Donate

 






Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Visit our blog

View our videos on YouTube

View our photos on flickr
Join Our Mailing List
Starr Arroyo
2012-2013 NYC LOCAL DEBATE TOURNAMENT CALENDAR
 
Below is our schedule of local NYC debates that we host.  All grade levels - Elementary School, Middle School, and High School divisions. Everything is free (registration, breakfast, lunch). Debaters should arrive 9:00am, registration closes at 9:30am. 

9/15 - Mini Debate Camp 

10/13 - Tournament #1 

11/10 - Tournament #2 (Institute for Collaborative Education). 

12/1 - Tournament #3
 John Jay High School

1/5 - Tournament #4 (Brooklyn Tech)


3/1 - 3/2 - The Lakeland Invitational Tournament

3/16 - Tournament #6 - 

4/5 - 4/6  Tournament #7 
(TBA)

5/11 - Tournament # 8 - Early Bird Tournament (Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice)

Yale 2012
Yale 2012 Tournament
 
2012-2013 
NYC TRAVEL TEAM TOURNAMENT CALENDAR
 
Schools interested in travel to out of state debate tournaments each month can join our Travel Pool program.  All travel and housing provided by the NYC Debate League and member schools! Contact [email protected] for more information.

9/21- 9/23 - Yale University  
Click here for registration.
Click here for invitation.
 
10/5-10/6 - Monticello

11/2-11/3 - Vassar College

12/7-12/8 - Ridge Debate Invitational (New Jersey)

 

2/1-2/2 - Newark Debate Invitational (New Jersey)

2/15-2/18 -  

3/1-3/2 - Lakeland Invitational (New York)
 
Georgetown Tournament 2012
Georgetown University 
2012 Tournament
 
2012-2013 
VARSITY NATIONAL CIRCUIT TRAVEL TEAM TOURNAMENT CALENDAR
 
For our top teams in the Travel Program that qualify for the Tournament of Champions, we support to travel to the nation's top tournaments. Contact [email protected] for more information.
 
9/28-9/30 - Georgetown University Invitational  Click here for logistics.
 

10/19-10/21 - New York City Invitational

Click here for more information. 

 

11/2-11/3 -  University of Michigan Invitational 


12/1-12/3 - Scranton Invitational & Round Robin



3/22-3/24 - Novice & Junior Varsity National Championships at Woodward HS, Georgia



5/24-5/26 -
(Philadelphia)

(Birmingham, Alabama)
SHARE YOUR WORK!

Calling all debate students, parents, teachers, coaches, volunteers - if you would like to be featured in our next NYC Great Debaters Weekly Newsletter, please send any photos, articles, poetry - anything debate related to Erik Fogel, [email protected]. Thank you for sharing your wonderful work!

QUICK LINKS

THE NEW YORK CITY
 GREAT DEBATERS 
WEEKLY 
"Be Great! Be a Great Debater!"
Greetings!
Election Debate Article
MAKING SOCRATES PROUD!

"Meanwhile, DiColandrea closely monitored the fast paced back-and-forth, occasionally pausing the proceedings to critique and praise content, form and participation. For nearly 45 minutes, the class was deeply engaged in an ancient ritual that would have made Socrates proud...." - Daniel Krieger, "Students Use Debate to Master Issues."

 

Last week NYC debaters were profiled in two articles about their views on the presidential election debates as well as their own election debates in the classroom.  Coach Michael DiColandrea, Coach Marcus Martinez, and the Achievement First Debate Team were featured in an excellent article by Daniel Krieger, click here.  And debaters from the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice were featured in a fantastic article in the spanish publication, El Diario, by Carolina Ledezma, click here.

 

We thank all of New York City for its support of our city's Great Debaters!  I am always in awe and inspired by our supporters, families, educators, students, communities, and city.  Even during this week of devastation and tragedy with winds attempting to strike us down - NYC immediately rises back up.  That is greatness.  We hope everyone and their loved ones are safe. Please let us know if anyone needs any assistance.  For those interested in helping with relief efforts there are many ways to get involved including NYC Service, The Red Cross, New York Cares, NYC Public Advocate's Office as well as numerous other heroic organizations.  And that is what makes me so proud to live in New York City.


