Ask the Coach – New Competitor Advice by Heather Neumann

I am a new student, heading to my first speech and debate tournament, what should I focus on?

Great question! There is a lot of soak in! A tournament involves long days, and often not a lot of sleep, so here’s a few tips…

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Last Call – Ziggy + Lasting Impact! Online Debate National Championship

Why haven’t you signed up yet? No more excuses- Do It TODAY! Perhaps you still have questions… perhaps you have excuses… let’s look them over…

How do sign up? Here’s the link. https://www.ziggyonlinedebate.us/sign-up/judge-signup.html

How much does it cost? Only $35!

I don’t have the money. Talk to us about a scholarship!

I don’t have the time. This is your typical Ziggy Tournament. You schedule your rounds, except for the Finals Round on June 18.

Isn’t registration closed? Nope! We extended registration until TODAY – May 16!

I didn’t qualify to Nationals. That’s ok! This is about GROWTH! Not all the best competitors make it through to the National Championship. Iron sharpens iron.

What are the prizes? We have scholarships to colleges, camps, including CASH!

Are the prizes just for winners? Nope! We will have drawings, as well!

Who is judging? We have excellent judges signing up to help you guys! This feedback is going to be the feedback you will want to propel you into next year or into The National Championship.

How do I sign up to judge? Alumni and parents can sign up HERE.

Still have more questions!? We would love to hear from you! We are excited to offer this opportunity and continue to see you dig deeper, grow, explore this 2021 debate season.

Top Tips on How to Prep Debate Before a National Championship

The NCFCA Regional Tournaments are ending, and Stoa Tournaments wrapped up in April. That still leaves a good four to six weeks between people’s last tournament option and A National Championship. How are you going to prepare for the next level of competition? We, at Lasting Impact! and Ziggy Debate have a FANTASTIC idea! But also be sure to check out the tips from our awesome coaches…

Sure, you have your own clubs to practice with, but as we know, the incentive to practice can be a bit lower if you’re not attending Nationals yourself. And given how important Nationals is to so many, it would be a shame for students to miss out on the opportunity to keep honing their debate skills in the 4/6-week gap. 

That’s why the Ziggy + Lasting Impact! National Championship is such a great option: it provides a spaced out period of prelim and outround debates with prizes and national competition for students to keep their skills sharp and earn prizes, and it’s open to everyone, regardless of whether you’ve qualified for Nationals or not.

Ready to sign up? Head over to https://ziggyonlinedebate.us/sign-up/tournaments.html

What do coaches have to say… here is their insight for prepping for a National Championship…

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Introducing – Ziggy+Lasting Impact! 2021 National Debate Championship!!! Sign Up NOW

Lasting Impact! and Ziggy are joining forces to create an epic Debate Championship to close out the 2021 season! I know you will have questions… so let’s get them started!

1. Why are Ziggy and Lasting Impact! teaming up? It’s always awesome to collaborate with like-minded organizations and friends. We love coming together and collaborating and giving families opportunities to engage in speech and debate opportunities.

2. What are your goals? We want to see students growing, and continuing to hone their debate skills whether they are attending NCFCA Nationals or not. This also continues to give judges the opportunity to fill out ballots and give more feedback. Essentially, it’s that feedback that can help students to think critically, analyze their thought process, and make decisions on what needs to be said, or what does not. And let’s not under estimate the power of practice!

3. Who is the Ziggy + Lasting Impact! National Championship for? You did not need to make it to Nationals to compete in this unique debate event. Not all of the top competitors will make it to Nationals. Iron sharpens iron. Use this for the opportunity to grow for next season, or use this as your last hoorah, or use this event to test out your cases!

4. Will there be a case list? Students will have the option to disclose the TP case they are running during signup, but do not have to do so. We encourage teams to share what case(s) they are running, though, as we believe this enhances the quality of rounds! Per Ziggy Rule 2(a)(ii), Aff TP teams will need to send a copy of their case to the Negative team upon request during the round.

5. Will there be prizes? Yes, of course! More details soon!

6. Why the weekly/5 day format? Easy. Flexibility!! We wanted something easy and flexible for you to commit to.

7. What is the cost? Early bird is only $30 per person. Sign up now!

8. How do you sign up?

https://www.ziggyonlinedebate.us/sign-up/tournaments.htmli

Be sure to check out all the rules at www.ziggyonlinedebate.us On behalf of Ziggy and Lasting Impact! we hope you will join us!

Ready… Not Ready (How to survive signing up for a Speech and Debate Tournament)

“In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.” Apparently, Mary Poppins had never signed up for a Speech and Debate Tournament!! Ah- the STRESS!! First there is IF you are going to sign up… Are your parents making you? Are your speeches written? Do you have a case yet? Just breathe! Let us be your guide… your own little Mary Poppins to help you navigate the task set before you. How to survive signing up for a Speech and Debate Tournament…

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Expectations From an Online Tournament from Lasting Impact! By: Thaddian Burson

I could say it a thousand times: Adaption to online tournaments will be essential for the upcoming debate season! Raise your hand if you want to try out online debate for the first time at an actual tournament with check marks or at-large points in the balance? No hands? I agree.
The speech and debate world is undergoing a huge shift to try and balance speech and debate while protecting people’s lives. This shift is towards online debate. As students, we can choose to either resist it and just hope that something changes, or embrace it and learn to adapt. I am with most of you in that my initial gut reaction to online debate was: “Yuck!” Yet, after participating in several online tournaments, one of which was hosted by Lasting Impact!, my perspective has entirely changed. I believe that online tournaments provide a more than viable way to continue speech and debate in the Covid era.

