Practices are located in Room 541 We encourage debate team members to be involved in other activities, sports, fine arts, and volunteer/work, so coaches can create a practice schedule that works for anyone interested in joining!  Practice Dates are TBD 

Competition is open to all 7-12th grade students at Ben Franklin and Fargo North.  

Questions?  Contact coach via email: lindemr@fargoschools.org

Debate is a NDHSAA fine arts activity that includes two different debate event categories in the state of North Dakota. In this activity, students are given the opportunity to practice and build on speaking, research, and argumentative techniques on given topics in competitions throughout the season. Currently in debate, students can enter into either:

• Lincoln-Douglas Debate- typically known as LD Debate or LD is a one-on-one type of debate. It can sometimes be called values debate because the format traditionally places a heavy emphasis on logic, ethical values, and philosophy (also called ethos, pathos, and logos). This is individual debate focuses on the moral issues of today. Topics change for this debate format every month.

• Public Forum Debate- this type of debate has debaters argue a topic of national importance, typically involving foreign or domestic policy as opposed to the more philosophic-centric topics of the Lincoln-Douglas debate. Public forum debate is conducted by teams of two people alternating speeches for their side, either affirming or negating their topic. Successful public forum debaters must make persuasive and logical arguments in a manner that is accessible to a wide variety of audiences. This debate style also focuses on not only logical but research-based arguments. This type of debate changes topics every month.

Regular season debate tournaments start at the beginning of early November and end the first weekend in February. Tournaments are held on Saturdays with some two-day tournaments in December and January. Students will have the flexibility of attending certain tournaments throughout the season as arranged with their debate coaches.

DEBATE RULES AND REGULATION LINK

DEBATE INFORMATION SHEET LINK 

POSSIBLE VOTED DEBATE TOPICS FOR 25-26