BE GREAT!  BE A GREAT DEBATER!!

Sincerely,
Erik Fogel, Director
The New York City Urban Debate League
Twitter: @nycdebateleague
Phone: 917-455-1079
Fried Frank Scholars
KAPPA International HS Debate Team and Fried Frank Scholars!
FRIED FRANK SCHOLARS PROGRAM KICKS OFF!
 
On Wednesday our partnership with Fried Frank law firm kicked off.  Debate teams from two NYC schools were invited for an inspiring evening which included a tour of the law firm, law careers Q&A, fantastic dinner, and a trip with attorneys to the monthly Intelligence Squared Debates.  The topic for the month was "Are the Rich Taxed Enough."  The debateIQ2 Debates included some of the nation's top economists.  The Proposition featured Glenn Hubbard (Dean, Columbia Business School), Arthur Laffer

("The Father of Supply Side Economics," Fmr. Member, President Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board).  The Opposition featured Robert Reich (Former Secretary of Labor for President Clinton), and Mark Zandi (Chief Economist of Moody's Analytics).  The debate was moderated by John Donvan (Author & Correspondent for ABC News).  Our debaters sided with the Opposition, as well as the rest of the audience with 63% voting against the motion. After the debate, our debaters had the honor to meet up with Mr. Donvan. Our Fried Frank Scholars will continue their work with attorneys in resume writing, college applications, and return to Fried Frank for a public debate.  Thank you to everyone at Fried Frank, KAPPA International High School and Coach Aylin Kuzucan and her Great Debaters!

 

And if your school is interested in signing up for our Law Scholars Program or if your law firm is interested in partnering up with the New York City Urban Debate League to provide mentoring and college assistance opportunities, please contact us at [email protected] or 917-455-1079.  Thank You!

ronald_reagan
ACHIEVEMENT FIRST CHARTER SCHOOL MAKES HISTORY IN THE RONALD REAGAN GREAT COMMUNICATOR DEBATES!

Congratulations to Coach DiCo and the Achievement First Debate Team for their historic win to advance to the next elimination round in the first annual Ronald Reagan Great Communicator Debates which features over $50,000 in scholarships.  The next elimination round features the Regional Championships which include the Central Region, Northeastern Region, Western Region, Mid-Atlantic Region, Southwestern Region, Southern Region, and the Greater Texas Region.  The debate series will culminate in a National Championship, hosted on-site at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, and will showcase each of the regional champions.  The topics include National Service, Civic Education, Civil Disobedience, The Constitution, Political Parties, Executive Power, Electoral College, and Immigration. Good luck to the Achievement First Great Debaters!

ICE #1 2012
REGISTER FOR TOURNAMENT #2, NOVEMBER 10TH AT THE INSTITUTE FOR COLLABORATIVE EDUCATION!

REGISTER NOW FOR OUR SECOND NYC TOURNAMENT OF THE YEAR!  You can register your debaters online by clicking here.  The tournament will be held at the Institute for Collaborative Education, 345 E. 15th Street.

Policy Debate Topic (High School and Middle School)
"Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially increase its transportation infrastructure investment in the United States."  Click here for policy debate resources and the Starters Packet. 

Public Forum Debate Topic (High School)
Coaches across the country vote for the monthly current event topics and the National Forensics League publishes here the monthly topic on the 1st of the month.  The November topic is Resolved: Current U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East undermines our national security.  Click here for Public Forum Debate resources and contact [email protected] for the monthly debate topic materials.

Public Forum Debate Topic (Middle School and Elementary School)
Our middle school and elementary schools vote on the monthly topic at each tournament.  Our November topic will be "Resolved: Developed countries have a moral obligation to mitigate the effects of climate change."  Click here for Public Forum Debate resources and contact [email protected] for the monthly debate topic materials.