Lasting Impact! is offering a chance to prepare for these online tournaments in the form of their Fall Circuit. It starts Sept. 28, 2020. Go to www.impacttournaments.com for more info or to register. In the meantime here are some expectations that you can have for this circuit and future Impact Tournaments…

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Online Apprehension For Speech and Debate? By: Stacy Edmond

The concept of online speech & debate clubs, classes and tournaments, were, not too long ago, just about unheard of. Now, they are our new reality. Until recently, I was one of the many that thought the whole notion of any of our beloved speech & debate activities being done online, absolutely absurd and totally impossible. Boy, was I wrong…

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Last Week to Register – Online Clubs, Classes, and Tournament Circuit

It’s been a fantastic summer!! Yet, we are ready to see what God has in store for us NEXT! The question is, are you?!? This fall Lasting Impact! is bigger than ever – online clubs, classes, and tournaments! Classes and Clubs start the week of or after Labor Day. The Online Tournament Circuit starts the end of the September. Be sure you register today! Want to learn more information about these online opportunities – read on…

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Introducing – Lasting Impact! Fall Circuit sponsored by: DFW Speech and Debate

As we launch into this 2020-21 unprecedented season of speech and debate, we are excited to see leagues and coaching organizations adapt.

Champions intuitively understand a foundational truth: mastery requires practice. In the face of last year’s canceled spring season, Lasting Impact! piloted an online tournament platform with a heart for providing a quality online tournament experience. The resulting tournament exceeded expectations. This got us thinking: why not provide a fall practice experience with the same level of quality? After all, we are not trying to replace in person tournaments, yet the art of communication needs to continue to grow and develop.

After lengthy brainstorming and planning, we’re incredibly excited to announce the Inaugural Lasting Impact Fall Circuit, hosted by Lasting Impact! and sponsored by DFW Speech and Debate. The Fall Circuit will provide lincoln value and team policy debate options for STOA and NCFCA students. It includes weekly rounds starting September 28th. After the six preliminary rounds finish, we will host a one-day outrounds experience November 7 (with awesome prizes). The entire experience will run on a seamless online platform. This will give students, parents, coaches, and clubs all the opportunity to check out a virtual tournament!

Registration opens at noon today!! Click this link to register! For the next two weeks, we will discount the registration price of $49.99. Without required affiliations, travel costs, and other associated costs of competing in person, this online fall experience provides high-level practice for preliminary and elimination rounds at a fraction of the cost. You won’t want to miss it. We’re excited!

The resolutions will be…

TP Stoa

Resolved: “The USFG should considerably decrease its military commitments.”

LD Stoa

Resolved: “Economic stability is more important than economic growth.”

LD NCFCA

Resolved: “In democratic elections, the public’s right to know ought to be valued above a candidate’s right to privacy.”

TP NCFCA

Resolved: “The European Union should substantially reform its immigration policy.”

We look forward to meeting with you, and experiencing debate in a wonderful new way! No affiliation necessary to compete.

Check out the Impact Tournament site at www.impacttournaments.com

We are excited to be uniting with DFW Speech and Debate. We are excited for the opportunities to still offer high quality competition and ways for our youth to grow. We are excited for what the Lord has in store. The question is – are you??

Sign Up NOW for Lasting Impact! Fall Online Classes and Clubs

Are you ready? This is our biggest and best fall line up of online classes and clubs to date. Each year, it seems, the need grows. We are happy to be able to provide such excellent resources to the speech and debate community. This year we will be offering two types of Online Apologetics, four different debate clubs, a variety of options for younger students, plus a whole lot more! Check out all of our Clubs HERE. Check out all of our Classes HERE. And coming soon – news about our Fall Tournament Circuit, as well as our Fall Online Tournament Schedule! Be sure to stay up on the latest- SUBSCRIBE (right hand side of our home page), follow us on Insta or Facebook.

My Experience Online By: Charis Baker

“When one door closes another door opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the ones which open for us.” -Alexander Graham Bell

While the coronavirus quarantine brought the abrupt end to Stoa’s and NCFCA’s 2019-2020 season, we saw the arrival of a new opportunity: online speech and debate tournaments. Lasting Impact! did an amazing job of recreating the experience of a tournament in an online setting with the Trailblazers tournament in June. For many of us, this was the sparkle in our spring, as we were stuck at home unable to compete in the sport we love.

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Online Opportunities – More than just “better than nothing!!”

​Are Online Tournaments even worth it? Is speech and debate as we know it over? What about my friends? I won’t be able to see them in person for ages! If you’re asking these questions, Eric Meinerding is empathetic to your concerns. He lived, breathed, and ate speech and debate in high school. Immersion might even be an understatement. Here is his take on the new world of speech and debate…

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