Join us to see live competition!

We have ten different speech events organized into three categories. You will probably want to take a look at the different events and decide which ones you are most interested in seeing. Our speech events are divided into two patterns, with about half of the events offered in each pattern. The welcome coordinator will be able to tell you which speech events will happen at each time in the schedule. Observers are welcome to move from one room to another between speakers to observe different kinds of speeches. We simply ask that you not enter or exit a competition room while a speaker is speaking.

Most tournaments offer two styles of debate in every competition round.

• Lincoln Douglas Value debate is a one-on-one event with rounds that last approximately 45 minutes.
• Team Policy debate is a two-on-two event with rounds that last approximately 90 minutes.

We encourage you to do some exploring to learn what’s special about each style so that you can make the best choice about which style to observe. Observers are also permitted to move in and out of competition rooms during breaks between speakers, so it is possible to get a look at both styles in a single round. If you plan to do this, we recommend watching the first 2-3 speeches in a Team Policy round and then moving to a Flight B Lincoln-Douglas round which will start later in the scheduled slot and allow for the observation of the entire round.

We welcome and truly want caring adults who have no experience in speech or debate competition to judge at our tournaments. This policy is grounded in the mindset that we are training students for real-world communication. We want them to be able to talk in a way that anyone can understand.