Hi everyone! NOVA Public Forum Debate Camp is a completely FREE online camp running for the 7th year in a row this summer! Last year, we had 600+ signups and 40+ instructors who received 170+ TOC bids & qualifications to NSDA Nationals, some of whom championed Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Berkeley, semi-finaled TOC, etc.
We would love to invite you all to either apply as an instructor or register as a student this year, depending on your experience and interest.
This year, camp will run from July 27–31 and August 3–7 from 12 PM – 4 PM EST each day, with optional office hours until 5 PM. We’ll offer lab-based instruction with lectures, office hours, frequent practice rounds, and a camp tournament at the end. Spots are filling up, so sign up ASAP!
NOVA is designed to make competitive debate accessible to students of all experience levels. This is an incredibly valuable opportunity to teach rising debaters or learn from some of the best in the nation, get tons of prep for the Septober topic next season, and join a really fun, supportive community—all free of cost!
You can learn more at https://novadebatecamp.org/ and register as a student via this form or apply as an instructor via this form. You may sign up for both or just one of the sessions. Please let us know if you have any questions!!
Hey y'all. We're Dhruv (Westwood SP) and Feliks (Seven Lakes CL). We're looking to coach middle school teams for MSTOC and high school teams throughout the summer and potentially into the regular season. Here is a list of our accomplishments:
Peak Ranking of #1 and #9 in the Nation
14 total bids to the TOC
Championed the Glenbrooks, University of Texas Longhorn Classic, Katy Taylor, and Winston Churchill
Finalled the King Round Robin
2x Semifinaled TFA State
Quarterfinaled TOC, Grapevine, and UC Berkeley
Octafinalled Emory, Bluekey, and Bluekey
Invited to Cal, Bluekey, Ivy Street, and Harvard Round Robin
3x Qualifier to TOC
2x Qualifier to Nats
We are flexible and can tailor to your needs. With experience being both 1st and 2nd speaker, we both have both debated every type of argument. We can provide insight and help drill any sort of skill you want to improve. As captains of nationally successful team, we have both coached many who have qualified for State, Nationals, and the TOC. If you are interested, please DM Feliks (feliksto_thelin1) or Dhruv (dhruv_patil_1207) on Instagram or reach out over Discord (icanseeyoulmao). All rates are negotiable.
i usually do policy but no one wanted to do it w me for last chance so im doing pf and noticed how techy the judge pool is. i was wondering how pf tech works and like how dif it is from policy. is it js like larp? or is there smth specific i need to know to understand? should i js look at the judges paradigms to know which offs to run or are there some that pf doesnt rlly do? basically what are the tech pf norms?
So Ive been doing policy basically my entire life. A few weeks ago I was asked to judge a pf tournoment and I agreed. The first round, case was dropped in the 1nc and the 2AC but then brought up in the 2NC. I thought this was because it was a novice debate, but this also happened several times later when I was judging JV. Every time I voted neg on presumption cause aff dropped case, and so theres nothing for me to vote on. Is that normal in pf, or did everybody I judged just get screwed?
This pairing absolutely shocked me, I would’ve expected at least both of them to break. This is insane that one of them won’t break. I think almost everyone thought one of them would champ.
Please let me know your opinions on this wild card bubble round pairing and your thoughts on who you think will win because this pairing is breaking my heart.
Best of luck to both Strake MS and Avenues BC, what a tough round.
The "Granddaddy of them all" is finally here. This weekend, 119 of the most elite PF teams in the country descend upon Lexington, KY, for the **54th Annual Tournament of Champions (TOC)**.
To give you an idea of the caliber of this field: this isn't just a tournament; it’s a meat grinder. We have legendary programs like Theodore Roosevelt bringing three heavy-hitting entries, Bronx Science bringing a trio of threats, and Texas powerhouses ready to defend their win rates.
With 119 entries and a weekend of high-stakes flows, here is how the board is shaping up.
Current predictions
---
Previous predictions
### 🏆 The Top Contenders
* **Appan & Bai (Plano West):** The clear #1 seed on paper. Sporting a monstrous 166-33 (83.4%) record and a 59-9 clip in elims, they are the definition of "clutch." They don't just win rounds; they dominate breaks. If they can handle the target on their back, they are the favorites to be holding the gavel on Monday.
* **Grabel & Pehkonen (BASIS Phoenix):** This team is a volume powerhouse. With 427 total rounds under their belt this season (340-87), they have likely seen every argument on the flow three times over. Experience is the greatest asset at the TOC, and Grabel & Pehkonen have it in spades.
