchester’s speech and debate team, like most things, began with only a handful of students competing in its inaugural year and receiving little attention from the school. Yet now, what began as a modest club for fun, has grown into something significant and respected by the entire Massachusetts debate community.
“It has definitely been a ton of work,” admitted Ella Layton, a senior at Winchester High School, “but it has certainly paid off. In the first year, we barely reached double digits for competitors year-round. Now we are nearly at 50, and consistently sending 20 per tournament. ”
Layton, the team’s senior captain, led the charge with Winchester’s debate team, directly contributing to the learning and success of many of its members. Through vigorous practices, the team not only learns the necessary skills to succeed in debate rounds but also the skills needed for the outside world, such as public speaking and leadership.
“We are entirely student-run,” explains Layton, “most other established teams have coaches who debated either in their high school years or at the collegiate level, but we don’t have that. Experienced debaters take on the responsibility of guiding new debaters, teaching them all the skills they need to succeed. I don’t do it alone, we have captains for each debate format, case writers for different topics, and logisticians to handle our headlines and finances.”
Winchester’s speech and debate team competes locally in the Massachusetts Speech and Debate League (MSDL), statewide and nationally in the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) and National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL). This year, Winchester has competed at the Yale Invitational in various debate formats and is preparing for the upcoming Harvard, NCFL and NSDA tournaments, all at the national level, which bring the best of the best to compete.
For the team, some of the most important tournaments of the year are fast approaching. In January, the Lexington Winter Invitational draws teams from all over the country. In February, one of the biggest tournaments of the year, the Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament, will bring thousands of students from every corner of the country to compete in every category of speech and debate.
When asked, Layton admits the success of the team is definitely the most rewarding part.
“In year one, we were barely recognized. We only qualified two students for the states. But we grew slowly, and by the end of the ‘24-’25 school year, we had 20 kids qualify for states. This year, being only halfway through the season, our numbers have ballooned again approaching 20 students qualifying, as much as we did the entire year last season. We are also hoping to send more kids to nationals for the third year in a row.”
To many students, the energy that Layton, her co-captain Lucas Yang, another senior at Winchester High School, and other student leaders bring to the team is unmatched and the reason why they gave debate a shot in the first place.
“I never thought I was going to be doing debate,” explained Luke Cheng, a sophomore at Winchester High School and the team’s treasurer. “But there was just something about the captains and their energy that made it feel interesting. They guided me the whole way through, always assisting and helping me get my foothold in debate.”
Cheng elaborated that it wasn’t just the captains but the entire community that made debate feel so inviting. Everyone supports everyone, and questions were encouraged. Many admitted that although it is a struggle, it is a worthwhile one.
“Debate is hard but so rewarding,” explained Aya Bernstein, a junior at Winchester High School and the junior captain of the team. “I didn’t start out winning, the opposite, in fact. Sometimes I would go to a tournament and feel like I wasn’t worthy to be there, especially at higher-level tournaments. But once you get over that hump and begin to win, debate is the most rewarding thing in the world.”
With Layton, Yang and other leaders graduating at the end of this year, it seems like the end of an era for Winchester speech and debate. But that can’t be further from the truth.
“The leadership is going to be in good hands,” explains Layton. “The next group of Winchester debate leaders are extremely capable, experienced and ready to take charge of our team. It is their turn to carry the torch.”
Xiyue Eric Han is a student at Winchester High School. He has been an intern with Winchester News since summer 2025.
