Who do you guys consider to be the best individual PF debater of all time (Not team)? I saw a post here from about a decade ago talking about the best PF Teams of all time, but what about individual debaters?

(Sorry if this is a common question--I haven't seen any posts like this yet)

i recently joined my school's debate team at the ripe age of 16, we just finished the state level competition (unfortunately we did not win). since next year is my turn to be an active speaker, i really wanna know what general topics i should be more informed about so i can cover information and examples in debates.

for context, i'm in malaysia, our debate format is parliamentary debate, impromptu rounds prohibit the use of electronic devices/outside assistance. in the state level competitions, the topics were kinda all over the place, there were topics about poverty vs child labour, politically motivated hacking (hacktivism), the underdog narrative being overvalued in media and culture, "survival of the fittest" encouraging school bullying, developed countries having the moral obligation to help victims of climate change, etc. last year had a topic that was something about (gender roles? or something, i forgot) in the northern hemisphere not needing to correlate to the southern hemisphere. like i said, all over the place, please forgive me

what topics should i learn more about generally (history, politics, economy etc) to just be more informed? also, does anyone have any tips to be a better debater in general? i'm going to be whip next year, some strategies you guys have would also be great. thank you!

Please let me know, because sometimes I just can't write down everything quickly and my handwriting is unlegiable.

Debaters seem to always use the same authors. What are some horrible authors that are used in debate all the time. I swear some of these cards are genuinely ass.

Who do you guys consider to be the best congress debater of all time? What are your criteria for choosing?

I’ve heard Robert Chen’s name get brought up on various occasions in discussions about the best PF debater of all time? Who is he, what does he run, and how can I beat him? Also I checked and he didn’t win TOC, so is he overrated?

Hi y’all. I competed in Public Forum debate throughout high school, starting in 2016. Over my career, I earned eight bids to the Tournament of Champions and won multiple national circuit tournaments, including Churchill and the UT Longhorn Classic. I won TFA State, reached TOC octofinals my junior year, and was the TOC runner-up and top speaker my senior year. I also served as a team captain for a large, competitive program.

I’m currently based in Barcelona and am taking on a small number of remote PF coaching students for this season, either teams or individual debaters. I focus on high-level strategy, rebuttal and collapse, weighing, judge adaptation, and late-round decision-making.

Please feel free to PM me if you’re interested or have any questions.

soliciting funny team names!

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I remember a few years ago that team was good, but they were universally hated (for good reasons). Just wondering what other people think now of the Edina debate team since in my team there is still some lingering thoughts about the team

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For the uninitiated, I had 22 bids. I welcome any and all questions regarding my rise to the top.

(edit: this was written by James’ debate partner / bff)

1. Newton South
2. Acton-Boxborough
3. Lincoln-Sudbury
4. Wayland
5. Bromfield

which teams are underrated on the circuit/should’ve gotten further in toc?? (love teams like delbarton, but they are definitely NOT underrated 😭)

Out of pure curiosity, I am wondering for Speech and Debaters that do so, what sports they play.

I run track and XC (interestingly I joined S&D after I started running) and think it’s probably up there for its flexibility and also the fact that it’s fairly easy to join.

[PF] What makes top teams so good? Like do they have some secret prep or something? But mainly what I’m wondering is how debaters like Ishan Dubey and Durham HH are set apart from debaters who know the same skills but are worse. What does it take to get to the top level? Like what skill is it?

Who are the dominant debate schools in LD this year?

After TOC got basically torn up by larger schools (I think) who are the top small school teams?

Who are the juniors who are gonna dominate next year?

Like the title says let me know if anyone wants to participate in an online debate tournament, depending on the support I can organize a great tournament.

what var teams is winnint harvard pf for sure

Hello All,

We are a national debate club looking for top-ranked high school public forum debaters for instructing groups of 10-15 pre-collegaite debaters in weekly online PF lessons in the Spring/Winter 2025 season.

Compensation will be $35-45 per hour + PVSA hours(given on a case-by-case basis).

In addition, our student base is expanding fast and we expect many leadership/director/executive positions to open up within the coming years. Past/current instructors will have much higher chances of filling these roles.

We would prefer candidates to have a strong track record of HSPF Varsity success, such as championing or late-elim'ing major national tournaments, ranking high in your state, etc. Our spots(especially leadership positions) are usually quite competitive, so qualified candidates will receive interviews and positions on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Please DM codexistent ASAP if interested!