BAUDL Fall Championships 2026

The Bay Area Urban Debate League (BAUDL) presents the 2026 BAUDL Fall Championship Debate Tournament!

BAUDL is a non-profit that aims to make competitive debate education available to Bay Area public schools so that all students have the opportunity to reach their full potential as engaged learners, critical thinkers, and capable civic advocates. BAUDL believes that debate increases student academic performance, enriches and expands their college and career opportunities, and provides the intellectual and networking tools for youth to thrive as active, responsible leaders in their communities.

If you are interested in supporting the BAUDL program, please consider donating your time to judge the tournament. Debate tournaments cannot run without judges like you to listen to and engage. No experience necessary, judge training will be provided before and during the tournament. Please reach out to the tournament contact listed on the right side panel if you are interested in volunteering to judge. If you are unavailable or unable to judge, consider donating instead! Donate here to support Bay Area youth in cutting-edge debate education and leadership development. And see if your company is providing corporate matching.

Tournament Location: Emery High School

Tournament Address: 1100 Steve Dain Drive, Emeryville, CA 94608

Tournament Date: Saturday, December 5th

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Middle School and High School Policy Topic: Resolved: The United States federal government should establish national health insurance in the United States.

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Only competitors from member schools of the Bay Area Urban Debate League (BAUDL) are qualified to enter this tournament. If you believe your school would qualify for support from BAUDL and would like to start a debate program, reach out to the tournament contact!

The tournament will consist of a Middle School Policy Division, a High School Policy Novice Division and a High School Policy Open Division. For the Middle School division there will be 4 preliminary debate rounds, followed directly by an awards ceremony. For both High School divisions there will be 3 preliminary debate rounds, followed by 1 finals round. The finals round will be directly followed by an awards ceremony. Breakfast and lunch will be provided to all competitors, coaches and judges.

For the Open Division ONLY the top two teams will qualify to compete at the Urban Debate National Championships (UDNC) at Wake Forest University in March. The two qualifying teams MAY NOT be from the same school. If two teams from the same school achieve first and second place, only the winner of the finals round will qualify for nationals. The other qualifying spot will go to the next team in the rankings that is from a different school.

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Middle School Tournament Schedule

9:00 AM - Breakfast & Registration for all Middle School competitors

10:00 AM - Round 1

11:00 AM - Round 2

12:00 PM - Lunch

1:00 PM - Round 3

2:00 PM - Round 4

3:00 PM - Awards Ceremony for all Middle School competitors

3:30 PM - Middle School Dismissal

High School Tournament Schedule

8:00 AM - Breakfast & Registration for all High School competitors

9:00 AM - Round 1

11:00 AM - Round 2

1:00 PM - Lunch

2:00 PM - Round 3

4:00 PM - Finals Round

6:00 PM - Awards Ceremony for all High School competitors

7:00 PM - High School Dismissal

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If you have questions about the tournament or need assistance registering your school, please reach out to your BAUDL Site Coordinator or the tournament director Sekayi Bardell at sbardell@baudl.org. We look forward to hosting you all and wrapping up BAUDL's fall semester!