How do I actually become an advanced parliamentary debater. I want to go to NPDL TOC, and also do good. I am from the east coast, and my schools debate team is horrible, so I have like no resources, and I am basically teaching myself. I genuinely do not know how to actually teach that level. Like I look online for resources but I just get overwhelmed and I feel like I’m just reading a bunch of random stuff that may not actually be the right stuff. Is there some sort of curriculum for exactly what you need to learn? Also if there are any advanced parli debaters here can you please tell me how you improved? Thank you.

I have never been in a debate club, and have never debated. I actually struggle a lot with social anxiety, but am always active in classes and try to talk as much as I can for the sake of my own benefit.

Regardless, my uni doesn't have nor am I aware if a Debate club has ever existed. So a complete beginner like me, will make a mess.

I do not see myself as a good leader yet, but I really wish to learn to explore how to speak more confidently, and get over my social anxiety. I genuinely dunno how many folk will even be interested in my debate club but here are my goals:

1. Use real research to teach debate skills - I might open a Google Classroom and prepare videos and certain links weeekly so we actually learn how to debate, methods, and the like, so we do not start from nothing, but get some groundedness.

2. Learn cognitive resilience - I am a psychology student. I think it would be impossible to not bring this. I want to experience teaching how to calm down, how to be more confident, and use science proven facts on how to become less anxious in talking with other. I might even include a short 5 min breathwork at the beginning just so students learn to regulate.

3. No debate compeitions - Idk if my country has any... for now the focus is learning how it works, and how to get better. It is a lot of work, but it is a challenge I need for myself and want more people who are interested as well to join.

4. Have fun - some topics will be interesting, and some will just be "Is Coca Cola better than Pepsi?" because silly topics like these are lighthearted but they can teach research skills and critical thinking (like arguing that the Coke recipe is used for drinking warm, or whatever exists out there).

I hope this is not too much. I have no idea how debate clubs work but I think such things could be useful in real life.

I would like someone to let me know if this is feasible... If it doesn't work, I won't be disappointed honestly. I have low expectations for my Uni students. But has anyone had such a debate club?

Hey guys!

I debated in high school and judge now (plus my brother debates in high school), and though I have been grateful for speech drop it's just so so clunky haha.

So ended up building FlowDrop as a faster, modern alternative to SpeechDrop specifically built around how rounds actually run.

You can try it here: flowdrop.org

It’s in the early stages and I'm still taking care of some bugs, but the main stuff works reliably:

• In-browser Verbatim preview: You can open speech docs directly in your browser without downloading or opening Word. It keeps all standard formatting intact (bold, underlines, double-underlines, shading, and Verbatim highlight colors like yellow, green, cyan, pink) with search, font scaling, and a reading mode.
• Instant live sync & direct links: Files pop up on everyone's screen in real time with an audio chime when an opponent drops. Every doc also gets a direct link you can toss straight into cross-ex chat.
• Flow layouts & smart tagging: Built for Policy, LD, PF, and Open formats. It auto-tags files into speech columns (1AC, 1NC, Neg Block, etc.) so it matches your flow, plus there's a top evidence tray for unassigned cards.
• Paste cards directly: Instead of making and uploading a dummy doc during prep or CX, you can paste raw text and citations straight into the room.
• No logins & clean teardown: No accounts, no paywalls, and everything wipes automatically after 7 days (or you can wipe the room when the round finishes). Also has a one-click button to grab all files in a .zip.

I'm an MIS student at OU paying for the hosting myself, so it's 100% free to use. I mainly just want debaters and judges to run it in prep, scrimmages, or practice rounds and try to break it

Let me know what breaks, what feels clunky!! Hope this can help!

My school is organising an inter-school debate competition, and we want to maintain records using Calicotab. I’m new to debating, so I’d really appreciate it if someone could share a helpful tutorial on how to use it. Thanks!

Hi! So I go to a pretty small school for debate (we have 2 teams). We have been competing for a year now, but our former mentors left. We know what to do and how to debate. What are some good drills to improve speaking and overall debate skills?

A new brief has been released for the new topic. It is linked here. Enjoy.

In my circuit, using constitutionality as a negation argument is often frowned upon (seen as a newbie tactic; someone can easily say smth like, 'Will the Supreme Court agree?'). However, for a bill I am researching, I have found a past Supreme Court case ruling that essentially makes the bill unconstitutional.

Do we think it's fine if I use this point during my speech, or is it still a bad tactic?

Hi everyone!

I'm urgently looking for an in-person judge for the UBC Fall High School Debate Tournament on November 7–8, 2026, at UBC Vancouver.

Payment: $100 CAD for both days (negotiable).

