Highlights

Welcome to the 2024-25 Season

A new school year means a new season of debate. We welcome returning members and are actively looking for new members and schools willing to host in-person tournaments.

Coaches should read the Welcome to 2024-25 document. It includes a series of questions which can be answered by fillng out this CDA Coach Google Form.

An email has been sent to all returning Coaches with information about the new season and links to the following:

An email will be sent to all returning Coaches in August with information about the new season. Additional information will be posted at that time.


Contents


January Tournament Invitation

CDA members and those interested in joining the CDA are invited to our first tournament of 2025 on Saturday, January 11. New Canaan High School and Warde High School in Fairfield will host. We will follow our standard format of one hour for case preparation, four rounds of debate in Varsity and Novice divisions, and a final round between the top two Varsity teams. You may download the Invitation for more details.

Coaches are asked to fill out this Google January Attendance Form by the end of the day on Friday, December 20. We need an estimate of attendance before the holidays in order to know how many packets to print.

Registration opens on Monday, December 16 at 8AM, and entries must be in by end of day on Wednesday, January 8. If you have any questions or comments please email us: CDA January Tournament.

December Tournament Results

We had 282 debaters from 27 schools at our December tournaments at Farmington High School and King School in Stamford. This is the largest field and and our first time with multiple hosts this year. Our thanks to both schools for hosting. The topic was:

This House believes that (THBT) Google should be broken up.

The Varsity final round at Farmington was won by the Joel Barlow team of Speck and Fravel on Government over the Bethel team of Zalaznick and Woleck.

The Pomperaug team of Wisnefsky and Bevilacqua topped the Novice division.

The Varsity final round at King was won by the Stamford team of Jain and Morency on Government over their teammates Katz and Khessibi.

The Staples team of Krishna and Gandhi topped the Novice division.

Congratulations to all of our trophy winners! You may view or download the complete December Results, as well as the resolution package.

If you have any questions or comments please email us: CDA December Tournament.

November Tournament Results

Twenty schools made the trip to Fitch High School in Groton, bringing 150 debaters to our second tournaemnt of the year. The topic was:

This House, as the US, should favor increased tariffs.

The Varsity final round was closed out by Joel Barlo High School. The debate was won by the team of Griffin Speck and Cade Fravel on Opposition over their schoolmates Luis Diez and Trevor Steinke.

The Hall High School team of Amaia Potashner and Anaya Lal topped the Novice division.

Congratulations to all of our trophy winners! You may view or download the complete November Results, as well as the resolution package.

If you have any questions or comments please email us: CDA November Tournament.

October Tournament Results

We had 205 debaters from 26 schools compete in our first tournament of the year at Joel Barlow High School. The topic was:

THW match small donor contributions to political campaigns.

The Varsity final round was closed out by Stamford High School. The debate was won by the team of Ryan Khessibi and Sabrina Morency on Government over their schoolmates Meher Jain and Aryeh Pollack.

The Stamford team of Amelia Nandikesan and Brian Watson topped the Novice division.

Congratulations to all of our trophy winners! You may view or download the complete October Results, as well as the resolution package.

If you have any questions or comments please email us: CDA October Tournament.

Parliamentary Debate

With the 2022-23 season the CDA moved to a Parliamentary debate format. This change:

  • connects us with an international debate community;
  • makes a wealth of training material available to debaters, coaches and judges;
  • allows us to add a fourth preliminary round in the same amount of time; and
  • is consistent with the format used by debaters coming up to CDA from the the Connecticut Middle School Debate League.

The Training Material has been updated to reflect the new format. However, Coaches, Judges, and Debaters unfamiliar with Parliamentary debate, or those interested in joining the CDA, will find these two items a good introduction:

  • A one-page description of the format and changes, CDA Parli Brief.
  • A style guide which presents CDA parliamentary debate in detail for debaters, coaches and judges, CDA Parli Style Guide

The Style Guide includes a "Resources" section with references to external material useful for teaching and learning Parliamentary debate More complete information can be found on the Training Material page.

Online Debate

We returned to in-person debate in 2022-23, using online debate only as a backup in case of inclement weather. If we do have to hold tournaments online, the CDA Online Procedures Guide provides detailed information. You should review this material with all of your debaters and judges prior to any online tournament.

Middle School Debate

The Connecticut Middle School Debate League is gearing up for its 2022-23 season. Five events are currently planned: a combined practice scrimmage and tournament in October; regular tournaments in December and February; and a championship tournament in April. All Connecticut middle schools and schools with middle grades are invited to join. We hope these will be in-person events.

The Middle School League encourages participation by high school debaters as coaches, mentors and judges. One of the best ways to improve a skill is to help teach it to others. Several CDA debaters have started and coach teams at their affiliated middle schools. Many CDA debaters attend CTMSDL events as judges.

For more information on the League and schedule details see the Middle School Debate web site or email CTMSDL Information.


Other Debate News

Parliamentary Debate Tournaments

Many colleges and universities across the country sponsor high school speech and debate tournaments. Usually they require travel and overnight stays, which make it difficult for Connecticut debaters to attend. This year most events are expected to be online, so only entry fees need be covered. The pandemic gives debaters the opportunity to debate against national competition if they choose.

Only a special few offer a parliamentary format that is compatible with CDA's extermporaneous style. We expect the following East Coast events to be offered again this year. We will post the dates as we become aware of them.

  • Yale Invitational, September20-22, 2024
  • National Parliamentary Debate League Fall Tournament, October ??
  • McGill British Parli, late October??
  • Vassar College Invitational, November ??
  • McGill Canadian Parli, early February??
  • Columbia Ivy League Championship, February??
  • Harvard World Schools Format, March??
  • Yale Osterweis, April ??

A question mark indicates the tournament has not been announced or the dates have not been confirmed. The date indication is based on last year's schedule. We will try and post additional information here as it becomes available. Tournaments are often hosted and announced on tabroom.com, a good source for news about upcoming debate and speech events.

Parliamentary Debate Leagues

There are also several leagues in the Northeast which may be of interest to Connecticut debaters:

There is also a National Parliamentary Debate League that invites high schools and leagues to join, and runs an annual Tournament of Champions: NPDL website.

For information about these leagues, membership and schedules, please see their websites.




Last updated December 16, 2024.