Featured

Check out NSD Briefs by clicking here! NSD is pleased to announce an exciting new debate briefs project. NSD’s briefs are a bit different than the ones with which you are probably familiar. Unlike other briefs, NSD’s briefs aim to give you resources and knowledge to help you win debates …

82 have qualified to the TOC. 52 have 1 bid. Congratulations to Alexandra for qualifying to the TOC! This concludes the regular season. Congratulations to Harrison’s Raffi Piliero and Peninsula’s Jonas Le Barillec for being the individual bid leaders for the 2016-2017!   Congratulations as well to Harvard-Westlake for being the Team Bid …

NSD is excited to announce its new podcast series, NSD Classes! The National Symposium for Debate is foremost a collective of educators, and we’re excited to provide NSD Classes as a free educational resource. Hosted by Wesley Hu, in each NSD Class, one of our instructors will teach a debate concept …

Each year, PFers around the country argue about who is truly the best speaker in the country. To contribute to this conversation, we have created an objective metric to rank individual debaters. The way it works is simple. At an octas bid tournament, the top speaker earns 20 points and …

In Structural Abuse, Substantive Advantages Part 2, Salim takes his argument into direct clash with Overing’s.  3.1 Recap Legitimate theory indicts abuse, not strategy. This raises the question: what’s the difference? The Burdens View claims that structural abuse – that is, real abuse – consists in establishing more winning conditions …

I thank Martin Sigalow and Chris Kymn for their helpful input for this article. 1. Intro Is theory just whining? Certainly, some theory arguments sound like whining; after all, some debaters claim that it is abusive to answer the affirmative’s framework because that makes it harder for them to win. …

Congratulations to Palo Alto’s Frances Zhuang and Brentwood’s Kiley McKay for making it to the final round of the 2017 UPS Tournament. In lieu of a final round, Frances was declares the champion. Congratulations to both!   Quarterfinals (1) Palo Alto FZ def. (9) Interlake RM (Richie Ma) (10) Kamiak …

Congratulations to Harrison’s Raffi Piliero and Lexington’s Kaushal Balagurusamy for making it to the final round of the 2017 Newark Tournament. In lieu of a final round due to scheduling, Raffi was declared the champion. Congratulations to both! Raffi was also the top speaker. He is coached by Bennett Eckert …

Many LDers believe that the activity improves with time. The conventional wisdom goes something like this: All else equal, a true argument beats out a false argument in round. Debaters copy and comply with good norms since it’s easier to win theory and K debates when you’re on the right …

The National Symposium for Debate is excited to announce its 2017 summer offerings. All information can be found here: www.nationalsymposiumfordebate.com This summer NSD will host 4 summer institutes. The NSD Flagship Session will be held at the University of Minnesota from June 25 to July 15 Executive Director: Tom Evnen …

Congratulations to Lake Highland’s Muhammad Khattak and North Crowley’s Logan Reed for making it to finals of the Strake Jesuit LD Tournament. On a 2-1 decision, Muhammad was declared the victor. Congratulations to both! Doubles (16) Christopher Columbus JN def. (17) Clements AC (Alexandre Chaumette) (Evnen, Sasso, *Sharma)   Octafinals …

Congratulations to La Canada’s Alex Zhao and Valley’s TJ Foley for making it to the final round of the 2016 John Edie Blake Holiday Classic. On a 2-1 decision, Alex was declared the champion. TJ was also the top speaker. Congratulations to both! Triples (30) Valley BG def. (35) Appleton …

This is episode 4 of Hutt Up or Shut Up starring Sam Azbel and Paul Zhou! Joined by guests Varad Agarwala and Sean Fahey, Sam and Paul discuss the new Jan/Feb Resolution (Resolved: Public colleges and universities in the United States ought not restrict any constitutionally protected speech) and speaker …

Austin, TX- Congratulations to Kinkaid’s Jason Yang and Strake Jesuit’s Richard Cook for making it to finals of UT. On a 3-0 decision, Richard was declared the champion. Congratulations to both! Richard is coached by Chris Castillo. Triples (Single-Flighted)   Double (Single-Flighted) Cy-Fair TW def. Tompki AG (Aman Gulrajani) (Burdett) …

Princeton, NJ- Congratulations to Harrison’s Raffi Piliero and Scarsdale’s Zoe Ewing for making it to the final round of the 2016 Princeton Classic. On a 3-0 decision, Raffi was declared the champion. Congratulations to both! Raffi is coached by Chetan Hertzig and Bennett Eckert. Zoe is coached by Mark Gorthey, …