So, you want to join debate! First off, send us an email or give us a phone call. We'd love to hear from you. Let us know if you are a teacher, parent or student, and what school and community you are from.
All a club needs to get started is two interested students to form the first team and a teacher or parent to be the coach/chaperon. Teaching debate in class is a great way to create student interest. Or, students will have friends who debate and will ask a teacher, principal or parent to help them start a club.
Parental involvement and student leadership are great ways to minimize the commitment needed by the teacher-coach.
SEDA's staff can come to your school for free and workshop a new club or your classroom at any time. All of SEDA's training guides are available for free off the web site and we also have demo DVDs & videos to lend you.
From there, we can connect you with other coaches and debaters in your area to continue the mentoring.
Most clubs meet once a week and practice the skills of debate
and prepare for tournaments. Once a coach is on SEDA's contact
list, a club will receive invitations to all upcoming events.
New members are welcome any time! Coaches just need to submit the
membership
application form to the office. Each club pays a yearly
membership fee of $40, plus $20 per debater. There is a 25%
discount for new clubs! Each team also pays a fee of about $25
per tournament and any travel costs. Meals are included.
The debate season starts in early September with training workshops. The regular tournament season continues until March, with special events held from April-June. Students are roughly divided by grade: 5-6; 7-8; 9; 10; 11-12 and debate within those five categories. The province is divided into North and South regions. There are four tournaments a year for each category/region, plus a speech event.
Provincials are held each spring. A team must debate at two tournaments with the same partner to be eligible for Provincial rankings. There are opportunities for debaters to go on to Westerns, the Canada Day Final, Speech Nationals, Junior Nationals, National Seminar, and National Championships.
SEDA also offers other events like the Pro-Am, the Adult Invitational and the very popular Historical Model Legislature.
Many thriving debate clubs have students who never attend tournaments. It is each student's choice as to how competitive they wish to be. The important thing is that club meetings offer students the opportunity to debate and have fun!
Visit our FAQ page for more details.
Check out SEDA's Introductory Coaching
Guide to get you started.
SEDA's Advanced
Coaching Guide takes you to the next level of coaching.
Resources to understand debate:
2007 Caseline
Know Your Role
Costs of
Debating
Plan Killing
Card
Refutation
Chart
Brush
Up on Tournament Etiquette
For a handy guide, print out a copy of SEDA's General Rules of Debate.
The Constitution and Policy Manual is great for those who really want to know all the ins and outs of SEDA.
Books from SEDA's Lending Library
