Debate Tournaments

 Competitive High School Debate involves preparing for, and attending Tournaments, where you will debate against teams from other schools about the merits of a National High School Debate Resolution. This year, the Resolution is: Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its non-military exploration and/or development of the Earth’s oceans.

 3-8 Rounds depending on the tournament  Two sides: Affirmative and Negative, alternating round to round  A round involves two opposing teams of debaters making sound, quality arguments about some aspect of the National Resolution (called the Affirmative Case and Plan) and whether or not a judge should vote for the Affirmative Team or for the Negative Team.

 “The competition is intense, and success requires adaptability, fearlessness and the ability to think on your feet and not let the other side, or the judge, see you sweat “

 Reading  Listening – Best Debaters!  Understanding  Writing  Organization and Multi-tasking  Speaking  Critical Thinking

 Novice Debate  JV Debate  Open Debate  Varsity Debate  National Circuit Debate  NSDA  TOC

 “At every level, debates are about making arguments. The importance of making arguments means that you need first to understand the component structure of arguments. Creating a cogent argument, and responding to someone else’s argument, demands knowing the elements that distinguish your “complete,” “persuasive,” “meaningful,” or simply, “valid” arguments, from the “incomplete,” “unpersuasive,” “meaningless,” or simply, “invalid” points that will be made by your opponents. “

 Introduce problem areas in Status Quo which are called Significance or Harms  Discuss why the problems exist – Inherency  Introduce a Plan to address the problems  Discuss how the plan will address the problems – Solvency  Address any Disadvantages that might be caused by the plan  Address how the plan relates to the resolution - Topicality