The Coolidge Debate League at the Luddy Schools is a regional debate league for high schoolers and middle schoolers in North Carolina. It is jointly run by the Coolidge Foundation and the schools founded by Robert L. Luddy (Thales Academy Rolesville, Thales Academy Apex, Franklin Academy, St. Thomas More Academy, and others), but tournaments are open to students grades 6 through 12 from any school--even from schools beyond North Carolina who are willing to travel.

The 2022-2023 Season

There are four tournaments scheduled for the 2023-2024 season:

1. September 9, 2023, at host Thales Academy Rolesville
2. November 4, 2023, at host Thales Academy Apex
3. Date TBD at host TBD
4. Date TBD at host TBD

Information About Our Next Tournament

Date: Saturday, November 4, 2023 Time: Check-in starts @8:30am; Morning seminar @9am Tournament day goes until about 5:30pm Location: Thales Academy Apex 1300 N Salem St Apex, NC 27502 Eligible: All students grade 6 through 12 Cost: FREE for Luddy schools $10 per team for other schools and homeschoolers Register: Luddy schools: your coach will register you on Tabroom. Non-Luddy school teams please register below. Registration closes Monday, October 30th at 11:59pm ET. Attire: Business Professional Schedule: Schedule for the Day Special: SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY! The Steamboat Institute and UNC Chapel Hill are holding a public debate on the same topic on Wed, Nov 1st. High school and middle school debaters are invited to attend, and can meet the speakers. REGISTER HERE! Your coach has additional details. Or email Jared Rhoads (jrhoads@coolidgefoundation.org).

Resolution and Research Brief

The resolution for the tournament is: "Resolved: ‘Net Zero by 2050’ is both achievable and necessary to address climate change."

The research brief is available for download here. The purpose of the brief is to help you with your case preparation. You are welcome and encouraged to use the brief as a starting point and build upon it by doing your own additional research and case-writing. You are not limited to the arguments and evidence in the brief.

Tournament Overview

You will begin the day with a seminar on the debate topic. Then you and your partner will debate against other teams in multiple rounds throughout the day, getting a chance to argue both sides of the resolution. We ask that you find a partner in advance and and register as a team. If you do not have a debate partner, you may register solo and we will attempt to pair you with another solo debater, but we cannot guarantee that there will be someone to match you with. Going maverick is allowed but discouraged.

All students grades 6 to 12 from any school are eligible to compete, including homeschool students and students from schools other than the ones named above.

Format and Style

Students will compete in the Coolidge 2v2 Debate Format. If you are new to debating in this league, we highly recommend you review ourDebate Guide, which provides information about this particular format, style, and rules.

Divisions

The tournament will have three divisions: middle school, high school novice, and high school varsity. High school teams with no experience or minimal experience may elect to participate in the novice division. (We define a novice as a debater who has participated in no more than two tournaments in his or her lifetime.) Teams with experience debating in either the Coolidge Debate League or other leagues should participate in the varsity division.

Judges

We need volunteer judges for our debate tournaments! We welcome citizen judges of all types, including parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, and other members of the community. Experience with debating or judging is not necessary. If you are interested, please take a look at ourInformation for Judges. On the morning of the tournament, we will hold a brief judge training session, where we will give you all the guidance you need for the day and will answer all of your questions. To volunteer as a judge, Register to Judge.

Questions

If you have any questions about the tournament, the league, or about judging, please contact Coolidge Foundation Debate Director Jared Rhoads (jrhoads@coolidgefoundation.org).

Registration is now closed for this tournament.

Students compete in a tournament at Thales Academy Rolesville, August 2018