Durham Academy’s speech and debate program hosted the first Cavalier Invitational tournament on campus in January 2015, partly in an effort to give DA students the experience of helping to pull off a huge logistical feat. That first event drew several dozen competitors, all from schools in North Carolina. It was impressive for a first-year event, to be sure, but quaint in comparison with the massive competition the Cavalier Invitational has grown into in the seven years since. This year’s Cavalier Invitational, held virtually due to the pandemic, drew nearly 1,000 student participants and judges representing 91 schools from across the nation.
DA speech and debate director Crawford Leavoy and student tournament director McKenna Morris ’23 worked with other program coaches and DA students to plan for the tournament and ensure that all ran smoothly. The tournament was held over the course of four days — with the main tournament kicking off the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 14, and wrapping up the following Sunday, and an additional day of round-robin fun, the Cavalier Challenge, taking place on Monday.
Learn more about the Cavalier Invitational, including this year’s results via the DA speech and debate website.