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Competitive debating stayed a primarily intercollegiate activity until Bruno E. Jacob founded the National Forensic League (NFL)—since renamed as the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA)—in 1925. A professor at Ripon College, Jacob was inspired by a letter he received asking if a debate league for high school students existed.
The US Universities Debating Championship (USUDC) is the largest British Parliamentary debating tournament in the United States, and one of the largest debate tournaments in the world. The event is held for college and university students attending school in the United States, and is hosted by a different university each year.
NSDA provides competitive speech and debate activities, resources, comprehensive training, scholarship opportunities, and advanced recognition to more than 140,000 students and coaches each year. The annual National Speech and Debate Tournament marks the capstone of speech and debate activities for more than 140,000 members across the country.
Inter-collegiate and high school policy debate are largely similar. Some of the differences: High school debate has its own, separate, leagues and tournaments. High school constructives are typically only 8 minutes, and high school rebuttals are typically only 5 minutes. College times are typically 9 minute constructives and 6 minute rebuttals.
Teams of three students each debated topics that covered a wide range of issues. Prominent officials— from judges, to university presidents, and even former United States president Grover Cleveland— determined the winners of each round. The debates were open to the public, free of charge, and drew large crowds on campus. [5]
The National Debate Tournament currently debates the topic selected by the Cross Examination Debate Association, but used to debate its own, separate, topic. Wake Forest University maintains a list of earlier resolutions used at the National Debate Tournament.
For example, an impromptu debate in Policy Style style, for example, might follow the Policy speech format but with radically altered content or speech lengths. The format is conducted in a different way than typical debates. The rules are bent to provide the students with minimal to zero experience in debating to participate in the debate.
Today, these debates typically feature a mix of student and expert advocates, audience participation periods, and formats tailored specifically for each debate. Topics have included school vouchers, [22] the merging local governments, [23] and transportation issues, [24] peer-to-peer file sharing, textbook pricing, and sex education. [25]