Great story here. High schools compete at the state level, with top teams going on the National finals, a debate-style contest where teams answer questions about constitutional law. The average team size is 21 students, and occasionally a small team of 9 to 15 students reach the finals.
This year, the winning team consisted of…two students. No such team had ever reached the finals, much less won. They had to take a very different approach to the competition.
Unable to out-memorize the much-larger teams they would face, the two delved deeper into the philosophies underpinning the Constitution.
“We didn’t really have a huge evidence base,” Mr. Williams said. “But what we did have was a really strong conceptual understanding.”
On their way up the competition ladder, their insight about the nation’s founding documents made an impression.
“My mind was kind of blown,” said Darin Sands, a lawyer and national champion coach who judged the pair at the Oregon state competition. “It was just clear that they had not only studied the material but engaged with it in a very deep level.”
Sean McClelland, a judge who said he was “philosophically opposed to giving out perfect scores,” asked them whether judges find or make laws. The boys delivered an esoteric and deeply informed answer that earned them Mr. McClelland’s only perfect score.
A scoring error or two made things end a bit differently, with two teams (including this one) being awarded first place. Keep an eye on these two!
https://civiced.org/we-the-people/national-competitions/finals/awards/correction