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Briefly

Also, Happy Birthday Luke Stuttgen!

Not to be outdone by Mia, it was also Luke Stuttgen's birthday, Thursday. Happy birthday, Luke! What better way to spend your birthday than teaching debate!

Victory Briefs Publishing: Order Your 2012/2013 Topic Analysis Books

As the 2012/2013 Season fast approaches, remember to order your 2012/2013 Topic Analysis Books for LD, PF, and Victory Briefs' Policy Files. Ordering a subscription not only gives you a substantial discount when compared to purchasing the books individually, but also means that the books will be delivered directly to your email as soon as they are released. Follow the links below for more information.

Victory Briefs Store

2012/2013 Lincoln-Douglas Topic Analysis Subscription

2012/2013 Public Forum Topic Analysis Subscription

2012/2013 Victory Briefs Policy Files

Leah Shapiro Wins the 2013 Valley Mid-America Cup

Congratulations to St. Louis Park's Leah Shapiro for championing the 2013 West Des Moines Valley Mid-America Cup over Collegiate's Andrew O'Donohue. The decision was a 2-1 for Leah (Legried, Hymson, *Melin). Leah is coached by Christian Tarsney and Charles McClung, and Andrew is coached by Aracelis Biel and Mark Gorthey.  

Minnesota JV/Novice State Results: Prince Hyeamang and Sophie Ober Close Out JV, Kiley Eichelberger Wins Novice

Congratulations to Apple Valley sophomores Prince Hyamang and Sophie Ober for closing out Minnesota's JV State Tournament. Prince and Sophie are coached by Chris Theis, Ed Hendrickson, Josh You and David Quinn. 

In the Novice division Kiley Eichelberger a junior from Chanhassen defeated Edina Freshman Annie Amen in the final round to win the Novice State title. Congratulations to both debaters. Kiley is coached by Zach Prax

Shawn Xiong Wins the Isidore Newman Invitational

Congratulations to Cypress Woods' Xixiang "Shawn" Xiong for winning the 35th Isidore Newman Invitational! In finals, Shawn defeated Greenhill's Mitali Mathur on a 2-1 decision. Shawn is coached by Heath Martin and Jared Woods. Mitali is coached by Aaron Timmons and Rebecca Kuang. Isidore Newman is a semis bid to the Tournament of Champions.

Andrew O'Donohue Wins Columbia

Congratulations to Collegiate's Andrew O'Donohue for defeating Scarsdale's Noah Thaler to win the 2014 Columbia Invitational!

Advanced Theoretical Tips

More and more, there appears to be disconnects between judges and debaters on the virtues of using theory as a strategy practice. Theory debate has steadily garnered the reputation as a frivolous, unpleasant practice, labeled as a tool employed to garner “cheap wins,” a “crutch” for those who lack substantive debate skills, and even a mechanism to exclude underprivileged debaters from the activity.

However, I find that a lot of these issues are not inherent either to theory debate or strategic theory debate, but the way debaters run these arguments. While it may occur much less frequently nowadays, excellent theory debate does exist. The goal of this article is to establish guidelines to help debaters improve on theory debate, should they choose to engage in it. 

Andrew O'Donohue Wins Columbia

Congratulations to Collegiate's Andrew O'Donohue for defeating Scarsdale's Noah Thaler to win the 2014 Columbia Invitational!

Advanced Theoretical Tips

More and more, there appears to be disconnects between judges and debaters on the virtues of using theory as a strategy practice. Theory debate has steadily garnered the reputation as a frivolous, unpleasant practice, labeled as a tool employed to garner “cheap wins,” a “crutch” for those who lack substantive debate skills, and even a mechanism to exclude underprivileged debaters from the activity.

However, I find that a lot of these issues are not inherent either to theory debate or strategic theory debate, but the way debaters run these arguments. While it may occur much less frequently nowadays, excellent theory debate does exist. The goal of this article is to establish guidelines to help debaters improve on theory debate, should they choose to engage in it. 

Samantha McLoughlin wins Yale

Congratulations to Harvard Westlake's Samantha McLoughlin for winning the 2020 Yale Invitational. In finals, Sam defeated Strake Jesuit's Joey Georges on a 3-0 Decision (Okunlola*, Overing, McConway). Congratulations to Lexington's Matthew Berhe for being top speaker.

Full results and pairings can be found here.

Samantha McLoughlin wins the Mid America Cup

Congratulations to Harvard-Westlake's Samantha McLoughlin for winning the 2020 Valley Mid America Cup. In finals, Sam defeated Strake Jesuit's Ben Erdmann on a 2-1 (Narayanan*, Wu, Chippada). Congratulations to Quarry Lane's Meera Sehgal for being top speaker.

Full pairings and results can be found here.

Ben Cortez wins Jack Howe

Congratulations to Loyola's Ben Cortez for winning the 2020 Jack Howe Memorial Tournament. In finals, Ben defeated Westwood's Brian Jeon on a 3-0 (Barquin, Clark, Shen). Congratulations to Harker's Rahul Mulpuri for being top speaker.

Full pairings and results can be found here.

Elias Altman wins Duke

Congratulations to Myers Park's Elias Altman for winning the 2020 Duke Invitational. In finals, Elias defeated William G. Enloe's Anthony Cui on a 2-1 (Rivera*, Jackson, De la Llave). Congratulations to Charlotte Latin's Laura Han for being top speaker.

Full pairings and results can be found here.

Ben Erdmann wins Greenhill

Congratulations to Strake Jesuit's Ben Erdmann for winning the 2020 Greenhill Fall Classic. In finals, Ben defeated Harvard-Westlake's Samantha McLoughlin on a 3-0 (Aaron, Randall, Sims). Congratulations to Samantha for being top speaker.

Full results and pairings can be found here.

Zion Dixon and Abhinav Sinha co-champion Grapevine

Congratulations to Strake Jesuit's Zion Dixon and Dulles's Abhinav Sinha on co-championing the 2020 Grapevine Classic. Additionally, congratulations to Harrison's Rebecca Anderson for being top speaker.

Full results and pairings can be found here.

Abby Morris wins the UK Season Opener

Congratulations to Lake Highland Prep's Abby Morris for winning the 2020 National Speech and Debate Season Opener hosted by UK. In finals, Abby defeated Strake Jesuit's Karan Shah on a 3-0 (Griffin, O'Brien, Tang). Congratulations to St Michael Albertville's Cobin Szymanski for being top speaker.

Full results and pairings can be found here.

Jarvis Xie wins Loyola

Congratulations to Strake Jesuit's Jarvis Xie for winning the 2020 Loyola Invitational. In finals, Jarvis defeated Immaculate Heart's Beatrice Culligan on a 3-0 Decision (Evans, Gedela, Towner). Congratulations to Strake Jesuit's Ben Erdmann for being top speaker.

Full results and pairings can be found here.