Not only did the Mesa College debate team get to cross the Atlantic and go to London for the annual International Forensics Tournament, they stepped up and packed a mean punch too.

Mauro Lara, Mesa’s captain, and Jessica Hoskin took 1st place in parliamentary debate.

“It is an unique achievement,” said Masih Ebrahimi, of the Mesa debate team.

Parliamentary debate is impromptu speechmaking, emphasizing on style and delivery. The idea is to make the speeches more accessible to spectators.

“Anyone can come and enjoy what is going on,” said Lara.

Collectively, Mesa’s debaters did exceedingly well, earning 2nd place in the sweepstakes for community colleges as well as placing 6th in the overall sweepstakes, among approximately 30 attending colleges.

What makes the victories even sweeter is the fact that this year was the first time Mesa attended the IFT. Most schools at the tournament were 4 year colleges and universities.

“It was a good opportunity for Mesa to represent,” said Ebrahimi.

Ten students and 2 coaches, Kim Gerhardt and Lois Wittner, went to England to compete from March 15-22.

There were challenges to making the trip possible for the Mesa students though.

“The dollar exchange rate fluctuates each day,” said Gerhardt. “It made the trip really hard to budget for.”

With the steady plummet of the dollar, everything from flight tickets to lodging and transportation kept getting more and more expensive.

Luckily, the ASG made an executive decision two weeks prior to the trip to donate $5,000 to the project.

Gerhardt said that the campus was great about pulling through and funding the visit to England.

Other contributors to making the trip possible were President Rita Cepeda, Dean Larry Weiss, and aforementioned Wittner.

Colleges and universities from all over the world attended the tournament. Some of the most prestigious forensics teams of America representing, such as George Mason University, Western Kentucky and Washington Southern.

“There was a bit of tension, knowing who we went up against,” said Lara.

Another point for the trip to England was the cultural experience.

“We all fell in love with London,” said Ebrahimi.

Parliament, Westminister Abbey, Stonehenge, Oxford University, Windsor Castle and Big Ben were some of the attractions the students visited.

“We tried to think about as many things as possible to do in as short amount of time possible,” said Gerhardt.

Another thing that made an impression on the San Diegan representatives was the vibrant mixture of old age and modern sensibilities.

“London is so old, you can’t help but notice the history around you,” said Gerhardt, commenting on the fact that the team had dinner at a restaurant a mere two years younger than the United States.

In the latest NPDA Rankings, Mesa Speech and Debate won an award for National Season Sweepstakes, making number 14 on the list. As a comparison, University of San Diego and San Diego State University are ranked in the upper 50s.