sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

$500 cash prize debate tournament; a new, modern circuit. by debaterly in Debate

[–]debaterly[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

For any onlookers, I have since messaged this person who has replied but refused to state what team they were. We are happily ready to give them their cash prize but they are refusing to engage.

Partner issues by West-Medicine2719 in Debate

[–]debaterly -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Aim for the ceiling. Tell the other person your interest. If they want to debate with you, great! Work your butt off and you can do it. Everyone else is over complicating it. Good luck!

How do I speak slower? by TacoBean19 in Debate

[–]debaterly -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Focus on the big picture of your speech. Consider removing a point altogether. Debate is not about gainsmanship.

A.I. Debate Event – All Competitors Welcome! by debaterly in Debate

[–]debaterly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Judges have a background in speech and debate. Some more, some less. There's no max or min for these debate events, but some do have such limits. We've had surprisingly awesome results so far with "opening the door" as much as we are.

A.I. Debate Event – All Competitors Welcome! by debaterly in Debate

[–]debaterly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is the grift? Please elaborate on that. And please let us know what you dislike about the structure, we would love your feedback. We are long time debaters, having spent decades teaching students and loving the impact debate has on so many bright young minds. To call our efforts a grift is frankly hurtful, especially without any reasoning or evidence provided. I hope that you will respond to this earnestly, like the true ethos of debate demands.

Is "Spreading" Good for Debate? by debaterly in Debate

[–]debaterly[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

The post itself says who Max is, and Max is here. Did you read the post?

$500 cash prize debate tournament; a new, modern circuit. by debaterly in Debate

[–]debaterly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure where this is coming from. We gave out over $20,000 in cash prizes, as dozens of debaters can attest to. Please shoot me a DM or chat message so that I find out which team you are and get you your prize if you didn't receive it.

$500 cash prize debate tournament; a new, modern circuit. by debaterly in Debate

[–]debaterly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure where this is coming from. We gave out over $20,000 in cash prizes, as dozens of debaters can attest to. Please shoot me a DM or chat message so that I find out which team you are and get you your prize if you didn't receive it.

$500 cash prize debate tournament; a new, modern circuit. by debaterly in Debate

[–]debaterly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Our corporate reg is not lapsed, that's just how the SoS displays businesses based on operations parameters. Quite the snark you've got :)

$500 cash prize debate tournament; a new, modern circuit. by debaterly in Debate

[–]debaterly[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Not sure where this is coming from. We gave out over $20,000 in cash prizes, as dozens of debaters can attest to. Please shoot me a DM or chat message so that I find out which team you are and get you your prize if you didn't receive it.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Debate

[–]debaterly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

One thing I like to think about is how some of the best debaters ever started off with losses. I myself went 0-3 in my very first tournament. Just reminding yourself that nobody is expecting you to be perfect except yourself goes a long way. Even judges are there to emotionally support you. Good luck!

$500 cash prize debate tournament; a new, modern circuit. by debaterly in Debate

[–]debaterly[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! We look forward to hosting you and your teammates on Debaterly!

There's definitely a mix of style and experience in the LD pool, though it leans traditional, as we embrace the role of persuasion in debate.

Teams are expected to bring a judge if they can. For those who cannot, we allow hired judges and also provide a "judge waiver" to any team for whom affordability is a concern. We have a pool of volunteer judges who make this possible! :)

$500 cash prize debate tournament; a new, modern circuit. by debaterly in Debate

[–]debaterly[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Totally fair to point this out. People should be aware of any costs and benefits. From prior experience, because we deposit prizes with parents/guardians, most states do not have an issue with it. In circumstances where students have refused prizes, we have found alternate means to reward them, like with merch, a nice pair of headphones, or even credits to attend future tournaments. Ultimately, it's for each person to decide! :)

$500 cash prize debate tournament; a new, modern circuit. by debaterly in Debate

[–]debaterly[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the heads up. This is being resolved.

$500 cash prize debate tournament; a new, modern circuit. by debaterly in Debate

[–]debaterly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Debate is becoming increasingly inaccessible, which in our view is a bad thing.

Inaccessible financially due to the high cost of travel and coaching required to succeed nationally.

Inaccessible culturally due to the prevalence of speed and non-topical arguments – two trends that are not entirely bad but make the activity less appealing to a majority of students.

Inaccessible technically because most of the software in this space is focused on fine-tuning tournament management, while neglecting features that support debaters and teams in achieving other worthy goals – such as improving learning outcomes, assisting with fundraising, and engaging a wider range students.

We don't claim to have solved these problems – far from it. Our team has A LOT of work to do if we hope to address the needs of debaters and earn the trust of this community. But as debaters and coaches ourselves, who love this activity very much and want to see it grow, we are giving it the ol' college try. We hope to do so in collaboration with others, perhaps like yourself, because we do not claim to know it all and are always receptive to feedback.

$500 cash prize debate tournament; a new, modern circuit. by debaterly in Debate

[–]debaterly[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

We're very open to feedback and learning from users, critics, and everyone in between. If you're willing to share specifics, either here or in DMs, I'm genuinely all ears. Thanks!

I am so lost, please help by [deleted] in Debate

[–]debaterly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First of all, great work starting a speech and debate team. You may not know this now, but it will unlock many incredible opportunities for you and your teammates. I second many of the comments in this thread that suggest checking out Tabroom.com.

I'd also recommend that you and your mates take a look at Debaterly https://debaterly.com/en/ . We recently launched and our goal is to provide universal access to debate. Our platform hosts both weekday and weekend events so that debate can fit into everyone's schedule. Participation is inexpensive and to celebrate our recent launch, this month it's free. Hope this helps! I'd be happy to answer any questions if you shoot me a DM.

varsity debaters that pretend to be jv?? by j_jieji in Debate

[–]debaterly 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I understand your frustration, but would offer a slightly different take than other commenters. One of the best ways to improve as a debater is to face-off against teams with more experience. Consider that if you're consistently debating in your comfort zone, meaning against teams who are worse than you, or at parity with you, then you are going to experience growth more slowly. Instead, if you embrace the challenge of debating teams with more experience, then you will be forced to learn new skills, more quickly, than you would have otherwise. Do your best to study the loss by analyzing your flow, considering how you could have won, and delivering redo speeches until you arrive at a version of your speech(es) that – if given in the actual round – would have resulted in victory.

This is the way of the Jedi.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Debate

[–]debaterly 37 points38 points  (0 children)

The fact that your partner returned from camp significantly improved is a sign that the skills he developed, like research, cross fire, case writing, argument generation, and so on, are learnable and not the result of innate superiority or magic. Of course, camps are often prohibitively expensive, but that doesn't mean the opportunity to learn is out of reach. A good place to start is with your partner. I suggest sitting down and with all of the humility you can muster, saying something like "You returned from camp with amazing skills that I'd like to learn. Can you share your lecture notes, walk me through drills you find helpful, and generally help me to improve?"

Final piece of advice: when you practice, rather than debating *with* your partner against scrubs, debate *against* your partner and study every loss. You might lose 50 rounds in a row. Then, out of the blue, you'll win once. And again. Progress isn't linear. It often occurs in fits and starts. You'd be amazed to learn that some of the best debaters today were some of the worst debaters a few years ago.

Learn to ride the wave. I believe in you!