Tournament Schedule
Please register your teams by Wednesday, November 7th.  Click here for registration.  Debaters, judges and everyone should arrive at the tournament on Saturday (11/10) by 9:00am for breakfast.  At 9:30am registration closes. Round 1 should begin by 10:00am. Round 2 follows soon after. Lunch will be held after Round 2. Elementary and middle school debaters will have an awards ceremony and should be finished between 2:00pm-3:00pm. High School debaters have an additional round after lunch and their awards ceremony should be finished between 5:00pm-6:00pm.  If you are interested in volunteering as a judge, please complete our judge volunteer form. Thank you!
Bronx HS Science
NYC DEBATERS WIN BIG AT NATIONAL TOURNAMENT!
 

The Bronx High School of Science hosts one of the largest and most prestigious tournaments of the year.  The tournament features some of the top schools across the country including California, Texas, Florida, and Washington D.C. Shout outs to debaters from Brooklyn Tech and the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice for taking top speaker awards and advancing to elimination rounds!  And shout outs to Mr. Tommie Lindsey, Coach of James Logan High School and huge supporter of the New York City Urban Debate League. Mr Lindsey added the Bronx Achievement Award to his many awards including the MacArthur Genius Fellowship, Oprah's Angels Awards, and a list of numerous other awards including largest speech and debate school, and State and National Champion for multiple years.  He has written numerous articles and books on speech and debate and has been featured in several movies and documentaries including Accidental Hero. And finally, shout outs to host Bronx HS of Science and Coach Jon Cruz for hosting such a wonderful tournament in the Bronx.  Thank you everyone!

Debate Central Logo
Event Name

The National Center for Policy Analysis and Debate Central announce the 2012 Young Patriots Essay Contest!  The annual contest features a new controversial topic each year designed to challenge high school students to creatively solve problems in the realm of public policy through the art of writing.  The topic of this year's essay contest is:  "What is the proper role of the government in insuring people against major social risks?" This year's topic addresses government social insurance for the risks that everyone faces.   "For as long as there have been human societies, people have faced these same risks," said John C. Goodman, president and CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis. All essays must be submitted by Friday, November 23 at 11:00pm EST.

boroughs_nyc
DROP BY YOUR DEBATE CENTER!
We offer debate centers in each borough for any students or teachers to drop in for the best debate training, supplies and snacks - for free!  Click here for more information about our debate centers or click on any of the centers below.

When: Wednesdays, 3:00pm-7:00pm
Where: The Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice, 283 Adams Street  New York, NY 11201.
Contact: Ben Crossan, [email protected]
 
When: Mondays, 3:30pm-5:30pm
Where: St. John's University, St. John's Hall, Room 203 
Contact: Tommye Weddington, [email protected]
 
When: Mondays, 3:00pm-6:00pm
Where: 
Columbia University, Teachers College, Zankel 406, 525 West 120th Street
Contact: Jen Johnson or Erik Fogel, [email protected]
 
When: Mondays, 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Where: The Urban Assembly School for Law, Government and Justice, 244 E. 163rd St., Bronx, NY, 10451
Contact: Erik Fogel, [email protected]
Judges_volunteers
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS!
As the city's free debate league for all students, we rely on an incredible network of volunteers - students, alumni, parents, teachers, and everyone passionate about education, debate, civics and providing the best opportunities for New York City youth! We need judges for each of our monthly tournaments.  No experience required, we provide a training session, breakfast, lunch and incredible debates!  So please contact [email protected] or please complete our judge volunteer form.  We would love to have you at our second tournament, November 10th!  Thank you so much for supporting all our students to become Great Debaters!
date with debate
Next Date with Debate - Thursday, November 15th, 6:00pm-8:00pm.
Date Debate!!!!  Thank you to our guests for our first Date with Debate on October 8th at the Crocodile Lounge.  Free drinks, free pizza, free debate workshop, free debate discussion!  Shout outs to Coach James Bathurst for fantastic ideas on travel tournaments for all schools - we added the Newark and Lakeland tournaments for all our member schools in the local schedule.

