Cypress Falls TFA Tournament

2025 — Houston, TX/US

Varsity Lincoln Douglas

Abbreviation VLD
Format Debate
Topic:
NSDA LD Jan/Feb
Resolved: The United States ought to become party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and/or the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Entry Fee $40.00
Overall Entry Limit 29
Entry Limit Per School 8
Entry 1 competitors per entry

Event Description:

Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Lincoln-Douglas Debate centers on a proposition of value, which concerns itself with what ought to be instead of what is. A value is an ideal held by individuals, societies, governments, etc. One debater upholds each side of the resolution from a value perspective. Through this contest, students are encouraged to develop a direct and communicative delivery and emphasize logic, theory, and philosophy, in the development of argumentation.

1. Resolution: Directors of IQTs must choose either the current NFL or UIL Lincoln-Douglas topic.

2. Order of Speeches:

Affirmative Constructive Speech 6 minutes
Negative Cross Examination 3 minutes
Negative Constructive Speech 7 minutes
Affirmative Cross Examination 3 minutes
Affirmative Rebuttal 4 minutes
Negative Rebuttal 6 minutes
Affirmative Rebuttal 3 minutes
Prep Time 4 minutes per debater

3. Time: No grace time is allowed beyond completion of a sentence. The judge may penalize for overtime through reduction in speaker points. Each debater shall be allowed a total of four minutes of preparation time per round.

4. Conduct During the Round: Only the specific speaker, witness or questioner should audibly participate in the cross-examination, constructive, or rebuttal phase of the round.

5. Entry: An entry consists of a single participant.