Debate President Qualifies for TFA State Tournament

Written by: the Site Administrator on January 28, 2009 at 11:37 am

Scott Alsafin
Staff Writer

Senior Carlos Lamkin qualified the for TFA (Texas Forensic Association) state-wide tournament in Lincoln-Douglas Debate on Jan. 24 at Pasadena-Memorial, Houston by acquiring the required ten points gained from competition.

Lamkin has been competing at various bi-district tournaments in Houston and Dallas since the fall. Lamkin, however, was not content with merely qualifying. During the tournament he did not drop a single round, held perfect speaker points, and to finalize his impressive accomplishment Lamkin won first place before a crowd of approximately 30 people. The topic Lamkin was debating was, “The United States ought to submit to the jurisdiction of an international court designed to prosecute crimes against humanity.”

“It felt very good getting the last of my required points in the octifinals,” said Lamkin. “But at the same time, I felt like I needed to keeping pushing myself to another level.”
While Lamkin has already has some impressive accomplishments, he feels this is just this beginning.

“My goals for the start of the debate year were to qualify for TFA state as well as UIL state,” said Lamkin. “I plan to attend a national qualifing tounament in hopes to qualify to debate on a national level. One other personal goal was to achieve first place at a tournament, which I was fortunate enough to accomplish in Houston.”

Before going into a tournament, Lamkin has established a unique philosophy to succeed in debate.

“The trick to doin well is to just have fun. Don’t let the pressure get to you. The last thing on my mind before a debate tournament, is debate,” Lamkin continued. “I just enter my peaceful state, and let the drummer kick.”

But once he settles into the round, nobody knows what will be the result.

“The round always depends on my opponent, and the expieriance of the opponent. If I feel like I am in a safe position to win, I most often find myself doodling or contemplating what I’m going to eat after the round.” said Lamkin humorously.

“However, a challenging opponent requires complete concentration,” he said. “A lot of debate is being able to make arguments that would otherwise seem illogical, in a logical way. That’s what is so fun to me about it.”

Lamkin’s success is attributed to multiple debate camps, including one at UT, several hours invested into practice and refinement of his debating skills. He plans to  pursue a political science degree at SFA, and then make the transition to UT Law.

When Lamkin is not involved in debate, odds are he is jamming out on his iPod.

“Mr. Bob Dylan would have to be my favorite musician,” said Lamkin. “If I’m not listening to music, I’m hanging out with good friends.”

Lamkin will be attending the TFA state tournament March 5-7 at Sci Falls, Houston in hopes of competing at the national tournament.