University of Kentucky Debate Team

Thrilled to be spending the week working with this year's amazing Kentucky Fellows!!!

Come coach with us!!! UK Debate has a new coaching position for this fall. Link in bio.

Congrats, Cats!
We competed at the Minnesota College Invitational this past weekend. Jeremiah Rimpson & Anna Stockstill were semifinalists, and Hana Bisevac & Ariel Gabay were quarterfinalists! And we spoke well! Thank you to our competitors on a great weekend of debates!

The Kentucky debate family is sad to share the news of the passing of Dr. JW Patterson. Dr. Patterson taught debate and forensics for almost sixty years, including nine years as Director of Debate and Forensics at Muskogee Central High School, Muskogee, Oklahoma; one year as Director of Debate at the University of Arizona, and 40 years as Director of Debate and Forensics at the University of Kentucky, where he was a tenured professor in the College of Communication and Information. It is fair to say that no one has ever had a bigger footprint on the world of competitive speech and debate; his legacy spans generations and has touched the lives of thousands. He was an elite debate coach, fielding top ten teams in four different decades, a national champion, Copeland award winners, and six NDT top speakers. He was a passionate educator, and, through the creation of tournaments like the Tournament of Champions and Kentucky Round Robin, he became one of the architects of what would become the modern forensics ecosystem. For those who knew him he will be remembered for his love of friends and community. In one way or another, I, and countless others, have JW to thank for many of our closest friendships in the world, and, as I reflect, I believe this passion for bringing people together may be his most enduring lesson for all of us. Like so many others in the world of speech and debate, JW introduced me to many musical artists. And in the immortal words of Robert Earl Keen may the Road go on forever and the party never end.

As more information becomes available, we’ll be sure to relay it.

Dave Arnett
Director of Debate, University of Kentucky

We have five teams competing at the Season Opener hosted by Northwestern and things are starting with a bang!

The topic for the 2021-2022 season is antitrust! It defeated climate change as the main competitor. The debate team is in the offseason for the summer as we prepare for the new topic.

Kentucky debate's season ended at the NDT on Monday.

First years Jordan Di and David Griffith went 6-2 in the preliminary rounds, notching wins against fellow bid teams from USC and Texas along the way. They lost to another first round bid team from Michigan in the doubles.

Second year Chris Lucas and first year Lex Barrett had to withdraw from the tournament due to illness. First years Sophie and Dash tagged in as an alternatve and they achieved their first NDT win of their careers debating in a chaotic situation.

The D6 district tournament was this weekend. We had two teams competting BL (Lex Barrett and Chris Lucas) and DW (Sophia Dal Pra and Dash Weinhardt).

BL went 5-1, was the top seed and will be heading to the NDT! Lex was also the 3rd speaker.

DW went 3-3 beating two teams that will find their way to the NDT later this spring.

This is the 9th year in a row Kentucky will have at least two teams qualified for the National Debate Tournament.

ADA nationals is up next this weekend!

UK debate alum Marcel Roman visited the team to talk about how to excel during an undergraduate career in preparation for graduate school. Marcel is currently finishing his PhD in political science at UCLA. Thanks for sharing your expertise Marcel!

Congragulations to David Griffith and Jordan Di on receiving a first round bid to the NDT!

They are the 7th frosh-frosh team in history to accomplish such a feat.

This extends UK Debate's streak of years receiving a first round at large bid to six in a row.

Kentucky Debate closed out the regular sesaon at the Northwestern tournament. We sent three teams that included five first year debaters!

Our top finisher was Jordan Di and David Griffith who went 4-2, won the triple octafinal vs Wyoming and lost in the double octafinal vs a top 10 team from Rutgers.

Congragulations to Marcus Williams who debated at his first tournament on the alliances topic as he gets back into the swing of policy debate with Lauren McBlain.

Also congragulations to Dash and Sophie (Kentucky DW) who pulled off an impressive victory against a top 10 team from Wake Forest in the prelim rounds.

We are turning our attention to preparing for districts and the end of the year national championships.

Kentucky debate got off to a great start in the second semester at the Navy tournament.

Kentucky BL (first year Lex Barrett and second year Chris Lucas) went 3-3 losing a break round to CSU Long Beach, who would go on to debate in the finals.

Kentucky DG (first year Jordan Di and first year David Griffith) went 5-1 in prelims notching wins against Emory, Dartmouth and Georgetown. They cleared as the second seed. David was 2nd speaker and Jordan was 3rd.

DG won all four of their elimination debates on Monday versus Georgetown, Dartmouth, Michigan and CSU Long Beach to take the crown! A very impressive accomplishment from two first year debaters.

Kentucky debate has an off weekend coming up then returns to action in NFA-LD for the first time in the second semester while the policy team preapres for the Northwestern tournament in February.