National Debate Tournament will come to IU this weekend

The IU debate team will go head to head this weekend with those from Harvard, Northwestern and other universities in the 68th National Debate Tournament.

The Hoosier Debate Team organized the event, which will take place at IU, according to a March 26 press release.

“These are the best of the best,” IU Debate Coach Brian DeLong and School of Public and Environmental Affairs faculty member said in the release.

“We’re proud that our Hoosier debaters will be a part of this tournament, and we’re excited that we have the opportunity to show off our campus and our community.”

More than 500 students  are coming to IU with more than 200 debate coaches, directors and judges for the event.

Each team features two competitors.

U.S. schools ranked in the top 80 qualify for the tournament.

Many teams have already arrived in Bloomington as IU also played host to the Cross Examination Debate Association last weekend, according to the release.

To be a part of collegiate debate, students spend hours researching and polishing their strategies and presentations.

Until DeLong was hired as coach four years ago, debate had seemingly disappeared from IU.

“To have two major tournaments on back-to-back weekends really signifies that debate has made a comeback at IU and that we’ll be part of the national debate landscape for years to come,” DeLong said in the release.

Registration for the tournament begins Thursday and will continue through the weekend. The winners will be announced Monday.

Kathrine Schulze