In the 2012-13 school year, the number of students competing in urban debate leagues grew by more than 1,000 to reach 7,301 participants, an increase of more than 16%.

"We are thrilled that the number of urban debaters in the U.S. now exceeds 7,000," said Linda Listrom, Executive Director, NAUDL. "The opportunity to compete on a debate team is life-changing, particularly for students in urban public schools. Two years ago NAUDL set an ambitious goal to triple the number of urban debaters across the U.S. At that time, there were 4,000 students participating. Our steady growth over the last two years shows we are on the right track. We congratulate our leagues on their success and outstanding results."

In addition to the increased number of participants, the average number of debates per student increased by 18%, indicating many debaters are staying with the activity longer. Studies have shown that the more rounds a student debates, the greater the benefits to the student's academic performance, likelihood of graduating high school, and civic commitment.

Urban debate leagues currently reach 438 public schools in 19 cities across the United States. Seventy-six percent of urban debaters are from low-income families and 86% are students of color. While debate programs in many suburban school districts are robust, cash-strapped urban schools struggle to offer the same academically rigorous debate programs to their students. Urban debate programs level the playing field. It is NAUDL's goal to triple the number of students participating in urban debate by 2016.