Live debate practice

Author: MisterChris
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#1
MisterChris
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Virtuoso/David says he plans on starting a live debate tournament on the site. I think that's a great idea, but I'm very rusty in live debate (as I assume other people are too). 

Is anyone down to do some live debate practice at some point? Wouldn't be super competitive obviously, as of course we'd be doing it just to brush up on our skills a bit. 
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#2
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If we get enough people interested, could always do a little practice tournament
#3
whiteflame
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@MisterChris
I’d be down. Super rusty myself, could use the practice.
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#4
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@whiteflame
awesome. We can pick a topic and maybe do something over Christmas Break, gives some time to prep. 

And if other people are interested too I see no reason we couldn't just make a Google/Zoom meet and do some practice rounds as a group. 


#5
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@MisterChris
Could even do some team debates if people are interested. Haven’t found a good way to do them via text, but works perfectly fine live.
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#6
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@whiteflame
Oh yeah that's true. Like some mock PF rounds. Would need at least 4 for that
#7
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@MisterChris
PF, Parli or even Policy if people are up for it (that last one is not my cup of tea, personally, but to each their own). And yeah, that would require at least 4. A BP round would require 8, so I'm not going to suggest that unless we get a flood of interest.

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#8
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@whiteflame
lmaoo I have never done parli, policy or even BP whatever that is. so that would be interesting
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#9
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@whiteflame
only done PF, LD, Big Question, Congress, and Extemp if that even counts. 
#10
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@MisterChris
My experience is almost all NPDA and BP (British Parliamentary debate - 4 teams of 2, 2 sides - it sounds complicated, but it's a lot of fun) with some small experience in Congress, Oratorical Interp, Duo and Impromptu speech. I've also judged PF, LD (did a couple of online debates in this) and Policy, so I'm familiar with the formats.
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#11
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@whiteflame
BP does sound like a lot of fun. I think we'll be doing well if we get 2 more people though
#12
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I have a decent amount of experience in coaching debate as well. If people are interested in using this to prepare for tournaments or learning about various formats, I’d be happy to facilitate.
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#13
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@David
@Barney
@Speedrace
@seldiora
@Undefeatable
Interested?
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#14
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@Intelligence_06
@Theweakeredge
Interested?
#15
seldiora
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@MisterChris
Sure.
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#16
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@seldiora
OK that's 3 then. Just need at least one more for a 2 v 2 practice round
#17
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@MisterChris
MM, Id be up for it, not anytime currently though
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#18
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@Theweakeredge
I see, we were thinking of Christmas Break
#19
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I think the tournament should have a consistent topic 
#20
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Also make it LD style
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#21
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@Username
yeah not sure what exactly David plans for it, you'll have to tell him your suggestions. unless you mean the practice rounds we're planning
#22
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@Username
Personally prefer changing up the topic between rounds and having short prep periods, but I'd consider doing a single topic.
#23
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@whiteflame
Personally prefer changing up the topic between rounds and having short prep periods, but I'd consider doing a single topic.

I guess that could work but if you only have a bit of prep time you can't have any blocks and stock cases will probably be the only viable options. In addition I feel like a unified topic allows for a variety of perspectives on each and ability to prep for various opponents based on the cases that they're running
#24
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@Username
I guess that could work but if you only have a bit of prep time you can't have any blocks and stock cases will probably be the only viable options. In addition I feel like a unified topic allows for a variety of perspectives on each and ability to prep for various opponents based on the cases that they're running
I think we have different ideas for what a "block" is in the context of a debate (my experience with a block is two speeches from the same side back-to-back, which I'm guessing is not what you're referencing here), so I can't speak to that. A lot of people do run stock cases, though there are easy work-arounds that prevent that kind of behavior (pick debate topics that aren't absurdly common and aren't too vague) and I've only rarely struggled to come up with a case on the fly.

I'm just generally not as big of a fan of a unified topic. That's almost certainly a result of my experiences, but I've generally found that unified topic debates can get pretty repetitive between rounds. That's not to say that there's no room for creativity and variety, but I've definitely had tournaments where there was great creativity and ones where there wasn't so much. You also run the risk of that single topic being Pro- or Con-slanted, which is, of course, a concern if you have multiple topics as well, but isn't as all-encompassing of a problem in that instance.
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#25
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@whiteflame
my experience with a block is two speeches from the same side back-to-back, which I'm guessing is not what you're referencing here
At least in PF terminology, a "block" is a pre-prepped response to an opponent's anticipated argument
#26
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@whiteflame
For me, blocks are pre-prepared responses to various arguments. They're good because without them you'll have to do all rebuttals to cases by thinking on your feet or cross-applying your own questionably relevant evidence, and so debaters will always be at a disadvantage on defense because offense will usually be the side with cards
#27
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@Username
@MisterChris
Thanks to both of you for your clarifications.

For me, blocks are pre-prepared responses to various arguments. They're good because without them you'll have to do all rebuttals to cases by thinking on your feet or cross-applying your own questionably relevant evidence, and so debaters will always be at a disadvantage on defense because offense will usually be the side with cards
See, I disagree here as well. That applies to canned, well-researched cases, but not to the cases generated in the kind of debate I'm talking about in this case. Con isn't at a disadvantage because they've had the same amount of time to prepare for the case that Pro is likely to run. That does make the use of canned cases really difficult for Con, but even then, I see a balancing act at play. Canned cases also come with canned rebuttals. Both sides have the same amount of time to prepare, so it's relatively balanced, but that partially depends on the topic.

All this being said, I'm still good with doing a single topic, I'm just suggesting an alternative that I'd prefer.
#28
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@MisterChris
I’m down! 
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#29
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@David
Great! That makes 4. If armoredcat wants in that's 5.
#30
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I would enjoy watching a live debate. Participating? Maybe when I've established myself as a capable DART debater first.