Georgia Debate Union

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How much experience should I have to debate varsity in my first year?
A: Most policy tournaments offer only a single division of debate, but they vary widely in the intensity of competition offered. To compete in the open division, you should have varsity experience at the national or regional level. If you have such experience, and your work effort is sufficient, we are willing to travel you to top national tournaments during your first year of debate. If not, we'll likely travel you to the tournaments that do offer quality regional competition.
Q: Do you have novices?
A: Absolutely. We accept debaters of any experience level, as well as students with absolutely no experience. Walk-ons are welcome, and indeed, have produced some of our finer debaters.
Q: How much time does debate take up in a week?
A: It depends upon what you want to get out of your participation in debate. Do you view debate as one of many extracurricular activities in which you take part in order to enjoy yourself and enrich your education? Or is it your goal to become one of the top debaters in the country? On the average, our debaters seem to spend between five and twenty hours per week on debate work.
Q: How many practice rounds do you usually have?
A: Each debater must participate in some practice rounds (we recommend two) before attending a tournament. This requirement may be modified if the debaters attended a tournament on the previous weekend.
Q: What kinds of scholarships are available?
A: We work with the UGA administration to secure out of state waivers for qualified debaters. The University of Georgia Debate Union, in conjunction with the Richard B. Russell Foundation, has initiated the Richard B. Russell Scholarship, an award of $2500 awarded each year to outstanding Georgia High School interscholastic debater. For more information about these scholarships, contact Dr. Edward Panetta at the following address:
Dr. Edward M. Panetta 146 Terrell Hall University of Georgia Athens, GA 30602 (706) 542-4445 epanetta@uga.edu
The University also offers a vast array of other scholarships. More information can be found by contacting the financial aid office.
Q: How successful is Georgia Debate?
A: We regularly qualify teams for the elimination rounds of national tournaments, including the National Debate Tournament.
Q: Do you do CEDA or not?
A: That division no longer has any real meaning. With the integration of the two organizations and the choice of a joint policy topic, we are able to attend both traditional CEDA and NDT tournaments.
Q: Does the administration support debate?
A: Definitely. We occupy the entire ground floor of Phi Kappa Hall. We therefore have one of the largest meeting spaces of any debate program in the country. Our travel budget allows us to travel several teams on a complete national circuit schedule each year, as well as sending less experienced debaters to a variety of regional and local tournaments. The team pays for many ancillary expenses of participation in debate, such as supplies, photocopies, etc.
Q: How will my travel schedule be determined?
A: The coaching staff decides which teams should be sent to which tournaments based upon two factors: (1) your work effort, and (2) at what level of competition you are capable of having a worthwhile educational experience. We are not averse to sending debaters to tournaments at which they will not qualify for the elimination rounds if they wish to attend such tournaments and they've done enough work to merit such privileges. Similarly, we do not feel obligated to send highly experienced, highly successful debaters to every tournament they wish to attend if their work output is low.
Q: How big is the team? Would I actually get to go anywhere?
A: Between ten and eighteen students attend debate tournaments in the course of the year. Generally, the squad has between three and five stable teams that travel consistently throughout the year. And yes, anyone who works hard, both at research and at skill improvement will be sent to tournaments of sufficient competitive intensity to challenge their abilities.
Q: What is your philosophy of coaching?
A: Debate is an educational opportunity. We are professional educators who work to facilitate your chances of (a) improving and (b) winning. You are not our mouthpiece. We do not dictate your arguments or strategies. Within ethical constraints, you are free to explore different argument types and styles and learn for yourself which arguments are more effective than others within the parameters of your talents. We give advice, conduct practice drills, and execute the bureaucratic tasks that enable you to compete. We conduct ourselves in a professional fashion, and we expect our debaters to behave in a similar fashion.

This page was last updated: October 5th, 2007 at 15:52:52.