If I’ve seen it once, I’ve seen it a thousand times. The Affirmative has just concluded their first affirmative constructive, the first five and half minutes of which they spent describing the problems of the status quo in vivid detail.
Then the Negative gets up for their first speech and … spends six minutes refuting those problems, makes two quick and weak solvency points, and sits down.
As a member of the Affirmative in this above scenario, I’m ecstatic; as a judge, I’m distraught. In either scenario, I feel the Negative has just put themselves in a deep hole from which they might not escape. Allow me to explain why…
There’s only so much time to give judges information about how to judge at a tournament, so the priority is often on procedural things: how to fill out the ballot, what to expect in the round, and what the basic rules are. What goes neglected is actually how to make a good decision. Because of this we find that many parents are confused and intimidated by the entire process. We also find that information about how to make a good decision gets passed around piecemeal, losing its original meaning through time and transmission.
While there is no one correct way to judge, there are some basic principles that help students improve the quality of debate. This workshop will go over these principles as well as our personal process of making a good judging decision. It will be simpler than you think! How we think about debate often gets overly complicated over time, when in fact debate, and therefore judging, will always boil down to basic principles of reason and decision-making.
Lasting Impact! and New England Debate Coach Marc Davis will lead the Team Policy portion and Lasting Impact! Coach Noah McKay will lead Lincoln Douglass. Directors of Lasting Impact! and New England Debate, Heather Neumann and Brenda Storz will also contribute their expertise. Combined we have multiple decades of participating in and coaching debate. We’re allotting a significant portion of time to Q&A so be sure to bring any question you have about judging.
Logistics: 12/17 at 6:30pm ETvia Zoom.
Please register even if you can’t make the call, because we will send the recording to everyone on the registration list. Also, please spread the word!
It can be very tempting, especially early in the debate season, to keep your debate case a secret even within your own club. After all, you’ve poured your time, effort, and energy into this case and you want to protect it from the cruel eyes of the world. Or maybe, you want to keep an aura of surprise – to hear the whispers in hallways and the fear on your opponents faces as they walk into the room. However, these options are not practically or strategically going to give you the best competitive results.
Some argue that you should share your case because we’re all a team, and that’s what teams should do. While true, I’d like to present a couple more selfish reasons why you should share your case with anyone and everyone early in the season.
Lasting Impact! is excited to announce our partnership with Coolidge Cup 2023! Lasting Impact! will be hosting the Impact! at the ARCH Tournament in St. Louis, December 19-20, 2022! The top SIX carefully selected debaters will be chosen to receive invitations to compete in the Coolidge Cup 2023! Battle it out to secure your place in the Coolidge Cup in St. Louis by debating in Parliamentary Debate! Parli Debate is a limited prep style of debate, where resolutions are released prior to the beginning of each round.
What is the Coolidge Cup Tournament?
The Coolidge Cup is an annually held tournament through July 2-4, where speech and debate students across America come together to compete nationally for scholarships totaling $15,000. Sponsored and hosted by The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation, the Coolidge Cup offers a unique opportunity for America’s Youth to grow in their Speech and Debate skills and also gain essential life skills, such as following guidelines, working with others, and putting their skills to use. To Compete in the Coolidge Cup, debaters must receive a personal invitation to the event. Invitations are received by competing in qualifying tournaments where limited amounts of invitations are available. Competitors participating in the Coolidge Cup will receive financial aid for travel, hotel, and food costs. For more information on The Coolidge Cup click here.
For Registration and more info – https://impactatthearch.homeschooldebate.net/ Registration begins Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022 at 9am CT. We do expect this tournament to fill up! Questions? Contact – heather@lastingimpact.info
Many debaters have already started preparing cases, or at least researching the resolution. Maybe you have always wanted to write your own case, but do not know where to start with researching and understanding the topic. I would argue that research is integral to debating. If your goal is success in competition, demonstrating a thorough understanding of the topic will help you to win rounds with far more consistency. If your goal is to learn and gain life skills, understanding something thoroughly before you talk about it is likewise far more persuasive and enlightening both for you and for your audience. Let me break down the basics of understanding the resolution and how to research your topics…
Lasting Impact! is always excited to partner with other like-minded organizations like New England Debate. Marc Davis coaches for both, and co-runs New England Debate. We are teaming up to offering a series of online workshops for speech and debaters this fall. They’ll be a fantastic way to dive deeper into debate as you prepare for the tournament season. There will even be a FREE How To Judge later this fall. The first one is this Saturday, so register now!Lasting Impact! Members will receive a FREE 1ac for signing up!
I made it a habit this summer, when I was teaching at a number of debate camps, to stop students who mentioned the affirmative’s “burden of proof” and ask them to define the concept. I received a number of different answers, none of them the same. This small experiment has led me to suspect that debaters don’t really understand the concept at all, even though they use it frequently in their rounds…
The year I first broke in debate was my third year competing. My previous two years of competition had been my formative years of speaking, and I was ready to break through. But I needed a push; I needed to start earlier!
Organized practice debating pushed me across the finish line.
This coming debate season, make the pledge: No more first tournament icebreaking.
If you’re a young debater or are having trouble breaking, you should consider practicing debate in the fall (months before the first tournament) as much as possible…
If you compete in debate, the chances are good that at some point you’ll have to argue for something you disagree with. Whether you realize your case is based on an assumption you hadn’t thought about or it’s in the resolution itself, it’s pretty much inevitable.
When this situation comes up, it can be difficult, confusing, and tiring. How do you defend your position without betraying your beliefs or making yourself look bad? Luckily, most resolutions aren’t so one-sided that this becomes impossible, but some seem to come close…
A question often asked when we take our family trips, typically proposed by our youngest of children. “When are we leaving….how far away….are we stopping anywhere…how long?” All top the list of favorite questions to ask. The root of the conversation is the core understanding of how. The response is founded in the knowledge that someone has done the work to show us the path.
The perennial debate between LD- and TP-firsters is unlikely to come to and end any time soon. Probably, you’ve already heard several of the considerations I am about to offer in defense of the LD-first position. But I am willing to bet you haven’t heard them all. My hope is that these arguments will make the decision easier for those of you who are on the fence. (And, of course, I hope you choose LD.)
We are coming for YOU! Our hearts and minds are full and we can’t wait to show and tell and practice what the Lord has been showing us! This is going to be the best year yet!! We have students, parents, coaches, and clubs joining us from all over the country, and last year we were coaching internationally! Are you ready for the sneak peak of the line up of where we are headed this summer, and what AMAZING clubs and classes you will see from Lasting Impact! Fall 2022!!
The Lasting Impact! Summer Tour (if you aren’t on this list, you better call us NOW)
Charleston, SC
Jacksonville, NC
Raleigh, NC
St. Louis, MO
Chicago, IL
Dallas, TX
St. Paul, MN
And More!
Fall of 2022 (possibly MORE!)
Debate Readiness
Public Speaking 101/Speech Club
Public Speaking 102
Drama Club
Beginning and Intermediate LD Debate
Beginning and Intermediate TP Debate
Parli Debate
Apologetics Club
Extemp Round Table
Foundations of Platform Speaking
Descriptions and Registration COMING SOON! Be sure you subscribe to Lasting Impact! to see the latest updates! Do you have a place you want to see us go? Do you have a class you want to see offered? Contact heather@lastingimpact.info
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