Author Archive
2012-2013 Topic Area Released
From the IE listserv: A total of 22 ballots were returned. The tabulation of the vote was weighted, with a first place ranking being 5 points, 2nd place ranking 4 points, 3rd place ranking 3 points, 4th place ranking 2 points, and the 5th place ranking 1 point. On the basis of the rankings, [...]
Need an idea for an affirmative? Start here!
We’re drawing closer to the beginning of the NFA-LD season—if you haven’t chosen a case or done research, it’s past time to get started. This is a big resolution to cover, so affirmative selection isn’t necessarily an easy task. Fortunately, in 2005-2006, the NDT-CEDA policy debate community debated the following resolution – Resolved: The United [...]
2011-2012 Resolution Announced
As stated, the NFA LD Resolution would be announced on July 1st. The NFA Lincoln Douglas Debate Resolution for 2011-2012 will be as follows: RESOLVED: THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGE ITS TRADE POLICY AND/OR PRACTICES WITH THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. Larry Schnoor, President, NFA Remember folks, this resolution is not bi-directional, [...]
What is the “Best” Affirmative?
Topic day is tomorrow! The following is a repost of some insightful commentary about affirmative selection by Stephen Murray, a former TOC-qualified high school policy debater and a current NDT debater at Trinity University. He discusses some of the strategic elements that allow certain affs to dominate the competition relative to other affs. Keep this [...]
2011-2012 Topic Area Announced
From the IE-L: The ballots have been returned and the voting was very close. Here is the results of the voting and the topic area for 2011-2012. 1st place: U.S. – CHINA FOREIGN POLICY - This will be the topic area for LD Debate for 2011-2012. (86 pts.) 2nd place: THE MIDDLE EAST – [...]
University of the Pacific – Field Report
The Paul Winters invitational in Stockton kicks off tomorrow. It’s technically not a Socal tournament, but there’s a decent-sized contingent from the area so this is probably worth noting. IEs are happening on a separate campus on Friday, so you should expect to see a judging pool of mostly flow judges. The following 26 debaters [...]
Perceptual Credibility
A post made by commenter Harvy in a previous entry led me to think about something. First, the comment in question: Nick, I am curious about the definition of policy debate you alluded to in #5. Isn’t the point of policy debate to sway an audience in favor of your proposed plan (if aff), or [...]
2010 NFA-LD Coop Evidence Now Available
Hey folks, The LD Coop evidence has been released by John Boyer for general consumption. You can download the full set at this link: http://www.net-benefits.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=439&d=1283189995 I attended the camp, so I’ll just give a little overview of the evidence. But first, a word of caution. This evidence is released by John Boyer and the camp [...]
Qualified Judging in a World of Specialization
There’s been a lot of discussion about the nature of judging vis-à-vis Michael Miller’s previous post, found here. I’m not going to talk about speed, at least not in-depth; my feelings on this were made pretty clear in my comments within the aforementioned post. But I’d like to use the discussion as a jumping off [...]
And the Resolution Is…
The resolution for 2010-2011 is up on the NFA website – a few days early, I might add! There were five potential topics, listed here. Of those, NFA member schools voted for their top choices, and the following resolution was selected: Be it resolved: the United States Federal Government should substantially reform the provision of [...]
2010 NFA-LD Debate Cooperative
John Boyer has released details for the 2010 NFA-LD Debate Cooperative, to be held once again at Otterbein College in suburban Columbus, Ohio. Here is his message, originally posted on Net Benefits: The NFA-LD Debate Cooperative is BACK! Dates: July 31st – August 8th Location: Otterbein College – Westerville, Ohio Cost: $400.00 Registration Deadline: July [...]
Affirmative Side Bias
First, I want to congratulate everyone for a fantastic season of NFA-LD in Southern California. The activity is growing by leaps and bounds and there are some phenomenally talented debaters in our area. I’m going to use this forum to discuss one of the biggest problems that NFA-LD had this year – affirmative side bias. [...]
