2025-26 International Public Policy Forum High School Debate Tournament Results

The International Public Policy Forum closed its largest high school debate tournament ever on Saturday, April 18th, crowning North Allegheny Senior High School of Wexford, Pennsylvania as the 25th IPPF Champion. Their path to the title began six months earlier, when they, along with 331 other teams from around the world, entered the tournament.

This year's resolution challenged teams to address the global education crisis,

A Record-Breaking High School Debate Tournament

A total of 332 teams from 39 countries submitted essays in the qualifying round on October 15, the largest in IPPF history. Eight of those countries — Ethiopia, Germany, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Tanzania, and Trinidad and Tobago, joined the competition for the first time.

The map below captures the global reach of this year's tournament.

From the original pool of debate teams, the top 64 were selected by the IPPF's judges, who consisted of debaters from New York University, members of the IPPF Advisory Board, and prominent academics and debaters.

View the Top 64:

Through multiple rounds of written debate, the field narrowed to the Elite Eight. These eight debate teams earned an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City as guests of the Brewer Foundation for the IPPF Finals Weekend.

The Inaugural IPPF Symposium

Kicking off the weekend, all teams were invited to NYU's King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center for the inaugural IPPF Symposium: Educating the World: Obligation, Opportunity or Overreach?

Moderated by Dr. Florencia Lopez-Boo, the panel brought together experts representing academia, policy, and education leadership. What followed was a wide-ranging conversation covering the very same topic the students would debate the following day. The teams also heard from the NYU Steinhardt Dean, Jack Knott, Counselor to President of NYU, Kristie Patten, and Brewer Foundation President, Ian Shaw.

Following the symposium, the teams were invited to dinner on the NYU campus, where they enjoyed authentic New York pizza and had the opportunity to meet students from NYU's debate team and members of the IPPF Circle of Champions — but not before taking some team photos.

The IPPF Quarterfinal Debates

Saturday started bright and early on the campus of NYU School of Law. The Elite Eight squared off in the quarterfinal rounds, with four debates running simultaneously and the winners advancing to the

semifinals.

Quarterfinal Debate 1 - North Allegheny Senior High School v. Çevre High School

Judges: Rahul Ramesh, Gloria Zheng, Vladimir Pavlov

Moderator: Caitlin Travers

Decision: 3-0, North Allegheny Senior High School

Quarterfinal Debate 2 - BASIS International School Shenzhen v. Ivy Bridge Academy

Judges: Andrew Ni, Dante Piedalue, Maria Patterson

Moderator: Will McNairy

Decision: 2-1, Ivy Bridge Academy

Quarterfinal Debate 3 - Millburn High School v. Delbarton School

Judges: Joy Kim, Callie Stoltz, Timotej Orsula

Moderator: Grace Cheng

Decision: 2-1, Millburn High School

Quarterfinal Debate 4 - Westwood High School v. Troy High School

Judges: Andy Yuwen, Kristine Itliong, Bianca Minuto

Moderator: Erik Mesic

Decision: 2-1, Westwood High School

The IPPF Semifinal Debates

After the quarterfinals, four teams remained. The semifinals moved to the Greenberg Lounge.

Semifinal Debate 1 - North Allegheny Senior High School v. Ivy Bridge Academy

Judges: Dave Huston, Efrain Vera, Joshua Harris

Moderator: Will Baker

Decision: 3-0, North Allegheny Senior High School

Semifinal Debate 2 - Millburn High School v. Westwood High School

Judges: Jason Snyder, Marshall Donat, Will Brewer

Moderator: Will Baker

Decision: 3-0, Millburn High School

The IPPF Final Debate

After six months, 332 teams, and 39 countries only two teams remained: Millburn High School and North Allegheny Senior High School. The last debate of this year's IPPF began at 3:30 PM in the Greenberg Lounge.

North Allegheny Senior High School v. Millburn High School

Judges:

• Executive Director of United World Colleges Faith Abiodun

• Director of NYU Global TIES for Children Dr. Florencia Loopez-Boo

• NYU President Emeritus John Sexton

• Brewer Foundation Chairman William A. Brewer III

• International Debate Coach and Director of Education Center Argument Miha Andric

• Anheuser-Busch InBev Zone Europe Chief Financial Officer Alex Pouille

• Director of the MLK Jr. Forensics Program at Howard University Angela D. Minor

  
  

Moderator: Will Baker

Decision: North Allegheny Senior High School

The IPPF Awards Ceremony

North Allegheny Senior High School, coached by Dominic Moore and composed of Sanjeev Arora, Kaartic Muralidharan, Eric Peng, Aayushi Vardhan, Samuel Xiao, and Casey Yan emerged victorious in this year's tournament. William A. Brewer III, Chairman of the Brewer Foundation and judge of the final debate said,

In addition to being part of the winning team, North Allegheny junior Sanjeev Arora won the John E. Sexton Award and a $1,000 prize for exceptional performance during the final debate.

Debate Team Rosters