Subj: DebatingInCollege Date: Sun, Jun 4, 1995 1:57 PM EST From: DSRADER@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU X-From: DSRADER@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU (Doyle Srader) To: Debatecent@AOL.COM (Debate Central) Frequently asked questions about debate at the University of Georgia: HOW MUCH EXPERIENCE SHOULD I HAVE TO DEBATE VARSITY MY FIRST YEAR? Most NDT tournaments offer only a single division of debate, but they vary widely in the intensity of competition offered. To compete in the open division, you should have varsity experience at the national or regional level. If you have such experience, and your work effort is sufficient, we are willing to travel you to top national tournaments during your first year ofdebate. If not, we'll likely travel you to the tournaments that do offer junior varsity debate, or smaller tournaments. DO YOU HAVE NOVICES? Yes. We accept debaters of any experience level, as well as students with absolutely no experience. Walk-ons are welcome. HOW MUCH TIME DOES DEBATE TAKE UP IN A WEEK? It depends upon what you want to get out of your participation in debate. Do you view debate as one of many extracurricular activities in which you take part in order to enjoy yourself and enrich your education? Or is it your goal to become one of the top debaters in the country? On the average, our debaters seem to spend between five and twenty hours per week on debate work. HOW MANY PRACTICE ROUNDS DO YOU USUALLY HAVE? Each debater MUST participate in two practice rounds before attending a tournament. This requirement may be modified if the debaters attended a tournament on the previous weekend. WHAT KIND OF SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE? Each year, the University offers three partial tuition waivers for first year students participating in debate. For more information about these scholarships, contact Dr. Ed Panetta at epanetta@uga.cc.uga.edu The University also offers a vast array of other scholarships. Contact the financial aid office at the following address: Student Financial Aid 220 Academic Building University of Georgia Athens, Georgia 30602 (706) 542-6147 HOW SUCCESSFUL IS GEORGIA DEBATE? For the last several years, each season the program has been more successful than the year before. In the 1994-95 season, the team of Barsness and Neighborswere awarded a first-round at-large bid to attend the National Debate Tournament, Georgia's first pre-bid in two decades. Although the NDT committee ranked them thirteenth, they proceeded to dominate the National Debate Tournament, winning all of the first seven debates to become the only undefeated team at the tournament. Along the way they defeated the defending (and ultimately repeat) national champions from Northwestern, and the two-time top speaker from the University of Kentucky. Barsness and Neighbors were negative in both debates. Next year should be yet another step up. We've got a strong class of recruits, a strong coaching staff, and a hunger for excellence. DO YOU DO CEDA OR NDT? The Georgia Debate Union is an NDT program. DOES THE ADMINISTRATION SUPPORT DEBATE? Definitely. Four years ago, we moved into our present headquarters which occupies the entire ground floor of Phi Kappa Hall. We therefore have one of the largest meeting spaces of any debate program in the country. Our travel budget allows us to travel several teams on a complete national circuit schedule each year, as well as sending less experienced debaters to a variety of regional and local tournaments. The team pays for many ancillary expenses of participation in debate, such as supplies, photocopies, etc. HOW WILL MY TRAVEL SCHEDULE BE DETERMINED? The coaching staff decides which teams should be sent to which tournaments based upon two factors: (1) your work effort, and (2) at what level of competition you are capable of having a worthwhile educational experience. We are not averse to sending debaters to tournaments at which they will not qualify for the elimination rounds if they wish to attend such tournaments and they've done enough work to merit such privileges. Similarly, we do not feel obligated to send highly experienced, highly successful debaters to every tournament they wish to attend if their work output is low. HOW BIG IS THE TEAM? WOULD I ACTUALLY GET TO GO ANYWHERE? Between ten and fifteen students attend debate tournaments in the course of the year. Generally, the squad has between three and five stable teams that travel consistently throughout the year. And yes, anyone who works hard, both at research and at skill improvement, will be sent to tournaments of sufficient competitive intensity to challenge their abilities. WHAT IS YOUR PHILOSOPHY OF COACHING? Debate is an educational opportunity. We are professional educators who work to facilitate your chances of (a) improving and (b) winning. You are not our mouthpiece. We do not dictate your arguments or strategies. Within ethical constraints, you are free to explore different argument types and styles and learn for yourself which arguments are more effective than others within the parameters of your talents. We give advice, conduct practice drills, and execute the bureaucratic tasks that enable you to compete. We conduct ourselves in a professional fashion, and we expect our debaters to behave in a similar fashion. Doyle Srader University of Georgia (706) 548-6041 ----------------------- Headers -------------------------------- From DSRADER@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU Sun Jun 4 14:56:37 1995 Received: from uga.cc.uga.edu by mail05.mail.aol.com with SMTP (1.37.109.11/16.2) id AA165542197; Sun, 4 Jun 1995 14:56:37 -0400 Return-Path: Received: from UGA.CC.UGA.EDU by uga.cc.uga.edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 6233; Sun, 04 Jun 95 14:54:44 EDT Received: from UGA.CC.UGA.EDU (NJE origin DSRADER@UGA) by UGA.CC.UGA.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 7901; Sun, 4 Jun 1995 14:54:44 -0400 Date: Sun, 04 Jun 95 14:42:19 EDT From: Doyle Srader Subject: DebatingInCollege To: Debate Central Message-Id: <950604.145443.EDT.DSRADER@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>