Each month we are hosting a "Date with Debate" for everyone passionate about supporting the NYC debate community!  We will have a jam packed evening!  Debate workshop! Debate Coaches Meeting! Debate talk!!  Sharing best ideas, debate activities, debate lessons! Volunteer and judge appreciation!  Help us tabulate the following Saturday's tournament! Free pizza!  Free drinks!! But the most important goal for the evening - have fun with debate so hopefully you will be back for another debate date! 

Thursday, November 15th
6:00pm-8:00pm
325 E 14th St
(between 1st Ave & 2nd Ave)
 
Contact - Erik Fogel, 917-455-1079, [email protected] 
(look for the only person sitting in the bar typing on a laptop!)
chabeli
Policy Debate & Public Forum Debate Resources and Curriculum Available! 
Our tournaments feature the country's two most popular and rigorous debate formats - policy debate and public forum debate.  
 
POLICY DEBATE
Policy debate is the oldest American debate format.  It is also the most popular debate format at the college and high school levels. Policy Debate engages students in a year long study of a single topic where students earn an equivalent of a masters degree on that topic. Policy Debate is unique in (1) freedom of argumentation (there are no limits in strategies of argumentation - the only rule being there are no rules), (2) quantity of information (debaters research and study thousands of arguments), (3) speed of thinking and delivery (debate rounds can reach over 350 words per minute), (4) evidence based argumentation (points go to not how well you speak but how well you read, analyze, question, construct and deconstruct evidence). Click here to access our policy debate resources.

PUBLIC FORUM DEBATE
Our other event of Public Forum Debate is the country's newest, fastest growing debate event, and one of the most popular debate events at the high school level.  Public Forum Debate ("PFD") is the most real world debate format at the national level and one of the best means of preparation for a career in politics and leadership. PFD challenges our debaters to be tomorrow's political leaders with topics that change each month based on current events.  Students engage in presidential style debates of researching, writing and delivering speeches on the most pressing current issues of the day. Points go to debaters who best persuade the audience.  PFD is also the best debate format for younger, beginner debaters and new coaches looking for a quick and easy debate format to learn.  Click here to access our public forum debate resources.  
NFL logo
SNEAK PEEK OF NEXT YEAR'S POLICY DEBATE TOPIC!
 
Coaches across the country will soon be voting.. not simply on the presidential election but the choice for next year's policy debate topic!  The two topics making the final round of voting are:

1.  Latin America.  Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its economic engagement toward Cuba, Mexico or Venezuela.

2.  Export Controls. 
Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially 
strengthen its export controls on military and/or dual-use technology toward one or more of the following: China, India, Israel, Russia, Taiwan.

So sign up now for membership in the National Forensics League - the nation's largest academic honors society and host to the largest academic competition in the world - the National Championships in speech and debate!  Membership is free for all urban debate schools!  Email [email protected] for more information.
NYC_Debate_Logo
ITS NOT TOO LATE TO SIGN UP FOR THE 2012-2013 DEBATE SEASON!
The New York City Debate League is free for all students and all schools! Sign up for the 2012-2013 debate season! Weekly workshops, monthly tournaments, professional development, summer debate camps, books, materials, curriculum, scholarships - everything you need to start a debate team at your school is free. Don't have a debate team at your school? No problem!  We provide free tournaments, training, materials and everything else you need! Not sure of what type of debate you want to do?  We have all types of debate - policy debate, public forum debate, international debate and more! Whatever you need! Whenever you need! Wherever you need! Just let us know!! We believe that all students should be Great Debaters!  Contact Erik Fogel, [email protected], 917-455-1079, or sign up online!
calendar
2012 - 2013 
DEBATE CALENDAR

Visit our website to check out the 2012-2013 Debate Calendars!  All our tournaments feature policy debate and public forum debate and soon we plan to add international debate! 

PLEASE DONATE TO SUPPORT
OUR CITY'S GREAT DEBATERS! 
 
Donate
NYC_Debate_Logo