Any debaters in the house? (no pun intended)

[IronParrot]

Okay... I know a lot of you are in high school, or perhaps college, and many of you at least got through one or both of those at some point.

My question: have any of you participated in formal debate?

I've done so since the tenth grade in my high school club, losing every round in my first tournament and eventually winning a city-level championship in my senior year, only to enter first-year university and start all over again. I bring up this topic now because I've just spent the past weekend at my first intervarsity tournament, in which I placed around the middle of the pack... man, discussing Arafat and the WTO and minimum prison sentences and appointed judges and extremist political parties and the like for a few days in a row is an extraordinarily tiring experience.

So, I guess I'll open the floor. Any other debaters here?

[Khadrane]

My sister is doing a debate on Harry Potter. (On whether or not it is "evil". She's arguing that it's not.) It's actually pretty good.

[Amandil]

I judged a debate once in university. I think it was the World University Debates, or something. A friend of mine (he's in law now) was one of the organizers, and he recruited me to judge. I thought it would be a great opportuninty to put my philosophical training to use, but it wasn't. Too much rhetoric...

[Dunadan]

If you wanted, you could have an online competition on the moot. Take a straw poll on a given issue, then set up a thread on it with speakers allocated to sides, then take another poll after a given period of time.

cheers

d.

[Sister Golden Hair]

When I was in high school many moons ago, I took a speech class, which all that was, was a class to teach you how to handle stage fright I think. Anyway, It involed debating and I was actually pretty good at it. I like to argue.:D

[Lizra]

Boy I hate to argue, though I seem to do it alot! I don't think I could keep my cool debating, at some point, I want to kill!

[Laurelyn]

Originally posted by Sister Golden Hair
When I was in high school many moons ago, I took a speech class, which all that was, was a class to teach you how to handle stage fright I think. Anyway, It involed debating and I was actually pretty good at it. I like to argue.:D
A class for stage fright, sgh? Eru, do I ever need something like that!

[Duddun]

I love to debate cause I always win hehe. I've never done a competition so I'm probably not that good. My sister is in a debate club (its a school elective at her school) they are always debating different stuff.

[Khamûl]

Well, I've never had any formal debate classes (my school doesn't have them), but I enjoy a good debate. We had one in Government class about whether or not to go to war with Iraq. I'm with Sister Golden Hair on this one:I like to argue. :D :p