By Jason Stansell

At Potomac Debate Academy we offer a lot of opportunities for students to find themselves involved. Be it our Free Trials, our many classes, or our opportunities to take on leadership roles. However, another opportunity we offer students are Intramural Debates. So, what is an Intramural Debate?

Essentially, Intramural Debates are “home team” practice tournaments. According to Nicole Murphy, the Director of Intramural Debates, an Intramural Debate is, “…like a sparring match between your peers who might be in different debate classes throughout the Potomac Debate System.” Essentially, they give you and others the opportunity to compete and grow within our community before you take on the tournament circuit. This can be compared to Spelling Bees being held in school cafeterias for students in different classes to compete in on campus, before competing against other schools. 

Director Murphy continues, “Intramurals are a way of practicing. I always tell students, go to an intramural, and I compare it to soccer. Going to class is like going to soccer practice, or going to intramurals is like going to the game. So, you really get the opportunity to utilize all the skills that you’ve learned in class, and possibly get an award, or get a trophy, or get a medal. Because we do actually send medals to people’s homes with their name on it and with the actual prize that they’ve won. So, it’s a lot of fun. …Intramural Debates are just a sparring match between students on the same level, where they get to debate the current debate topic.”

When it comes to the different levels offered at Intramurals, Director Murphy said, “Each grade level gets to have representation at an intramural tournament that matches the level that they are, in a debate.” Those different levels include Novice, Junior Varsity, and Varsity in all grade levels.

The Intramurals consist of three different Debate Rounds, then there are “Out Rounds”. Director Murphy describes the latter as, “Where people who did really good in those first three rounds get the opportunity to advance to the ‘Out Round’.” 

Speaking about first time Intramural competitors, Director Murphy said, “[Students] should expect to go up against people who are also scared and also nervous, for sure, because it is a learning process for everyone. We always put competitors with someone as a partner who’s on the same level as them. So, someone who may just been having their first tournament, we like to partner them with someone who is also having their first tournament. A lot of your opponents will be people who are just having their first tournament.”

“You get the opportunity before the round starts,” Director Murphy says, “to go in a breakout room with other kids that are your age and on your level and a coach will instruct you on what to do. They’ll help you find your sample case so that you’re fully prepared. They’ll help you and your partner decide who is first speaker and who is second speaker. But what I really like about Intramurals is, the week before everything happens, you get to have your partner’s contact information so you get their email address so that you can collaborate with them before the Intramural happens, …You all get to negotiate and figure out what speaker position would work best for each other, what case you all want to read, and you also get to build a rapport with another student who is of your level.

“…We also prepare students with our Intramural Workshops that happen the week of the Intramural. …There is a live Intramural Workshop that I host the week of the Intramural, where students get to walk through the Intramural structure as well as ask questions and figure out how to log on, what times, things to expect. Intramurals are not just about winning or losing. We also have some really cool prizes that we give out throughout the tournament. We have a photo contest where students are able to receive $50 giftcards, based on a picture they send in of themselves during the debate tournament through our Google form. …We give it to three different students. …Also, during the downtimes in between rounds, we are having our coaches play a variety of games as well as review different debate content with them. So, not only do they get to learn from the debate rounds, but they get to learn in the breaks, get to learn in the in-betweens, and also engage with students. …We also give a lot of relief and a lot of fun.”

So, why not sign up for the Intramural Debates today? Director Murphy certainly makes them sound like a lot of fun, while also getting to practice everything you’ve been learning in your classes. Potomac Debate Academy is happy to provide you with this unique opportunity to compete in Intramural Debates.