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International Public Debate Association

The International Public Debate Association (IPDA), inaugurated on 15 February 1997 at St. Mary's University, Texas in San Antonio, is a national debate league currently active in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Florida, and Oklahoma. The central focus of IPDA is to promote a debate format that emphasizes public speaking and real-world persuasion skills over the use of evidence and speed. To further this goal, IPDA predominantly uses lay judges in order to encourage an audience-centered debate style.¹ While most member programs within the International Public Debate Association are associated with colleges or universities, participation in IPDA tournaments is open to anyone whose education level is equivalent to seventh-grade or higher.²

Format

IPDA primarily utilizes a one-on-one debate format in which one debater takes the side of the affirmative, with the burden of advocating and proving the resolution, and the other debater takes the side of the negative, with the burden of refuting the affirmative's case. For each round, the two debaters are given five possible resolutions. The negative begins the topic selection by striking one resolution, then the affirmative strikes one resolution. The negative strikes again, leaving the affirmative with two resolutions. The affirmative then strikes one of the remaining resolutions, selecting the other as the topic for the round. After the topic has been selected, both debaters have thirty minutes to prepare a case.

The round itself has a maximum length of 26 minutes, divided as follows:

Affirmative constructive speech (5 minutes)
Negative cross-examination of affirmative (2 minutes)
Negative constructive speech (6 minutes)
Affirmative cross-examination of negative (2 minutes)
Affirmative rebuttal (3 minutes)
Negative rebuttal and summary (5 minutes)
Affirmative summary (3 minutes)

Divisions

Most IPDA tournaments offer three divisions of competition. The Novice division is open to any person without a bachelor's degree. The Varsity division is open to any person without a bachelor's degree. The Open division has no restrictions on participation and includes participants who are undergraduates, graduate students, professors, coaches, and professionals.

Tournaments and Schools

IPDA tournaments are held approximately every other weekend from late September until early April. The first tournament of the year is usually hosted by Ouachita Baptist University and is called the Ouachita Warm-Up. Other schools that host tournaments include the University of Arkansas at Monticello, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University at Shreveport, Louisiana Tech University, Stephen F. Austin State University, Henderson State University, the University of Arkansas, Arkansas Tech University, Louisiana State University at Alexandria, Grambling State University, Tulsa Community College and Mississippi College. Other schools that actively compete in IPDA but do not currently host a tournament are Louisiana College, the University of Central Arkansas and the University of Texas at Tyler.

Typical IPDA tournaments run over two or three days, usually containing six preliminary rounds and three or four elimination rounds, depending on the number of competitors.

The culminating event for the IPDA season is the annual National Championship Tournament. In 2006, the National Championship Tournament was held at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. The National Championship Tournament features eight preliminary rounds and usually at least four elimination rounds. The final round for the either the Open division or the Varsity division takes place at an awards banquet, where season-long sweepstakes awards are presented in addition to the tournament awards.

National Championships

National Champions are crowned at the conclusion of the National Championship tournament, most often held in April. Each division crowns two National Champions per year. One is designated the Season-long Champion, while the other is designated as the National Tournament Champion. Both are often referred to as the "National Champion."

Squad

2008 University of Arkansas at Monticello
2007 Louisiana Tech University
2006 Louisiana Tech University
2005 University of Arkansas
2004 Louisiana Tech University
2003 Stephen F. Austin State University

Individual

Open Division

2008 Henry Shuler and Evie Breithaupt Louisiana Tech University (National Tournament)
2008 Keith Milstead Louisiana State University at Shreveport (National Season-long)
2007 Keith Milstead Louisiana State University at Shreveport (National Tournament)
2007 Keith Milstead Louisiana State University at Shreveport (National Season-long)
2006 Steve Goode Stephen F. Austin State University (National Tournament)
2006 Trey Gibson Louisiana Tech University (National Season-long)
2005 Keith Milstead Louisiana State University at Shreveport (National Tournament)
2005 Keith Milstead Louisiana State University at Shreveport (National Season-long)
2004 Trey Gibson Louisiana Tech University (National Tournament)
2004 A.J. Edwards Louisiana State University at Shreveport (National Season-long)

Varsity Division

2008 Nick Ducote Louisiana Tech University (National Tournament)
2008 Sean Dodd University of Texas at Tyler (National Season-long)
2007 Dan Eldridge Stephen F. Austin State University (National Tournament)
2007 Chris Halley University of Arkansas at Monticello (National Season-long)
2006 Kristopher Lucas Louisiana Tech University (National Tournament)
2006 Evie Breithaupt Louisiana College (National Season-long)
2005 Noah Conklin and Ryan Palmquist University of Texas at Tyler (National Tournament)
2005 Max Croes Stephen F. Austin State University (National Season-long)
2004 Beth Carr Louisiana College (National Tournament)
2004 Steve Goode Stephen F. Austin State University (National Season-long)