Team Northern Ireland Finish Runners-up at WSDC 2026

Team Northern Ireland, representing the Northern Ireland Schools Speech & Debate Association (NISSDA), has achieved a historic second-place finish at the 2026 World Schools Debating Championship (WSDC) in Kenya. The team narrowly lost to India in the grand final by a 3–6 decision, securing Northern Ireland's first runners-up finish since the team was established in 2021. This remarkable achievement further establishes Northern Ireland as one of the rising forces in international competitive debating.

The 2026 team comprised five talented debaters: Aoife Gallagher and Lizzie Bauer from Methodist College Belfast; Niamh O'Neill from Our Lady and St Patrick's College, Knock; and Tejas Pugalia from Lecale Trinity Grammar School. Their individual performances were equally impressive. Tejas was named the tournament's Best Speaker, becoming the first Northern Irish debater to receive this prestigious distinction. Niamh finished fifth in the Open Speaker rankings, while Lizzie secured eighth place.

The team was supported by a coaching panel that brought together homegrown talent and international experience. Leading the coaching team was Oliver Kulig, a law student at Balliol College, University of Oxford. He was joined by Chris Mentis Cravaris, a law student at Royal Belfast University; S. Sriram, an MBA candidate at IIM Bangalore; and James Whitmore, a Team Northern Ireland alumnus currently studying Applied Mathematics (Economics) and History at Yale College.

Throughout the tournament, Northern Ireland demonstrated remarkable consistency and composure. In the preliminary rounds, the team competed against New Zealand, Estonia, Scotland, Sri Lanka, Australia, England, Pakistan and the United States, recording an impressive 7–1 win-loss record to finish third overall.

Their momentum continued into the knockout stages. Northern Ireland defeated New Zealand in the octofinals, China in the quarterfinals and Hong Kong in the semifinals to secure a place in the grand final. Despite a determined performance, they ultimately finished as runners-up after their loss to India.

This success represents an important milestone in Northern Ireland's journey at the World Schools Debating Championship. In previous campaigns in Vietnam (2023) and Serbia (2024), the team had finished the preliminary rounds undefeated, recording 8–0 results on both occasions, but were unable to progress far in the knockout stages. The lessons and experience gained from those campaigns helped shape the preparation, resilience and strategic focus that characterised the 2026 performance.

Beyond this single achievement, the Northern Ireland Schools Speech & Debate Association (NISSDA) continues to serve as the foundation for Northern Ireland's presence on the global debating stage. Through a structured selection process, intensive training camps, and mentorship from experienced alumni and coaches, NISSDA has developed a pipeline that prepares pupils not only for competition but also for excellence. The 2026 run stands as evidence of how this long-term investment in talent and infrastructure is shaping a new era for Northern Ireland's debating.

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