Hi everyone,
So I’m a member of my high school’s public forum debate team and have been since the first week of high school. I LOVE, love, love Debate and I think I may have the ability to be elected captain sometime soon. There’s just one thing, though: my coach prefers that we engage in local tournaments only, so we only compete on a county-wide level. We’ve done rather well (3rd in the county this year, in a highly competitive that has some of the best public schools in the country----i won’t be more specific), but I know these local accomplishments will pale in comparison to kids with national debate titles. Is there any way to get more involved in debate, to develop my skill in it and passion for it, and to show that to colleges----short of somehow getting my coach to let us compete nationally?
Hey there- I just finished up my HS LD career. Debate is quite a weird EC as it operates on weird levels (district, state, national, international for the TOCS etc) If you can,GO TO CAMP!! They can be very expensive, but if you are passionate about debate and are able to pay the cost, they are the thing that most top teams do to rise in rankings. NDF and CBI are probably the best for puffers. I went from barely being able to go 2-2 at a local to qualling to nats and the TOC the next year- it’s such a grind but totally worth it if you’re a rising junior or senior. If your coach has a no-nat tournament policy, do your best to qualify to NSDA nats or CFL nats. These look very good on applications and can solidify your dedication to debate. But being nationally ranked isn’t everything. Nationally ranked teams/debaters don’t get into top schools because of debate- they have serious qualifications outside of debate too. I’m decent friends with the Arnesens (2015/2016 NSDA champs/TOC etc) and they had so much more behind their applications than debate.
My advice to you is to take what you learn through debate and give it real world application. Nat circuit LD is riddled with SJWs that talk about racism, structural violence, weird cap/biopower k’s and literally use those advocacies to win ballots instead of trying to create real world change. I wrote my common app essay on how I didn’t truly understand my advocacies until they became tangible in real life when I nannied for a child with disabilities and witnessed blatant discrimination. I realized that my stupid ableism cases meant nothing unless I created positive change. I realized that sounding off in an echo chamber does nothing for those who are truly oppressed. That’s just my small anecdote- making debate real is better than flaunting how many ballots you picked up at a round robin or how you went undefeated in prelims at some big tournament. If you’re planning on writing about debate- hit the core values that debate upholds and how it’s impacted you. Hope this helps!
What else were the Arnesens twins involved in?
On a side note for the OP, there may be a debate club outside of your school. You can join them to have the opportunity to qualify for more prestigious public forum events.
@pineapple1203 did you go to Whitman?? PM me
@lightsgoout I didn’t go to Whitman.
Would your coach allow you to attend those large, regional invitational tournaments that happen a couple times a season?
For example, in California we have invitationals at a college in Northern California and then invitationals at Stanford in addition to the regular meets. Neither are national comps, but they’re in the general region. Is he worried about being responsible for a bunch of kids in an unfamiliar area and uncomfortable with arranging hotels and etc? I kind of wonder what his reasoning is.
I’ve heard of people attending one school but competing on another school’s team… not really sure how ethical that is but it might be worth a try for you (providing it’s within the rules!!)
Other than that, I would try doing things to take advantage of your debate skills. I don’t know what you compete in, but you could coach younger kids (middle school, freshmen) or volunteer with a program that works to give people interview/job/speech skills (I know I’ve heard of women’s shelters doing this, otherwise it’s mostly a service colleges offer to their students-), or do more theater workshop with kids type things. Another option would be to intern or volunteer with a speech pathologist (helps kids with speech/pronunciation difficulties).
I know a form of OO requires you to advocate for a change in state legislature? Original advocacy, I think? Heck, you could draft some legislature while you’re at it.
You could narrate audiobooks! That would be a unique EC and you’d get some money as well. I know someone who was thinking about doing that and they said all they needed was to hook a mic up to their computer. If not for an audiobook company then maybe on a volunteer basis for an elder home or something.
Idk. There’s a lot of possibilities. I know those weren’t debate comps or anything like that but I love debate as well and I wanna help ya out!!
Try small scholarship things? One of my friends competed for a Rotary Club scholarship…
Hope you find a way to get your s&d fix soon 
he just says that traveling is a pain and not worth it for him. he did say that there are kids at my school who do national debate comps on their own, though, so i’m thinking about it. but i might try to do an internship w a delegate in my state instead, i just found an opportunity i’m excited about. can’t do everything. i’m glad you love debate too!! maybe i’ll get more engaged with it in college…@newkidnewtrix