How to dress for competitive success

When choosing how to dress for competition, your goal is to look professional. Show your judge and competitors that you are serious about your event and believe in yourself. Your goal is to have the judge focusing on your speech...NOT your clothes. 

Boys should wear slacks, a shirt and tie. It's also important to wear dark shoes of some kind, not light colored tennis shoes. Some competitors will wear a full suit, but this is not required. 

Dress for girls is a little more complicated. But one good way to think about it is to dress as if you were going to work at a bank. Some girls will wear pants or skirt suits. But other girls will war nice tops with skirts or pants as well. DO NOT wear heals that are uncomfortable and difficult to walk in. Flats are best. Here are some debaters from another school.

Here are some general tips!

1. Dress professionally!

2. Dress Conservatively!

3. You don't have to spend a ton of money. You might be able to find great stuff at Goodwill or Value Village.

Mr. Freeman's powerpoint about dressing can be found at the bottom of this page.