National Debate Tournament

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The National Debate Tournament one of the national championships for collegiate policy debate in the United States. The tournament is sponsored by the American Forensic Association with the Ford Motor Company Fund. Starting in 2004, College Sports TV has produced a documentary of the NDT. Michigan State University won the 2006 NDT, beating Wake Forest University in the final.

[edit] History of the NDT

The National Debate Tournament (NDT) began in 1947 at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Twenty-nine schools competed at the first NDT debating: "Resolved: That labor should be given a direct share in the management of industry". It remained at West Point until 1967 when it was assumed by the American Forensic Association in part because of the Vietnam War.[1] Since then the tournament has moved to different member schools each year and only three schools have hosted it twice. [2]

In the first NDT, teams were nominated by committees from their district. This was soon replaced with district qualifying tournaments. At-large bids were offered beginning in 1968 and in 1971 the rules were amended to assign at large bids prior to district qualifying tournaments (to prevent at-large teams from knocking out teams in qualifiers) Until 1970, a school could only send one team to the NDT. When the rule was changed the tournament quickly grew to 74 teams. Since 1992, a limited number of schools, currently six, have been allowed to send a third team. Today, 78 two-person teams attend the NDT; 16 are selected in the first-round at-large process, 46 through the district selections, and 16 in the second-round at-large process.

Mutual preference judging (MPJ) is a relatively recent addition to the NDT. Under MPJ, each debate team ranks the judging pool according to their preferences and judges are selected such that both teams prefer the chosen judge equally (if possible). Attempts are made to place as many mutual "1"s (the highest rating) in rounds, with preference given to the teams with the best record.

[edit] Traditions

  • "The Big Board": Started at the first NDT, complete results for each team are listed on the "Big Board" in the central area, horse-race style.
  • Orally announcing pairings: Started at the first NDT, the pairings for each round are read outloud to the contestants. A poll conducted at the 2005 NDT showed strong support for continuing this tradition.
  • Cadet escourts: Cadets at the USMA escourt debaters to their rounds and carry their tubs. Although this tradition was discontinued when the NDT moved from the USMA, it has reemerged at the regular season tournament hosted by the USMA.

[edit] External links

Debate topics:


1946-1947

   RESOLVED: "That labor should be given a direct share in the management of industry.

1947-1948

   RESOLVED: "That a federal world government should be established."

1948-1949

   RESOLVED: "That the federal government should adopt a policy of equalizing educational opportunity in tax-supported schools by means of annual grants."

1949-1950

   RESOLVED: "That the United States should nationalize the basic nonagricultural industries."

1950-1951

   RESOLVED: "That the non-communist nations should form a new international organization."

1951-1952

   RESOLVED: "That the federal government should adopt a permanent program of wage and price control."

1952-1953

   RESOLVED: "That the Congress of the United States should enact a compulsory fair employment practices law."

1953-1954

   RESOLVED: "That the United States should adopt a policy of free trade."

1954-1955

   RESOLVED: "That the United States should extend diplomatic recognition to the communist government of China."

1955-1956

   RESOLVED: "That the nonagricultural industries should guarantee their employees an annual wage."

1956-1957

   RESOLVED: "That the United States should discontinue direct economic aid to foreign countries."

1957-1958

   RESOLVED: "That the requirement of membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment should be illegal."

1958-1959

   RESOLVED: "That the further development of nuclear weapons should be prohibited by international agreement."

1959-1960

   RESOLVED: "That Congress should be given the power to reverse decisions of the Supreme Court."

1960-1961

   RESOLVED: "That the United States should adopt a program of compulsory health insurance for all citizens."

1961-1962

   RESOLVED: "That labor organizations should be under the jurisdiction of anti-trust legislation."

1962-1963

   RESOLVED: "That the non-communist nations of the world should establish an economic community."

1963-1964

   RESOLVED: "That the federal government should guarantee an opportunity for higher education to all qualified high school graduates."

1964-1965

   RESOLVED: "That the federal government should establish a national program of public work for the unemployed."

1965-1966

   RESOLVED: "That law enforcement agencies in the United States should be given greater freedom in the investigation and prosecution of crime."

1966-1967

   RESOLVED: "That the United States should substantially reduce its foreign policy commitments."

1967-1968

   RESOLVED: "That the federal government should guarantee a minimum annual cash income to all citizens."

1968-1969

   RESOLVED: "That executive control of United States foreign policy should be significantly curtailed."

1969-1970

   RESOLVED: "That the federal government should grant annually a specific percentage of its income tax revenue to the state governments."

1970-1971

   RESOLVED: "That the federal government should adopt a program of compulsory wage and price controls."

1971-1972

   RESOLVED: "That greater controls should be imposed on the gathering and utilization of information about United States citizens by government agencies."

1972-1973

   RESOLVED: "That the federal government should provide a program of comprehensive medical care for all its citizens."

1973-1974

   RESOLVED: "That the federal government should control the supply and utilization of energy in the United States."

1974-1975

   RESOLVED: "That the power of the Presidency should be significantly curtailed."

1975-1976

   RESOLVED: "That the federal government should adopt a comprehensive program to control land use in the United States."

1976-1977

   RESOLVED: "That the federal government should significantly strengthen the guarantee of consumer product safety required of manufacturers."

