The Coolidge Debate League at the Luddy Schools is a regional debate league in North Carolina open to all high schoolers and middle schoolers. It is a join project of the Coolidge Foundation and the schools founded by Robert L. Luddy (Thales Academy Rolesville, Thales Academy Apex, Franklin Academy, St. Thomas More Academy, and others), but tournaments are open to students grades 6 through 12 from any school--even from schools beyond North Carolina who are willing to travel.

The 2024-2025 Season

There are four tournaments scheduled for the 2024-2025 season:

1. September 7, 2024, at Thales Academy Rolesville
2. November 9, 2024, at Thales Academy Waxhaw
3. March 1, 2025, at location to be confirmed
4. Date and location to be confirmed

Information About Our Next Tournament

Date: Saturday, September 7, 2024
Times:Detailed schedule for the day. Check-in 8:15 AM; morning seminar 8:45 AM, awards conclude 4:00 PM.
Location: Thales Academy Rolesville, 1201 Granite Falls Boulevard, Rolesville, North Carolina, 27571
Eligiblity: All students grade 6 through 12
Cost: Free for Luddy schools, $10 per team for other schools and homeschoolers
Registration: Luddy schools: your coach will register you on Tabroom. Non-Luddy school teams please register using the form here. Registration closes Tuesday, September 3 at 11:59 PM EDT.
Attire: Business professional

Resolution and Research Brief

The resolution for this tournament is Resolved: Lockdown policy served Americans well during the Covid pandemic. Aresearch brief is available here for you to read and use. This is intended to help you in your preparation. You are not limited to the arguments or evidence in the brief. In fact, you are welcome and encouraged to use the brief as a starting point and build upon it by doing your own additional research and case writing.

Tournament Overview

You will begin the day with a seminar on the debate topic. Then you and your partner will debate against other teams in multiple rounds throughout the day, getting a chance to argue both sides of the resolution. We ask that you find a partner in advance and and register as a team. If you do not have a debate partner, you may register solo and we will attempt to pair you with another solo debater, but we cannot guarantee that there will be someone to match you with. Going maverick is allowed but discouraged.

All students grades 6 to 12 from any school are eligible to compete, including homeschool students and students from schools other than the ones named above.

Format and Style

Students will compete in the Coolidge 2v2 Debate Format. If you are new to debating in this league, we highly recommend you review our debate guide, which provides information about this particular format, style, and rules.

Divisions

The tournament will have three divisions: middle school, high school novice, and high school varsity. High school teams with no experience or minimal experience may elect to participate in the novice division. (We define a novice as a debater who has participated in no more than two tournaments in his or her lifetime.) Teams with experience debating in either the Coolidge Debate League or other leagues should participate in the varsity division.

Coolidge Cup Bids

The fourth and final tournament of the school year will serve as a qualifier tournament for the 2025 Coolidge Cup national championship tournament which takes place July 2-4 in Plymouth, Vermont. The top 10 varsity high school finishers (i.e., the top 5 teams based on wins and total speaker points) from said qualifier tournament will receive an invitation to compete at the Coolidge Cup. Note that the Coolidge Cup uses a 1v1 format in which students compete individually.

Judges

We need volunteer judges for our debate tournaments! We welcome citizen judges of all types, including parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, and other members of the community. Experience with debating or judging is not necessary. If you are interested, please take a look at our information for judges. On the morning of the tournament, we will hold a brief judge training session, where we will give you all the guidance you need for the day and will answer all of your questions. To volunteer as a judge, register to judge.

Questions

If you have any questions about the tournament, the league, or about judging, please contact Coolidge Foundation Director of Speech and Debate, Jonathan Peele.