Introduction to Circuit Debate

**Under Construction**

This page is currently under construction by Zachary Siegel.

What is Circuit Debate?

Welcome to the world of Circuit Debate! The goal of this page is to briefly outline what exactly Circuit Debate is and introduce you to the most important things there are to know.

Lincoln-Douglas circuit debate refers to the subset of Lincoln-Douglas debate tournaments that occur on the National Circuit. The National Circuit is a set of tournaments that debaters from around the country travel to in order to compete at. Ultimately, all of the tournaments on the National Circuit serve as a way to qualify for the Tournament of Champions (TOC), which is largely considered the most "prestigious" tournament circuit debaters. You qualify for the TOC attaining 2 bids at circuit debate tournaments throughout the year. You attain a bid by getting to a certain outround (e.g. octa-finals, quarter-finals, semi-finals, or finals), and the outround at which you bid depends on the tournament you are attending. Here is a list of all Circuit LD tournaments with their associated bid levels.

Circuit LD is distinguished from traditional LD largely by the style of arguments that are read in round. Ultimately, circuit LD and traditional LD are the same activity – you debate the same resolution, the speech times are the same, etc. However, Circuit LD is largely characterized by the prevalence of speed reading, or spreading. On the Circuit, most debaters and judges are accustomed to understanding spreading, and debaters spread so that they may read more arguments in the constrained speech times. In addition, the styles of arguments that are read in Circuit LD are different than that of traditional LD. With traditional LD, most debaters typically follow the value/value criterion model of debate. While this is still possible in Circuit LD (i.e. through philosophy), more types of arguments are read, namely, policy, kritiks, theory, and tricks.

Despite the fact that Circuit debate occurs around the country, there is certainly a community forms within the group. There are probably no more than ~300 debaters who consistently attend multiple circuit tournaments each year, and as a result, it is easy to get to know people who you frequently see at tournaments. Back in the era before online debating, you would be dedicating your entire weekend to traveling and competing at tournaments, so people would form friendships within the circuit.

Why should I Circuit Debate?

Circuit Debate can certainly feel overwhelming when you are first introduced to it – there are many things one has to learn to compete at the highest levels. So perhaps before figuring out how to learn circuit debate, it is worth considering whether you would like to learn circuit debate. There are certainly many pros to circuit debate: you become exposed to a wide body of knowledge that many people never encounter in their lives, ranging from philosophical, critical, and policy perspectives, you get to meet new people from across the country that broadens your perspective and allows you to make lasting friendships, some people consider the activity itself fun, and of course, it might look good to put on one's resume. On the other hand, there are many cons associated with the activity: most people need to put in a lot of hours to become successful (potentially at least 8 hours a week during the week leading up to, but not including, the tournament) which can lead to burnout, it can difficult to balance debate, school, and social lives, the community can be seen as toxic and exclusionary for certain groups, and finally, if you lack an established school debate program, it can be difficult not only to obtain the body of knowledge necessary for debating but also to give tournaments permission you to compete. Ultimately, you should not make your decision to debate based on this short paragraph but should highly consider consulting with debaters currently in the community to give context to your personal situation. Virtually all debaters will be willing to tell you their own personal experiences, and a good place to start asking questions might be the Small School's Facebook debate group.