1977-1978

   RESOLVED: "That the United States law enforcement agencies should be given significantly greater freedom in the investigation and/or prosecution of felony crime."

1978-1979

   RESOLVED: "That the federal government should implement a program which guarantees employment opportunities for all United States citizens in the labor force."

1979-1980

   RESOLVED: "That the federal government should significantly strengthen the regulation of mass media communication in the United States."

1980-1981

   RESOLVED: "That the United States should significantly increase its foreign military commitments."

1981-1982

   RESOLVED: "That the federal government should significantly curtail the powers of the labor unions in the United States."

1982-1983

   RESOLVED: "That all United States military intervention into the internal affairs of any foreign nation or nations in the Western Hemisphere should be prohibited."

1983-1984

   RESOLVED: "That any and all injury resulting from the disposal of hazardous waste in the United States should be the legal responsibility of the producer of that waste."

1984-1985

   RESOLVED: "That the United States federal government should significantly increase exploration and/or development of space beyond the earth's mesosphere."

1985-1986

   RESOLVED: "That more rigorous academic standards should be established for all public elementary and/or secondary schools in the United States in one or more of the following areas: language arts, mathematics, natural sciences."

1986-1987

   RESOLVED: "That one or more presently existing restrictions on First Amendment freedoms of press and/or speech established in one or more federal court decisions should be curtailed or prohibited."

1987-1988

   RESOLVED: "That the United States should reduce substantially its military commitments to NATO member states."

1988-1989

   RESOLVED: "That United States foreign policy toward one or more African nations should be substantially changed."

1989-1990

   RESOLVED: "That the federal government should adopt an energy policy that substantially reduces nonmilitary consumption of fossil fuels in the United States."

1990-1991

   RESOLVED: "That the United States should substantially change its trade policy toward one or more of the following: China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan."

1991-1992

   RESOLVED: "That one or more United States Supreme Court decisions recognizing a federal Constitutional right to privacy should be overruled."

1992-1993

   RESOLVED: "That the United States should substantially change its development and assistance policies toward one or more of the following nations: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka."

1993-1994

   RESOLVED: "That the Commander-in-Chief power of the President of the United States should be substantially curtailed."

1994-1995

   RESOLVED: "That the federal government should substantially change rules and/or statues governing criminal procedure in federal courts in one or more of the following areas: pretrial detention, sentencing."

1995-1996

   RESOLVED: "That the United States government should substantially increase its security assistance to one or more of the following: Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Palestinian National Authority, Syria."

1996-1997

   RESOLVED: "That the United States Federal Government should increase regulations requiring industries to substantially decrease the domestic emission and/or production of environmental pollutants."

1997-1998

   RESOLVED: "The United States Federal Government should substantially increase its security assistance to one or more of the following Southeast Asian nations: Brunei, Burma(Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam."

1998-1999

   RESOLVED: "That the United States Federal Government should amend Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, through legislation, to create additional protections against racial and/or gender discrimination.

   1999-2000

   RESOLVED: That the United States Federal Government should adopt a policy of constructive engagement, including the immediate removal of all or nearly all economic sanctions, with the government(s) of one or more of the following nation-states: Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Syria, North Korea

2000-2001

   RESOLVED: That the United States Federal Government should substantially increase its development assistance, including increasing government to government assistance, within the Greater Horn of Africa.

2001-2002

   RESOLVED: That the United States Federal Government should substantially increase federal control throughout Indian Country in one or more of the following areas: child welfare, criminal justice, employment, environmental protection, gaming, resource management, taxation.

2002-2003 RESOLVED: that the United States Federal Government should ratify or accede to, and implement, one or more of the following:

   The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty;
   The Kyoto Protocol;
   The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;
   The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the Abolition of the Death Penalty;
   The Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Strategic Offensive Reductions, if not ratified by the United States.

2003-2004 Resolved: that the United States Federal Government should enact one or more of the following:

   Withdrawal of its World Trade Organization complaint against the European Union’s restrictions on genetically modified foods;
   A substantial increase in its government-to-government economic and/or conflict prevention assistance to Turkey and/or Greece;
   Full withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization;
   Removal of its barriers to and encouragement of substantial European Union and/or North Atlantic Treaty Organization participation in
   peacekeeping in Iraq and reconstruction in Iraq;
   Removal of its tactical nuclear weapons from Europe;
   Harmonization of its intellectual property law with the European Union in the area of human DNA sequences;
   Rescission of all or nearly all agriculture subsidy increases in the 2002 Farm Bill.

2004-2005

   Resolved: That the United States Federal Government should establish an energy policy requiring a substantial reduction in the consumption in the total non-governmental consumption of fossil fuels in the United States.

2005-2006

   The United States Federal government should substantially increase deplomatic and economic pressure on the People's Republic of China in one or more of the following areas: trade, human rights, weapons nonproliferation, Taiwan.

2006-2007

   Resolved: The United States Supreme Court should overrule one or more of the following decisions: Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 1992); Ex parte Quirin, 317 U.S. 1 (1942); U.S. v. Morrison, 529 U.S.598 (2000); Milliken v. Bradley, 418 U.S. 717 (1974).

Past champions:

Official web page:

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