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Newton South looks forward to hosting the Raymond W Karras Novice Invitational tournament, featuring Public Forum Debate, on Saturday, May 16. Details are forthcoming.

About Ray Karras

The Ray Karras Invitational honors a teacher whose influence continues to shape high school debate.

More than five decades ago, Ray Karras founded the Lexington High School debate program - an extraordinary legacy that endures to this day. His motivation was simple but profound: to promote evidence-based argumentation and disciplined thinking. For Karras, debate was first and foremost an intellectual activity. Competition mattered, but only insofar as it sharpened reasoning, deepened research, and clarified expression.

Karras taught in the Social Studies Department at Lexington High School and worked tirelessly to embed debate within the school’s academic curriculum, where it remains today. He believed that students should learn not just what to think, but how to think - carefully, rigorously, and with respect for evidence. Known for his insistence on preparation and clarity, he challenged students to defend their ideas, question assumptions, and engage seriously with opposing viewpoints.

His impact is reflected not only in the program he built, but in the generations of students who carried forward his commitment to thoughtful, well-supported argument.

The Ray Karras Novice Invitational is dedicated to that vision.