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Philomathean Society: Andover Hosts Invitational Tournament

The Philomathean Society hosted its annual invitational tournament this past Sunday. Involving 180 rounds, over 300 debaters and 20 schools, the tournament was the largest one hosted so far in the history of the Debating Association of New England Independent Schools (DANEIS). Andover came in first in the tournament, competing with one advanced team of four people and two novice teams of eight people. “There were close to 400 people that came, so it was a really great experience. There were so many schools and so many different competitors, and it was a really high level of debate and a really good time,” said Akhil Rajan ’17, a debater in the tournament. The invitational memorialized the recent death of Robert Crawford, who previously served as a faculty advisor for the Philomathean Society. For the Co-Heads of Philomathean Society, the tournament was a large success. “Nothing brings me more joy than seeing burgeoning Philomaths begin to fall in love with speech and debate,” wrote Kayla Thompson ’15, Co-Head of the Philomathean Society, in an email to The Phillipian. “I think it was an excellent showing for the team. I laughed with the Co-Heads and some debaters that I try very hard to keep from winning our own tournament, but they did it anyways,” said Elisabeth Tully, current faculty advisor of the Philomathean Society.