NEW YORK (TIP): Kapur, an Indian American Sikh high school student at Valley High School junior in West Des Moines, Iowa, has won this year’s National Speech and Debate Tournament which is considered as the most prestigious high school competition in the US.
The win continued his impressive string of victories, which included first-place finishes at the Emory University, Minneapple and Harvard University tournaments and the Barkley Forum for High Schools.
As an original orator, Kapur composed his own persuasive speech addressing a social issue. His speech, “Let’s Dance,” started out with a lively Bollywood dance and focused on his experiences as a Sikh American youth. He earned top rankings in the semifinal and final rounds of the Tournament of Champions before earning the championship trophy.
The Tournament of Champions is the most prestigious high school speech and debate competition in the U.S. To qualify, debaters must receive two bids, earned by advancing to late elimination rounds at select individual tournaments. Held annually at the University of Kentucky, the tournament provides the most successful debaters from individual tournaments with a chance to compete with each other. Valley seniors T.J. Foley and Trent Gilbert also made it to the elimination rounds of the Tournament of Champions.