Anglo Blend was a tournament built around bringing down barriers. Barriers between schools, barriers between generations, and barriers between ideas. It was not surprising to see old coaches from bygone decades return to spar against new bright-eyed faces. You hear styles and ideas that are built to win as much as they are built to inspire, bringing old wisdom to the new voices. Foundational philosophy blends with newly minted memes in a beautiful cacophony of verbose violence.
Year over year the Debate Club of Mahidol University International College (MUIC) sends both its best and also its newest up-and-comers to spar for the first time in a tournament built to welcome all who wish to learn how to debate. “Nowhere else can we find topics that are diversely challenging and relatable to welcome people into this new wonderful hobby,” said Mr. Patsha Dejarath Ha (senior member and coach). “It's a place where I get to see my friends, my seniors, and also bring my juniors without any fear of them feeling out of place.”
This year, Team MUIC Dragon 1, made up of Thalin Htun, Praopundeun “Prao” Boonprasong, and Jaturapat “Yoshi” Pinviset, had an amazing run to win the Novice Champion at Anglo Blend 2025 at Anglo Singapore International School, Bangkok on January 11-12, 2025. Yoshi, a complete rookie, was matching pound for pound with his teammates (who had only competed in one tournament prior to this) and opposing teams such as the Thai National Team (coming back from a strong performance in Serbia earlier last year), as well as the club’s own senior team.
Both the club’s new and old speakers were recognized for their strong performances with speakers from both the open and novice category receiving accommodations for their performances throughout the tournament. Tate Lee, Thalin Htun, and Prao each took home 9th Open, 3rd Novice, and 1st Novice Best Speakers awards, respectively.
Alongside this was Mr. Patsha Dejarath Ha, a longtime member and trainer, who was recognized for his long-term contribution to the Thai debate community and his adjudication skill. He was awarded a seat on both the semifinals and grand finals panel for determining the winners of the tournament.
Ultimately, this tournament was one that has become a tradition for the club. Victories and celebration from both the new and old under the stewardship of Mr. Shanjit Chitphentom, Debate Club President, was a happy omen to usher in a new year.
