The WSU Debate Team qualified for national competition for the first time by placing third on Nov. 19 in the Northwest Regional Ethics Bowl Tournament held at Pacific Lutheran University.

The debate team, called “The Kantsequentialists,” competed against 11 other schools from Washington, only losing one match to Whitworth in the semi-finals. The Kantsequentialists were the only team to advance through the opening round undefeated.

The top three teams in each regional competition qualify for nationals, Coach Nathaniel Nicol said.

James Aguirre, a member of the team, said he was surprised but pleased with how the team performed.

“I’d say most of us didn’t go into the Ethics Bowl expecting to go to national competition, we went into it because we enjoy debating and talking about the issues,” Aguirre said. “But it’s very satisfying to see all the hard work pay off, especially when it’s never happened before.”

Nicol said he was extremely proud of his team and how they maintained their composure under pressure.

“Debate can get very chippy,” Nicol said, “so I was pleased that our team was very cordial.”

He said The Kantsequentialists found success by preparing rebuttals ahead of time, even leaving one team speechless.

“I think we did the best job of anticipating objections,” Nicol said. “You kind of disarm the other team by anticipating objections in advance.”

He said the team members’ biggest strength was their flexibility, which allowed them to adapt to objections. Other teams came into the competition with more rigidly constructed arguments with team members reciting from a script, Nicol said.

“This rigidity meant they were unable to adjust when given curveball questions,” he said. “We took a different approach, and had more of a compartmentalized method that allowed us to easily adjust to different questions and responses.”

The national competition will be held on Feb. 26 in Dallas, Texas. Each team will receive the cases be debated ahead of time, giving them time to prepare arguments. The team will receive their cases in January, according to the national competition’s invitation.

“I am really excited and a little nervous,” team member Josiah Skogen said. “The stakes are higher, so that’s a little stressful, but I’m glad that we have an opportunity to go to nationals and do it again.”