A Forensic Union at Dartmouth team won the Dixie Classic at Wake Forest College in Winston-Salem, N.C. last weekend and another team finished in fourth place.
Debater Marc Wilson '96 said Dartmouth beat about 70 other schools to win the Wake Forest tournament, which he called the biggest tournament on Dartmouth's debating circuit.
Dartmouth fielded four teams for the competition, which debated this year's topic, "Changing Criminal Procedure in Federal Courts," Wilson said.
Wilson and teammate Andre Hylton '96 defeated Emory University to capture first place in the competition.
The second team of David Reymann '96 and Jonathan Reymann '96 finished fourth in the varsity division.
The two ranked varsity teams are now readying for the National Debate Championship to be held this year in early April at West Georgia Community College in Carrollton, Ga.
The Forensic Union competitive intercollegiate debate season begins during the first week of October and ends with the National Debate Championship.
The Forensic Union has already competed in seven debate tournaments this year, including competitions hosted by Harvard University, Kentucky University and Northwestern University.
In past seasons, Dartmouth has won numerous individual and team awards and most recently won the National Debate Championship in 1993.
In the freshman division of last weekend's event, Nita Farahany '98 and David Hung '98 eclipsed the debate team from the University of Georgia to win.
"Competition is very rigorous with two teams debating each other in rounds which may last about two-and-a-half hours," Farahany said.
Farahany said during debate, teams are assigned a judge who listens to both arguments and then later determines the winner. Individual speaker points are also awarded.
Each competition is comprised of eight preliminary rounds followed by an elimination round and then a final elimination round, Farahany said.
The freshman team will travel to the University of Kentucky for the Novice National Debate Tournament.
Ken Strange, coach of the Forensic Union, was unavailable for comment.
