10 Resources Any Debater Should Know About

While passion and practice go a long way, grasping debate also necessitates being resourceful Whether you're just starting out, or an experienced varsity debater, having the right resources can be monumental to aid in finding tournaments, learning core arguments, acting as a support system, and much more. Below is a list of 10 resources all debaters should know about to help them succeed!

1. Tabroom

Let's start with what some might call one of the obvious: Tabroom.com! While Tabroom might seem like the most obvious resource, it is still important to remember that tens of hundreds of new debaters have yet to learn what this website is. Not only are almost all tournaments listed on Tabroom, ranging from local to national circuit, and encompassing PF, LD, policy, WSD, and speech- but you can use it to access hundreds of paradigms, qualifications, and voting history for various judges. During a tournament, one's pairing, location, opponent, judge, and eventually decision and feedback (RFD) will also be found all on Tabroom, making it an all-in-one website to view a tournament. These RFDs can be referenced after the tournament, which makes them extremely useful for speech redos, and paradigms can be used to drill different strategies. Undoubtedly, every debater or individual invested in the activity should be well aware of this website, and knowing the inner workings can be highly informative and helpful. 

2. Opencaselist

Luckily, this nicely transitions to the following resource. Once someone creates a Tabroom account, they can utilize that login information to a website called Opencaselist.com! Opencaselist, often called the "wiki," is the ultimate hub for debate disclosure for multiple levels of debate and events. Opencaselist can be one of the most helpful sources because students can view round reports, where debaters summarize the positions read in all the speeches and rebuttals, and open source, where debaters disclose their constructive documents. Having access to round reports can help all debaters, especially ones new to the circuit, understand how specific arguments work and get an insight into round vision. Personally, some of my first encounters with phil frameworks came from meticulously reading cases from top debaters on the wiki. Another key element of the wiki is called Open Evidence Project, which is a collection of detailed files by top universities like Emory and Michigan, free for any debater to download! These files created some of the bare bones of my impact and K files, and definitely helped me learn about how to respond to arguments. 

3. Circuit debater

When you venture onto Opencaselist, you might find some cite boxes or team notes promoting an online site called circuitdebater.org! Circuit Debater is a website that mainly provides free explanations of debate arguments. Formatted like a Wikipedia page, debaters can use the search bar to look for arguments to learn and then read about. There is a wide range of topics, from the basics of policy debate to t-framework, tricks, and much more. I highly recommend any debater, both new and experienced, to support this enlightening resource! Circuit Debater is also constantly updated, so the information never stops coming!

4. LD Facebook Group

As you continue to browse the wiki, trying to understand Baudrillard, your friend gets a notification on their phone. It's from the LD Facebook Group, where hundreds of debaters are together to discuss… well, debate things! Everyone and anyone within the group has the ability to post, which makes it highly accessible for all debaters! The feed is typically filled with debaters looking for judges but has occasional announcements for tournaments, coaching openings, and much more. All in all, it is a hub filled with important information for all debaters to be aware of. However, stay aware of doom scrolling (or you can, and you’ll still be fine)! 

5. W.in

On the LD Facebook group, you are dooms scrolling, but you see a familiar name making posts– W.in! While this part of the article might seem like an advertisement for W.in, I genuinely believe W.in is one of the most valuable resources out there. Ever since I was starting out, the unfortunate costs of competing and even more unfortunate prejudice within the community scared me–and I know hundreds of thousands of individuals will continue getting scared by debate. However, through communities like W.in, not only can gender and minority debaters get access to free resources like lectures on Zoom and YouTube, fun bonding activities on Roblox, and scholarships, but just knowing there are organizations out there can be an immense comfort. As a whole, I view W.in as this remarkable hub of women supporting other women as they navigate through this confusing and complicated activity of debate.

6. VBI

Speaking of lectures (haha, see what I did there?) VBI is also a source I recommend debaters check out. Victory Briefs Institute is one of the largest centers for all things debate, and they have many resources, such as summer camps and briefs, but I find their YouTube channel extremely useful. Not only are there posted rounds that are great for debaters to watch and learn from, but there are also lectures, ranging from theory to traditional debate to performance affirmatives. I am very fond of their lectures because they taught me some of the basics of progressive debate as I was looking to transition to competing on the national circuit. There are many similar resources and channels out there, which I encourage debaters to check out, but VBI will always be the one I gravitate towards. 

7. Mindful Debater

Another resource that fosters a supportive environment is Mindful Debater! Mindful Debater (@mindful_debater on Instagram) is an account started by a current high school debater that intertwines neuroscience and psychology to provide tips to debaters on how to deal with anxiety, pressure, procrastination, and more. I absolutely love the message and advice this account offers, and paired with the convenience of Instagram, this source is invaluable. At the end of the day, one of the reasons why people do debate is they feel it helps them become a better version of themselves, and resources like Mindful Debater that help deal with the inevitable stress and struggles of the activity help individuals get the most out of the activity.

8. the debate guru

Next, if you're looking for even more woman-led resources (I know I do!), the next one on this list is the debate guru. Written by a current policy debater at the University of California-Berkeley, the debate guru (thedebateguru.weebly.com) has a plentiful amount of sources, ranging from articles about policy arguments to even a special debate dictionary, all conveniently no more than a click away! In the articles, you can learn about a plethora of skills, ranging from how to cut evidence to the inner workings of counterplans, disadvantages, kritiks, theory, and so much more. While I do LD, there are still enormous influences of policy debate on LD, and all the topics covered on the website, especially ones like how to cut cards and how to flow, which can be applied pretty much everywhere. 

9. Debate Land

What is better than just having a guru for debate? The answer is having both a guru and a land for debate! Debate Land (debate.land) is a website that has all the resources needed for a debate tournament. Among the impressive amount of features on the website for both LD, PF, and policy, including an easily filterable tournament calendar, a strikebook to save strikes for judges, and a feature where you can search for any debater and get their stats (including circuits they compete on, tournaments they have been to, and a ranking compared to the rest of the high school circuit)! I just recently learned about Debate Land, but it is quickly becoming one of my favorite resources, whether to check for tournaments, search for my friends, etc.

10. Briefs – Kankee and Isegora

And finally, following the land of debate is… briefs! If the word brief does not ring a bell, it tends to essentially be a document compiled with arguments, constructives, and blocks debaters can use for free! These can be some of the most valuable resources for debaters, mainly because there can be an enormous prep burden on smaller schools. I also used briefs to get exposure to potential arguments others could read, and they were beneficial to get my thinking going, because I feel there can be such an abrupt switch to new topics. There are many briefs out there, but the ones that are free and most accessible are Kankee and Isegora, which I highly recommend checking out!

And just like that, that concludes the list of 10 resources any debater should know. I hope you all learned something and enjoyed reading this article!

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