Event Info

NFA LD Debate

NFA-LD stands for the National Forensics Association (NFA) – Lincoln Douglas debate and is sponsored by the NFA each year. It is a one-on-one debate format.

On August 1 a single topic is released that is used for the entire season. The 2012-2013 Resolution is:

RESOLVED: THE USFG SHOULD SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASE ASSISTANCE FOR ORGANIC AND/OR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES.

Students research, prepare speeches, and debate the topic throughout the season at various tournaments. Debaters prepare to be both affirmative (in support of the resolution) and negative (against the resolution). A judge is assigned to each debate who decides which debater won the debate by providing better arguments.

NFA-LD is unique in the collegiate debate landscape in that the rules specifically say that the event should be communication oriented in the spirit of individual events. As such, many of the coaches and programs who participate in NFA-LD, as well as this blog, are dedicated to keeping the event as close as possible to this goal. The rapid growth of NFA-LD in Southern California is directly attributable to this unique feature of NFA-LD. Many of the coaches support the event because it serves a different purpose than other formats of debate.

The structure of a debate round is as follows:

In addition to the speaking times, each debater receives 4 minutes of preparation time to use at their discretion before their speeches. Each debate, therefore, lasts roughly 45 minutes.

The affirmative debater will read their prepared speech defending the topic during the affirmative constructive. The negative debater then has 3 minutes to question the affirmative on their case.

Usually, the negative will then use some of their preparation time getting ready for their first negative constructive speech. They have 7 minutes to present the reasons why the judge should not vote for the affirmative case. This is then followed by a 3 minute question period by the affirmative to the negative.

The affirmative will then usually take a few minutes of preparation time to prepare for their 6 minute rebuttal. The negative will finish their debate with a 6 minute rebuttal before the debate concludes with a short 3 minute rebuttal by the affirmative. This creates a slight time skew in the debate where the affirmative has 6+6+3 = 15 minutes and the negative has 6+6 = 12 minutes.

Here is a big-overview that I presented at the 2008 PSCFA Coaches conference.

Here is a one page handout that you can use at tournaments.

Event Rules