The competitor reads/performs a program from a manuscript, which can include a combination of any of the three genres (prose, poetry, drama) around a central theme. The competitor should use his or her voice, gestures, face, etc. to convey the proper emotion of the pieces and engage the audience.

Extemporaneous Debate consists of two students who will argue a specified topic with limited preparation time. Students are given a minimum of thirty minutes to prepare for each debate and are notified if they are for or against the provided resolution. This quick-moving debate takes roughly 20 minutes to complete.
[The tournament host will be responsible for creating topics to debate]

The competitor delivers a speech that was written by someone else and previously delivered. The speech may be a former Original Oratory or a published commencement speech, tribute speech, eulogy, etc. The competitor should use his or her voice, gestures, face, etc. to convey the proper message of the speech.

Congressional Debate simulates chambers of congress. Each representative/senator prepares multiple three-minute speeches in support or in opposition to the pieces of student-produced legislation provided before the tournament. Speeches are prepared ahead of time and may be read when presented. Congressional Debate follows parliamentary procedure (Robert’s Rules of Order) in the chamber.

*MS Extemporaneous  Speaking
(coming soon)
Time TBD

Public Forum debate focuses on topics of current national importance. Each team prepares arguments in favor of and against a given resolution. The resolution changes every month. At each tournament, each team will debate a mixture of pro rounds (in favor of the resolution) and con rounds (against the resolution), depending on a coin flip that occurs at the start of each round.