The NCFCA 2019-2020 LD Guidebook has arrived!!

Imagine this: It’s the beginning of a new competition season. You’re excited to start learning about the new debate resolution, and you need a way to gain a killer understanding of the topic. So what do you do? You buy a sourcebook for the resolution. Sounds logical, right? Well, not completely. The book you just purchased is composed of two sample cases and a few pages of briefs. You read through all the material, and even though it’s solid, you’re left wanting to learn even more.

I’ve been debating for five years now, and over that time, I’ve come to a conclusion about debating; it can be pretty tricky! Let’s face it, answering questions that have stumped the world’s brightest minds requires a huge amount of foundational knowledge. If you need a beginner case or a basic brief, most LD sourcebooks are great, but if you want a complete, awesome, expert understanding of Lincoln Douglas Debate, they’re simply not enough.

That’s where Lasting Impact! comes in. For the past three months, we’ve been creating a completely new type of LD sourcebook: The 2019-2020 NCFCA LD Guidebook. The purpose of this Guidebook is to fill a role that other sourcebooks don’t, the role of a complete resource. We’ve delved into legal journals, philosophy texts, and ancient writings to round up as much information as possible to send you on your way to being an expert LD debater!

Included in the LD Guidebook are extensive lists of –

  • Definitions
  • Values
  • Resolutional Analysis
  • Contentions
  • Case Ideas
  • Strategies
  • Philosophies

Most important of all, the Guidebook includes HUNDREDS of evidence cards (yes, hundreds) on historical events relevant to the current resolution. So you’ll know all about preventive wars fought in ancient Greece, modern Iraq, and everything in between.

The NCFCA LD Guidebook is written by two of NCFCA’s top competitors- Hope Rawlson and Caleb Sampson. Hope Rawlson is the reigning 2019 National NCFCA LD, Moot, and Extemp Champion. Caleb Sampson is a two-time LD National Quarterfinalist, as well as the 2019 NCFCA Sweepstakes Champion and the 2018 Illustrated Oratory National Champion. “We’re so excited and blessed to be a part of this project, and hope you’ll take advantage of this awesome resource. We truly believe that with the foundation of the Lasting Impact! NCFCA LD Guidebook, competitors will hit the ground running as they get ready to compete in 2020!”

Now is the time to get this awesome resource! CLICK here to purchase yours today.

This article was written by Caleb Sampson.

Incorporating Humor in Speech and Debate

What is humor?

Humor happens in that luminous moment when two things don’t seem to be related at all, but then they come together in a way so unexpected that we laugh…or at least feel the delight of it.  It’s an insight that bubbles out: we feel joy when we see the connection or “get it.” That joy often comes out as laughter – delight escaping after the mental activity of making the connection.  

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Wednesday Workshops THIS Week – Humor, TP, and LD

​This week we have a full line up waiting for you! Why workshops? I am always telling students in order to walk down a path the more you explore and understand what you are getting into the better! This is the same with Speech and Debate! You have the opportunity to get your feet wet before jumping in!! Each of the workshops provides a skilled coach prepared to equip you with the tools for your tool box. As always, workshops are only $5 for members. We use an online tool called Zoom to connect our students from across the country. Some workshops will turn into Recorded Workshops, but unless you purchase the workshop, there is no guarantee! Sign up NOW

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Coming Soon! NCFCA Lincoln Douglas Guidebook

Whether you’re a first-year debater or a 6-year debater wanting to dig deeper, this brand new sourcebook from Lasting Impact! is about to be your best friend!

We are putting together an NCFCA LD Guidebook–It’s like a typical sourcebook, yet with LD coaching tips and arguments all in one. This is not a curriculum. Hope Rawlson, 2019 NCFCA LD Champion is part of the project, “I am so excited to be involved in this! I LOVE LD, but felt typical source books, just didn’t offer enough. I’m thrilled Lasting Impact! will be offering more to help competitors, parents, and coaches and making a resource that will be really helpful for understanding the resolution and debating rounds.”

The guide will be split into sections, it is organized by the different elements of an LD case:

  • Definitions
  • Resolution Analysis
  • Applications

Plus, inside each section there will be an explanation on how to use it in LD. You will have a plethora of resources at your fingertips– including definition briefs, application briefs, in-depth arguments, and more! In addition, the sourcebook will include analysis of different arguments, how to debate this resolution, and how to successfully debate LD in general, all written by nationally ranked debaters with years of proven experience! Lasting Impact! is beyond excited to offer this incredible resource to share with all of you. Available by ebook only. Release date September 2019.

If you are as excited as we are… be sure to sign up for Hope’s Online LD Workshop – Aug. 28. Perhaps, you will get a sneak peek into the guide!

