Debate

DVC currently competes in three different styles of debate.

IPDA:  IPDA is a one-on-one style of debate which is geared towards being accessible to everyone, both from a judging and competitive standpoint. Debaters are discouraged from using overly debate-specific language and the focus is on arguing in a way that is persuasive to the general public.

Parliamentary Debate: Parliamentary debate (or parli) is a two- on-two format of debate. Both teams are assigned a side to debate on before the round and have from 15 to 20 minutes to research and prepare arguments either affirming or negating the topic. Parliamentary debate is typically more “technical” than IPDA, meaning that there is more debate-specific jargon used in rounds, and resolutions are often more serious.

LD: LD is a one-on-one format of debate, and it is also the only format of debate that DVC does where you prepare for the topics before hand. There is only one topic for LD the entire year, and competitors spend the year writing cases to affirm and negate the topic.