It’s been an entire year of talking about creating something that would cater to the needs of the debating community and we finally decided to get off our butts and start this project. After each investing more than a decade of our lives in the sport of debating, the rewards that we have received are immeasurable, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it has permanently changed us for the better. That’s why both Alfred and I are deeply passionate about sharing that gift with others.
So this is the physical (digital?) manifestation of that sentiment. We’ve decided to document as much as we know about debating and release it for everyone. Over the next few months you can expect how-to tutorials, strategy guides, and motion analysis, along with commentary on trends and issues that may sound a little like old fogies grumbling about how things were better back in the day. We figured that since we talk about the sport every single time we’re together, why not archive those discussions?
Hopefully, this will be a site for everyone, from the bewildered novice trying to make sense of everything, to the seasoned debater looking for fresh perspectives and ideas. Even parents who are suspicious of their child’s newfound proclivity for back talk or teachers-in-charge confused about the workings of the circuit will be able to seek clarity here. We get that debating can be inaccessible and intimidating, with all the jargon, secret rituals, ancient ninja techniques and whatnot. The goal is to demystify and remove barriers to entry for the neophyte, as well as to ameliorate the pain of progression.
You might be wondering, why give away so much information for free? What’s in it for us? Won’t it compromise the teams that we coach and hurt their chances for success? First off, we would never have gotten to where we are as debaters and coaches if we didn’t receive assistance and advice from old legends. It would be disrespectful to them and the community if we kept ‘trade secrets’ to make a quick buck. If you desperately want to get better at debating, we will guide you, just as others have done for us.
More importantly, we know what it’s like to not have as much resources as the top teams, to be the underdog, to feel like an outsider in what is still, in many ways, an elitist sport. And as for the teams we coach, we have more than enough confidence in our abilities to provide our own teams an edge, even after sharing our knowledge and techniques. If they can’t win when all teams have access to similar resources, we would be doing a pretty bad job. Besides, beating other teams just because they were ignorant or inexperienced isn’t much fun. We love competition, and would much rather everyone have that ability to be competitive.
eh priori will continue for as long as we have the drive, time and financial resources to keep it going. The goal is to release new content every week, produced by us and the occasional guest contributor. We’ve got exciting plans for this venture so follow us on Facebook and subscribe here so you won’t miss out on anything. Enjoy.