On January 3, Ryan Lafferty and Madeleine Wu, both members of Dartmouth’s parliamentary debate team, made history by winning the World Universities Debating Championship in Panama City. They are the first Dartmouth duo to clinch this title and the first U.S. team to win in seven years.
This year’s competition featured 232 teams from around the globe, including three from Dartmouth, as noted by parliamentary debate co-president Ann Tran. Typically, around 300 teams join this prestigious event.
Wu, who has been debating since middle school and joined the Dartmouth team in her freshman year, shared her excitement about the win. “It feels surreal to not only compete at Worlds but to win as a junior,” she said.
Before this victory, Wu and Lafferty had already achieved a significant milestone by placing fifth at the 2024 WUDC in Vietnam. Now, they are still processing their remarkable win. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Wu added.
The journey to the championship wasn’t easy. Each team participates in nine preliminary rounds, with the top 48 advancing to elimination rounds. Lafferty and Wu scored second overall in the preliminaries.
Training for the tournament was intense. In the weeks leading up to the event, the three Dartmouth pairs met almost every day via phone, with Lafferty treating his preparation like a full-time job. He diligently researched topics, compiling an impressive 647 pages of notes this year, up from 500 pages the previous year. Team member Brian Chiang noted the depth of Lafferty’s preparation.
Wu, praised for her rebuttal skills, concentrated on practice drills, honing their delivery and strategy under pressure. “They will dissect any argument,” Chiang warned. “You don’t want to face them in a debate.”
Despite the challenges of coordinating practice while studying abroad in the U.K., Wu and Lafferty remained committed to preparing. They practiced individually and used Zoom to connect with their team.
In addition to their preparations for the WUDC, they participated in tournaments at top schools like Cambridge and Oxford, learning from competition against unfamiliar teams. “These experiences were valuable since the European circuit is quite strong,” Wu explained.
Since Wu joined the team in fall 2022, she has seen significant changes. The team has gained recognition and improved funding to compete in more tournaments. “We advocated strongly to expand our program,” Wu stated.
As they look to the future, they are optimistic about continuing their success. “With consistent effort to grow our community and enhance our training, I believe the team will achieve great things,” Wu said.
Lafferty did not respond to requests for comment.
