PHC locks out final round of Transatlantic Dialogues West Tournament

Recently, two Patrick Henry College Debate teams locked out the final round of the Transatlantic Dialogues West Tournament sponsored by the French War College. This tournament was hosted by the Metropolitan State University of Denver in Colorado. On the winning team were Senior Hannah Bruck, Junior Ben Spivey, and Sophomore Caleb Helsing. The other finalist team included Freshmen Cooper Cobbs, Camille Rowley, and Mark Roose.

Though Spivey and Helsing had extensive experience with forensics, this was a new format for them.

The Transatlantic Dialogues entails a conversational debate where two teams present their solution to a given problem before a panel of French officers.  Each team is additionally assigned a French officer to advise them before and during the rounds. Capitaine de frégate Brice Lagniel helped PHC’s teams along with Coach Tyler Dunning. Helsing noted how the team appreciated Officer Lagniel as an advisor, crediting his skill in cutting across cultural differences.

Spivey felt that the guidance they received both from Bruck, who had competed in the same tournament the year before, and Officer Lagniel helped him feel prepared going into the tournament.

Despite a rough scrimmage, the team felt optimistic about their chances of winning the competition. Bruck said, “If anything, it made us hungrier for victory.”

In the tournament, their confidence grew with every consecutive win. The team cited their adaptability as a reason for their success.

“PHC prepares you to be flexible in the way we approach problems.” Spivey explained, “One of the big takeaways from the tournament was that our ability to adapt to feedback from our judges and French officers helped us continue to move forward.” Additionally, Spivey felt the ability to collaborate with the other highly competent PHC team helped boost their preparedness.

Bruck noted the smoothness of the team’s chemistry, appreciating how little communication the team needed because every member knew the case so well. “We changed things about our case before the final round, which, if you didn’t speak the same language as your team, could be catastrophic.”

After winning every one of their rounds, the two PHC teams faced each other in the final.

“Being up against the PHC team was one of the most fun rounds that I had in my career at Transatlantic. It was very friendly, it wasn't aggressive, although there was certainly a clash,” Bruck recalls.

Cooper Cobbs said he enjoyed having the opportunity to draw closer with his teammates and coaches, as well as grow as a researcher. Cobbs said, “Obviously, locking out finals with two PHC teams was super fun. But the joys of everything else outshone that victory—although first and second place finishes certainly capstone a wonderful trip.” 

The team is optimistic about their chances of traveling to Paris in the summer to compete in the third and final Transatlantic Dialogues tournament. They cited the honor it is to represent the school at that level of worldwide competition. Until then, the team commits to taking every competition round by round. Having been there before, Bruck said, “It’s one of those things in the Lord’s hands.”

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