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 (the Thales Academies, Franklin Academy, and St. Thomas More Academy), 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:
- September 7, 2024, at Thales Academy Rolesville
- November 9, 2024, at Thales Academy Waxhaw
- March 1, 2025, at Franklin Academy
- April 26, 2025, at Thales Academy Holly Springs
Information About Our Next Tournament
Date: Saturday, November 9, 2024.
Times: Click here for a detailed schedule. Check in at 8:30 AM, the morning seminar begins at 8:45 AM, and awards conclude by 4:00 PM.
Location: Thales Academy Waxhaw, 8012 New Town Road, Waxhaw, North Carolina, 28173.
Eligibility: All students grade 6 through 12.
Cost: Registration is free and includes lunch for debaters and judges.
Registration: Luddy schools’ students: your coach will register you on Tabroom. Non-Luddy school teams please register using the below form. Registration closes Tuesday, November 5, at 11:59 PM.
Attire: Business professional.
Resolution and Research Brief
The resolution for this tournament is Resolved: For the United States, the benefits of reducing its immigration levels outweigh the harms. Our research brief is available 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. Each individual debater from top finishing varsity high school 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.
Register for the Next Tournament
Thank you for your interest. If you are registering a team from a non-Luddy school or homeschool, please use the form below. If you are registering a team from a Thales Academy campus, Franklin Academy, or St. Thomas More Academy, do not use the form below. Instead, please contact your Luddy school coach, and they will register you directly into the tournament using Tabroom.
Students compete in a tournament at Thales Academy Rolesville, August 2018