First debate tournament, lost every round.

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

So recently, I had my first ever debate (Public Forum). After getting my results, I learned I lost every round. I don’t feel like doing debate anymore. Is it worth it if I continue debate?

2

Finish the season and try to take whatever skills/learnings you can from it. Then drop for next year if you want to try something else.

3

The reality is tgat evrryone is gonna suck a little when they start out. But if you really arent liking
It, maybe try another event. I started out in Pf and realized it wasn’t for me. I went to oratory and extemporaneous and ended up going state (Tx circuit) and nationals. Just find your niche

4

Debate is like any other competitive event. You get out of it what you put into it. You improve through perseverance, experience and hard work. Some tips:

  1. Look at the ballots from your first tournament, which should contain constructive criticism and the reason the judges picked the other teams over yours.
  2. When you're eliminated, go watch the teams that make it into elimination rounds and learn from their performance. This is especially helpful when you will be debating the same resolution for several tournaments. But even if the resolution is changing, you can learn from watching better teams debate.
  3. Practice by doing a mock debate with another pair from your school team before the next tournament.
  4. If your school team is a member of NSDA and has paid for the resource package, there are webinars you can watch to help. https://www.speechanddebate.org/webinars/
  5. Consider attending a speech and debate camp during the summer. My D15 attended some during her high school years and found them very helpful. She qualified for nationals for 3 years.
  6. Justawarmbody22 makes a good point that you can try another event. PF is not for everyone. My D did PF, oratory and impromptu for 3 years and then switched to congress in her senior year and went to nationals in congress.
5

Corinthian jade severe good points. I congratulate you on your first debate because it could have been intimidating. Realistically, I think your expectations where too high if they exceeded what you accomplished.

Please remember that success usually comes in increments and sustained practice. Debate provides lots of challenges from preparation to taking coherent arguments. Skillfully making presentations will be a really nice asset when you enter the workforce.