Highlights

Welcome to the 2024-25 Season

A new school year means a new season of debate. We welcome returning members and are actively looking for new members and schools willing to host in-person tournaments.

Coaches should read the Welcome to 2024-25 document. It includes a series of questions which can be answered by fillng out this CDA Coach Google Form.

An email has been sent to all returning Coaches with information about the new season and links to the following:

An email will be sent to all returning Coaches in August with information about the new season. Additional information will be posted at that time.


Contents

March Tournament Invitation

CDA members and those interested in joining the CDA are invited to our final tournament of the 2024-25 on Saturday, March 1. Ridgefield High School and St. Paul Catholic High School in Bristol will host. We will follow our standard format of one hour for case preparation, four rounds of debate in Varsity and Novice divisions, and a final round between the top two Varsity teams. You may download the Invitation for more details.

Coaches are asked to fill out this March Attendance Form by the end of the day on Friday, February 21. We need an estimate of attendance in order to know how many packets to print.

Registration opens on Monday, February 17 at 8AM, and entries must be in by end of day on Wednesday, February 26. If you have any questions or comments please email us: CDA March Tournament.

February Tournament Results

We had our smallest tournament day of the year with 166 debaters from 25 schools attended tournaments at Coginchaug High School in Durham and Fitch High School in Groton. Our thanks to both schools for hosting. The topic was:

THBT (This House believes that) the US Federal Government should provide a national financial support program for property insurance risk.

The Varsity final round at Coginchaug was won by the Farmington team of Mashud and Li on Opposition over the Simsbury team of Agrawal and Zhang.

The Pomperaug team of Nespoli and Bevilacqua topped the Novice division.

The Varsity final round at Fitch was won by the Bethel team of Zalaznick and Woleck on Government over the Joel Barlow team of Fellows and Kiefer.

The AITE team of Amann and Sandoval topped the Novice division.

Congratulations to all of our trophy winners! You may view or download the complete February Results, as well as the resolution package.

If you have any questions or comments please email us: CDA February Tournament.

January Tournament Results

A little snow did not stop 251 debaters from 31 schools at our January tournaments at New Canaan High School and Warde High School in Fairfield. Our thanks to both schools for hosting. The topic was:

THBT (This House believes that) the US should not defend Taiwan militarily.

The Varsity final round at New Canaan was won by the King School team of Jakubowski and Blanco on Government over the New Canaan team of Hsu and La Magna.

The AITE team of Dakshin and Wong topped the Novice division.

The Varsity final round at Warde was closed out by Joel Barlow, and the round was won by the team of Fravel and Speck on Opposition over their teammates Fellows and Colangelo.

The Westfield/Watkinson team of Arun and Ratchman topped the Novice division.

Congratulations to all of our trophy winners! You may view or download the complete January Results, as well as the resolution package.

If you have any questions or comments please email us: CDA January Tournament.

December Tournament Results

We had 282 debaters from 27 schools at our December tournaments at Farmington High School and King School in Stamford. This is the largest field and and our first time with multiple hosts this year. Our thanks to both schools for hosting. The topic was:

This House believes that (THBT) Google should be broken up.

The Varsity final round at Farmington was won by the Joel Barlow team of Speck and Fravel on Government over the Bethel team of Zalaznick and Woleck.

The Pomperaug team of Wisnefsky and Bevilacqua topped the Novice division.

The Varsity final round at King was won by the Stamford team of Jain and Morency on Government over their teammates Katz and Khessibi.

The Staples team of Krishna and Gandhi topped the Novice division.

Congratulations to all of our trophy winners! You may view or download the complete December Results, as well as the resolution package.

If you have any questions or comments please email us: CDA December Tournament.

Parliamentary Debate

With the 2022-23 season the CDA moved to a Parliamentary debate format. This change:

  • connects us with an international debate community;
  • makes a wealth of training material available to debaters, coaches and judges;
  • allows us to add a fourth preliminary round in the same amount of time; and
  • is consistent with the format used by debaters coming up to CDA from the the Connecticut Middle School Debate League.

The Training Material has been updated to reflect the new format. However, Coaches, Judges, and Debaters unfamiliar with Parliamentary debate, or those interested in joining the CDA, will find these two items a good introduction:

  • A one-page description of the format and changes, CDA Parli Brief.
  • A style guide which presents CDA parliamentary debate in detail for debaters, coaches and judges, CDA Parli Style Guide

The Style Guide includes a "Resources" section with references to external material useful for teaching and learning Parliamentary debate More complete information can be found on the Training Material page.

Online Debate

We returned to in-person debate in 2022-23, using online debate only as a backup in case of inclement weather. If we do have to hold tournaments online, the CDA Online Procedures Guide provides detailed information. You should review this material with all of your debaters and judges prior to any online tournament.

Middle School Debate

The Connecticut Middle School Debate League is gearing up for its 2022-23 season. Five events are currently planned: a combined practice scrimmage and tournament in October; regular tournaments in December and February; and a championship tournament in April. All Connecticut middle schools and schools with middle grades are invited to join. We hope these will be in-person events.

The Middle School League encourages participation by high school debaters as coaches, mentors and judges. One of the best ways to improve a skill is to help teach it to others. Several CDA debaters have started and coach teams at their affiliated middle schools. Many CDA debaters attend CTMSDL events as judges.

For more information on the League and schedule details see the Middle School Debate web site or email CTMSDL Information.


Other Debate News

Parliamentary Debate Tournaments

Many colleges and universities across the country sponsor high school speech and debate tournaments. Usually they require travel and overnight stays, which make it difficult for Connecticut debaters to attend. This year most events are expected to be online, so only entry fees need be covered. The pandemic gives debaters the opportunity to debate against national competition if they choose.

Only a special few offer a parliamentary format that is compatible with CDA's extermporaneous style. We expect the following East Coast events to be offered again this year. We will post the dates as we become aware of them.

  • Yale Invitational, September20-22, 2024
  • National Parliamentary Debate League Fall Tournament, October ??
  • McGill British Parli, late October??
  • Vassar College Invitational, November ??
  • McGill Canadian Parli, early February??
  • Columbia Ivy League Championship, February??
  • Harvard World Schools Format, March??
  • Yale Osterweis, April ??

A question mark indicates the tournament has not been announced or the dates have not been confirmed. The date indication is based on last year's schedule. We will try and post additional information here as it becomes available. Tournaments are often hosted and announced on tabroom.com, a good source for news about upcoming debate and speech events.

Parliamentary Debate Leagues

There are also several leagues in the Northeast which may be of interest to Connecticut debaters:

There is also a National Parliamentary Debate League that invites high schools and leagues to join, and runs an annual Tournament of Champions: NPDL website.

For information about these leagues, membership and schedules, please see their websites.




Last updated February 16, 2025.