Cultivating the Debater’s Soul by: Isaiah McPeak

For those of you who don’t know him, Isaiah’s passion is teaching students to think deeply and something (like me) he spends a lot of time thinking about!! After somewhat of a hiatus, Isaiah is looking forward to seeing both old and new friends in Chicago this August…

I’m really excited to help a new group of students stretch themselves and think about debate like never before. If you are thinking about sending your student to camp, or if you haven’t worked with me before, here are three things you should know:

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Speech and Debate Fall Classes and Clubs Are Posted!

We are thrilled to be adding MORE opportunities for students to engage in Speech and Debate! Classes/Clubs are posted in the link below. Space will be limited – so be sure to sign up early!

Are you located where there is no local Speech Club? Join Online Speech. Do you want to get started for the first time in Lincoln Douglas Debate? We have Online LD. Are you short of time and looking for support in Team Policy? Our TP group will be for you!

And this is just the start- we will have Online Apologetics and Extemporaneous again this year (links up soon)!

Lasting Impact! strives to give you the most opportunities in your journey with Speech and Debate. You want to take advantage of our Online Classes/Clubs! Our coaches are amazing! They have proven track records, making delving into Speech and Debate fun and engaging. Our Online Community allows students to get to know other kids from around the country. These classes/clubs are not a lecture type class, all students learn, grow, and participate… making connections for a lifetime!

Our classes are run on an online meeting forum called Zoom. It’s a quick download on to your computer. Classes are recorded, therefore, even if you can’t be there- you won’t miss a thing.

Want to be sure you are up to date on everything Lasting Impact! has to offer?! Make sure you are “subscribed” to our articles- so they go directly into your email in box. The subscribe box is on the right hand side of the home page.

Join an Online Class or Club TODAY… click below…

https://lastingimpact.info/product-category/clubs/

Remember, Lasting Impact! has the Online Summer Prep Summit – sign up for that today…

Stoa TP Resolutions Analysis by: Sam Wooddell

Broad and Boring isn’t always Bad: An Analysis of Stoa’s Proposed Team Policy Resolutions…
It’s starting to feel like complaining about Stoa’s proposed resolutions every single year is a rite of passage for debaters. I’ll admit, I fell victim to the trend myself, annually condemning the new resolutions without a shred of empirical evidence to justify my hastily crafted opinions. Believe it or not, the same thing happened again this year. Now, the attacks have spread to Instagram, where accounts titled both “voteforres3” and “stop.res3” have followed me in the last two weeks. Enough is enough. Let’s take a balanced, realistic look at the resolutions we’ve been offered and see if they’re as appalling as advertised…

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NCFCA TP Resolutions Analysis by: Eric Meinerding


The new topic options have been presented for NCFCA team policy and there is incredible potential for an extremely engaging an competitive year of debate across all three topics. I’ll be going over the pros and cons of each option and then offering my opinion on which I believe is the best resolution. I’ll be rating each category in two topics. First will be educational and engagement potential. Here I’ll basically be judging each topic on their ability to prevent the year from going stale. Secondly, each topic will be graded on its ability to facilitate competitive debate rounds, basically which topic will generate the greatest quantity of fair, even debates. I’ll look at balance, breadth of aff and neg arguments, and the available research on the topic here. Each category will be rated on a scale of 1-3, with 1 being the best topic for that category and 3 being the worst…

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Regional/National Pro Tip- Declutter Your Debate Briefs by: Isabelle Clausen


I’m sure you’ve all had one of those debate rounds where you are listening to your opponent’s case and he or she is just spreading the debate round, sharing argument after argument. This happened to me at Desert Gem in California a few years ago. My opponent was sharing countless applications and responses, it was so hard for me to keep them all straight. I was on the affirmative side about to give my last speech. During prep time, I looked down at the flow and realized that I had 3 minutes to refute 29 arguments. Yes, you read that right: 29 arguments! One of the many reasons why I was in such a dilemma by the end of that round was because I didn’t have clear responses in my debate briefs!

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Lasting Impact! Pre-NITOC LD Prep Workshop with Isabelle Clausen


NITOC is such an exciting tournament for STOA competitors. Even before you start competition in the early fall, you are already dreaming about NITOC, aspiring to be the next champion in your favorite speech or debate event! As the tournament season rolls on, you strive to gain points, win titles, and perfect your speeches and cases. Why do you put so much work into this season? Because you want to do well at NITOC. For most competitors, doing well at NITOC is the ultimate goal of their season…

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The Competent Cross-Ex by: Sam Wooddell


It’s nearly impossible to participate in debate without hearing arguments between Team Policy and Lincoln Douglas debaters as to which of their formats constitutes better debate. Though I won’t attempt to make a final decision here, I know one area where, although it pains me to say it, the TP-ers are beat.

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