In Stoa a popular saying is “We don’t train to compete, we compete to train.” But don’t we also compete to win? Can we do both? The answer is a hearty “YES!”.
Stoa is unique in the realm of competition because we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. We compete fiercely and then share a meal together as friends. This is counterintuitive to how most people view debate and debate opponents.
Stoa debate competition embodies Psalm 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” In the process of debate competition, the competitors strengthen each other with the long-term goal of being better prepared to face the fiery darts of the real enemy.
It is heartwarming to see advanced debaters allow novice debaters get in a few “jabs”. The advanced team still debates hard enough to win, while the novice team comes away stronger. The advanced team is “sharpened” in the act of humility and the novice team is encouraged and “sharpened” with better debate skills.
Competitors, as you enter into this next season, keep in mind the ultimate purpose of debate competition. Competition by design has winners and losers in every round. But in the process of winning and losing you are training to battle evil in the world alongside your Stoa brothers and sisters in Christ. Your Stoa Debate Committee