Previous debate or judging experience is preferred, but not strictly required, as long as you meet the tournament's judging requirements.

The registration deadline is approaching, so I'm hoping to find someone ASAP!

Please DM me if you're interested or know someone who might be available.

Thank you!

I love case debate and got into it just last school year, but it was also abundantly clear that the team environment wasn’t for me. I never really spoke to my captains and the other junior varsity students didn’t like me for the longest. It all came to a head when I found out the coach was treating students and alums poorly among other things. I won’t get into details as what they’ve done isn’t relevant outside of it being bad. After this discovery, the team is looking shaking with that coach as the sole sponsor and an unwelcoming classroom environment due to other factors.

All to say, my parents hate the coach, rightfully so, meaning they don’t want me to compete. But I’m not ready to give up debating and I want to see the friends I’ve made still. I just don’t know what to do because my parents both work weird schedules, so them just taking off and chaperoning for their comfort isn’t really an option. This feels like a lose-lose situation even though I know I did the right thing by telling my parents. It’s like I’m being punished for being honest, so if anyone has any ideas or recommendations please share, I’m not ready to quit debate.

I'm an highs school student and our teacher issued an debate topic is there any tips for an student like me who is new to this thing? our opponent is one of a best debater in our class and won 2nd place in school meet debate.

How much more different is varsity than jv? Im competing with my temporary partner whos in varsity (my actual partner couldn't go to this debate so that's why im not competing in jv) and I havent placed yet in jv but ive won 3/4 debates at 1 tournament (last year was my first year). I'm kinda scared bc ive never done varsity before and im afraid I might suck.

Hi! I’m looking for a judge for the online BC British Parliamentary Provincial Championship.
Schedule (Pacific Time):
Friday, Oct 23: 4:30–8:30 PM
Saturday, Oct 24: 9:00 AM–5:45 PM
Judges must be 18+. The judge will be assigned to the general judging pool, not our team.
A small honorarium is available, but volunteers are also welcome!
Please DM me if interested. Thanks

I’ve ran a lot of Ks and material ones make complete sense to me. But ontology ks theoretically just dont make any sense to me so can someone help

1. How does the K generate normativity? Like why should the judge vote neg? How does it beat the “why” problem in ethics and if the impacts arent consequentialist what are they (between aretaic and deontic)?
   
2. Is the word “ontology” used in a metaphysical sense or as it is used in critical literature? A lot of ontology Ks I’m pretty sure are anti-futurity but are they anti futurity because they reject metaphysical notions of the future (eg B-theory, problem of induction, idealism) or are they anti-futurism as a sociological analysis of civil society (reform fails, social death)
   
3. Is the alt supposed to solve if so doesn’t that defeat the purpose of pessimism

whats the best debating format and how to choose the best topic for an inter-collegiate debate competition?

i'm more inclined towards all students competing in teams (that may/may not have been grouped on the basis college they go to) than a college vs college debate.

give me some topic inspo thats not social media.

I do hs policy debate and I'm kinda a novice, and my flows look terrible. I can never keep up with analytics so I'm cooked if an opponent sends send docs. I also never have the incentive to flow after the block. I was told to preflow the 1ac but that doesn't give me more incentive either and doesn't work as neg. In addition, I can't ever get author name or remember the tags, so I always end up with some question marks or undetailed taglines. I've also used symbols and abbreviations, as well as emphasizing the turns and that doesn't work. How can I flow more efficiently so I can capture all of the arguments in the round?

Just a note, I don't usually debate people who spread, I'd like to carry over this advice for people who spread as well. Also I'd like to mention that I'd prefer to flow on paper. Thanks!

Anyone have ideas for an interesting or funny way to open a speech about climate change and inequality?

I want to focus on how the poor are often the ones who suffer the most from climate change, even though they contribute the least to causing it, while the rich and big corporations are responsible for a disproportionate share of emissions.

Was thinking of starting with a joke or a witty analogy to grab the audience’s attention before getting into the serious stuff but I can’t think of anything good. Any ideas?

I was using COGENSY to host one of my debates and it was ok but I think my lack of skill could’ve contributed to not hosting it well. Has anyone else used them and have any advice for making a good debate?

i have a tournament in 3 weeks and im kinda confused about the layout of a poi and do u need a drama or is it ok to only have poetry and prose, also how many pieces do you need and how do you suggest transitioning, and what kind of stuff should u have in ur black binder (im really sorry im new to this event and ive never seen it b4) and how do you act stuff out, ive never done interpretation before and i watched national performances and holy smokes they're really good so if anyone knows anything about poi and could offer some tips

Hello folks,

Attached below is a document with some free Septober/PF prep. Hope you all find it useful if anyone is still debating the topic. Might not be perfect, but it is free, so I hope it is at least somewhat useful to at least some of you.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N-GSEI0XcNWQOcJkB_mWLHYF2kNqWdF73V3BdtB41HE/edit?usp=sharing

Take care!