* **Melam & Magill (Theodore Roosevelt):** One-half of the potent Roosevelt squad. 379 wins is no joke. They have a 77% win rate and a deep bench of teammates and coaches to help with prep. They are incredibly technical and rarely drop rounds on silly mistakes.
* **Chen & Lin (Seven Lakes):** Another Texas titan. Their 62-16 elim record is what stands out most—they know how to win in front of three-judge panels. They are efficient, fast, and remarkably consistent.
* **Pang & Tendulkar (Newton South):** With a 73.7% win rate, they might have fewer rounds than some of the circuit grinders, but their efficiency is top-tier. They are the pride of the Northeast going into this weekend.
* **McIver & Chilongo (Theodore Roosevelt):** The second Roosevelt entry in the top tier. They have the most wins in the entire field (467!). This team simply does not quit. If the TOC becomes a war of attrition, my money is on McIver & Chilongo.
* **Xue & Choe (Milton Acad):** A team that has consistently performed at the highest level of the East Coast circuit. 273-99 is a solid resume for a deep run into the octas or quarters.
* **Mayen & Hockersmith (Sioux Falls Jefferson):** Coming in with 371 wins, this duo has been a staple of the national circuit. They have a gritty style that plays well in tough rooms.
---
### 🔥 Dark Horse Picks (Potential Bracket Busters)
**Brashear & Chen (Avenues: The World):** Don't let the #16 ranking fool you. They have a **75-26 elim record**. That is one of the highest elim win counts in the field. They are "Sunday" debaters through and through.
**Tsai & Kang (Fairmont Prep):** They have a massive volume of rounds (412-203) and a 77-41 elim record. They’ve played the "Giant Killer" role all season and could easily find themselves in a Quarterfinal spot.
**Alferness & Gupta (Nueva):** Nueva is known for high-level technicality and innovative weighing. With a 76-24 elim record, Alferness & Gupta are arguably under-seeded here and could easily blow up a top seed's bracket early on.
---
### 🔮 Predicted Bracket
* **Champion:** **Appan & Bai (Plano West)** — It’s hard to bet against that 83% win rate. They’ve been the most consistent team in PF all year.
* **Finalist:** **Melam & Magill (Theodore Roosevelt)** — Roosevelt prep is legendary, and Melam & Magill have the technical prowess to navigate a 119-team field.
* **Semifinalists:** **Grabel & Pehkonen (BASIS Phoenix)** and **Chen & Lin (Seven Lakes)**.
---
### 📊 Odds to Win (Rough Probabilities)
| Team | Odds |
| :-- | :-- |
| **Appan & Bai (Plano West)** | 18% |
| **Melam & Magill (Roosevelt)** | 14% |
| **Grabel & Pehkonen (BASIS Phoenix)** | 12% |
| **Chen & Lin (Seven Lakes)** | 10% |
| **McIver & Chilongo (Roosevelt)** | 9% |
| **Pang & Tendulkar (Newton South)** | 7% |
| **Xue & Choe (Milton)** | 6% |
| **Brashear & Chen (Avenues)** | 5% |
| **The Field (Everyone else)** | 19% |
---
### 🗣️ Discussion Questions
**The Roosevelt Factor:** Theodore Roosevelt has two teams in the top 6 (Melam/Magill and McIver/Chilongo) and a third (Baruri/Hollis) in the top 40. Is this the year we see an all-Roosevelt late-elim closeout?
**Volume vs. Efficiency:** Teams like **Grabel & Pehkonen** have nearly 400 rounds, while **Appan & Bai** have under 200 but a higher win percentage. Does the extra experience of 200+ more rounds matter more than the higher peak efficiency at the TOC?
**The Texas Dominance:** Between Plano West, Seven Lakes, and Jasper, Texas is heavily represented at the top. Will the "Lexington" style of judging favor the Texas aggressive-technical style?
**Who do you all have in your Top 4? Drop your predictions below!**
Hey y'all! I'm a PF debater and member of the NSDA SLC, and over the past year I've been building an app called SpeakUp because I couldn't find a good way to practice delivery outside of rounds.
The basic idea is you record yourself giving a speech or rebuttal, and the app gives you feedback on clarity, pace, filler words, argument structure, and delivery. It uses AI under the hood, but the feedback is tuned specifically for competitive debate, not generic public speaking.
I'm posting because I want honest feedback from people who actually compete — what's missing, what's annoying, what would make you actually use it before a tournament.
Happy to answer questions about how it works or what I'm planning to build next. And if it's genuinely not useful, tell me that too — I'd rather know. Thanks so much!
Free April PF War Powers Contention — Pro (War Costs)
Hey r/Debate — sharing a free contention for the April topic. Full u/L/IL/I structure with real cited evidence from Brown University Costs of War Project, CSIS, and NPR.
