HWS News
8 April 2026 HWS Round Robin Brings World’s Top Debaters to Campus
With competitors from leading universities across five continents, the tournament highlights elite argumentation and global perspectives.
The HWS Debate Team will once again transform campus into a globally renowned competition space, welcoming debaters from five continents for the 2026 HWS Round Robin on Saturday and Sunday, April 11 and 12. The tournament has a unique format. Unlike single-elimination tournaments, the Round Robin guarantees that every team faces off against multiple opponents, creating a high-energy and intellectually charged atmosphere.
Known as one of the most prestigious debate tournaments in the world, the event draws debaters who have earned national and regional titles.
This year’s roster includes debaters from: Cambridge University, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania, National University of Singapore, Oxford University, Dartmouth University, University of Tokyo, Trinity College Dublin and University of Sydney Union.
To oversee the preparation of the debate motions and judge allocations, HWS welcomes the champion of the 2024 HWS Round Robin and the Chief Adjudicator for the 2027 World University Debate Championship, Ashish Kumar, as the chief adjudicator for the 2026 edition of the tournament. Kumar will be joined by deputy chief adjudicators hailing from Princeton and Dartmouth.
As hosts, HWS Debate team members serve in critical roles to make the tournament happen, including adjudication and tabbing, led by Director of HWS Debate Daniel Schonning '16. This year, Jasmine Goncalves ’27 will serve as the tournament director. Leonardo Bonacci ’27 will serve as chief of staff. All the volunteers and staff members for the tournament are HWS student volunteers.
All rounds are open to the public. The final round will be held on Sunday, April 12, at 4:30 p.m. in Froelich Hall of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts. Find more times and locations on the HWS Round Robin Facebook Page here.
HWS community members are also invited to join the keynote lecture by Alex Worsnip on Saturday, April 11 at 4 p.m. in St. John’s Chapel. His talk is titled “Epistemic Crisis: What is it and are we in one?” Worsnip is a professor of philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