Im fairly new to debating. I have this competition in 10 days. It's parlimentary style debate. Me and my partner we passed the first round but that was online. This is in real life. So I'm kinda nervous.

My debate coach is really good, but he ditches us all the time and ik he'll only show up like 2 days before the debate.

So can someone tell me what I can do to prepare, I'm pretty familiar with the sturcuture and the roles of the speakers. I scored high scores in the first round but I still feel very underprepared. so help pls.

So it his isn't rlly debate, it's public speaking but I still need a unique perspective on these topics

For context, I'm participating in a competition and I really need a unique perspective on these topics

1. The Right to be Forgotten (The Internet never forgives: why we need a "Delete Button" for real life)

2. The Myth of a straight A future

I'm leaning towards 1) but I'm not sure cuz honestly both speeches are really predictable.

hello, we’re looking for a debate coach we’re two 10th graders participating in pf this is our 2nd year and we’re looking to improve on the tech. I’ll send more info in DMs and can discuss rates. Please lmk asap if you’re available! Thanks

I am so thrilled to announce my newest venture into creating accessible resources for competitive speech and debate: self-paced, asynchronous, online courses where new coaches and students can learn the fundamentals of speech and debate from scratch! You can join my google classroom and access my first course called “Debate Basics” for free!

https://classroom.google.com/c/ODI2NDIzNzc5MDk3?cjc=lublurxa

The first unit of this course is called “Fundamentals of Argumentation”, and it is finally done! This course will remain free indefinitely to try and make getting started in debate more accessible to all members of the speech & debate community.

This unit contains 10 lessons that walk students through the fundamentals of argumentation. Each lesson includes a hook/attention grabber, a video that I recorded teaching the basic concepts, links to supplemental readings/watchings, a google form assessment check or understanding, and a google doc activity/assignment to complete. The 10 lessons cover the following topics:

Lesson 1: Argumentation 101 — What is an argument?

Lesson 2: Cogent & Fallacious Arguments — How do I make strong arguments, and avoid making weak ones?

Lesson 3: Researching Arguments — How do I support arguments with evidence?

Lesson 4: Contention Arguments — How do I structure main arguments in a debate?

Lesson 5: Refuting Arguments — How do I answer arguments in a debate?

Lesson 6: Refuting Contention Arguments — How do I answer main arguments in a debate?

Lesson 7: Frontlining Arguments — How do I defend my arguments in a debate?

Lesson 8: Weighing Arguments — How do I compare arguments in a debate?

Lesson 9: Making Arguments — How do I make arguments in an actual debate?

Lesson 10: Evaluating Arguments — How do I judge arguments in a debate?

By the end of this unit, students should have a grasp on arguments as they relate to competitive debate. The next unit, fundamentals of debate, will get into concepts more specific to debate itself, such as cutting cards, cross-examination, and flowing. This unit will also be free for all to access once it is complete.

My hope for this course is threefold:

First, that new coaches who didn’t do debate in middle school, high school, or college, will finally have somewhere they can go to learn the basics for free.

Second, that students who are unfamiliar with debate concepts will be able to learn the basics of debate without needing to pay for expensive private coaching, organizational memberships, or brief subscriptions. Especially students with newer coaches who don’t know all of this information themselves, or are spread too thin to be able to provide one-on-one instruction.

Third, that teachers who are overworked can take these lessons and incorporate them into their own curriculum to make teaching debate to a wide variety of students at different experience levels more doable.

My plan is to eventually create courses for each main event (and even some supplemental events, if there is interest) that the NSDA does. These courses would be paywalled so that I can afford to continue to dedicate the amount of time to creating them that this labor of love requires.

Please try out this course, and let me know what you think! Thank you for your support, and I hope this helps people out!

I'm a 9th grade student starting my second year of debate.

The Alberta British Parliamentary qualifier tournament will be hosted in person in Calgary, which is a 3-4 hour drive from where I live.

I'm hesitating to participate because I don't have a partner yet, and I wouldn't get a high placing if I went because I'm bad at debate.

If I don't go, I might regret it later for missing an opportunity to gain experience and be judged by professionals. This is also kind of an important event.

Should I attend this event? Or should I register for online, less official tournaments for practice and fun to lower the cost, since my skill level is still low?

Thanks for reading.

I'm going to be having my first policy debate tournament and I'm kind of nervous. I feel a bit unprepared. Any advice on how I could perform well and what I could do to improve my performance and maybe prepare myself a bit more.