Announcing the 2015 Performance Trust Public Debates on the US Economy

We are excited to announce the fifth annual Performance Trust Debates on the US Economy, one of the signature events for the Chicago Debate League. Performance Trust Capital Partners — one of the Chicago Debate League’s most important partners — is once again working with other important funders like the Rupe Foundation and hosting this unique competition at the Performance Trust offices at 500 W. Madison Ave on December 11th and 12th, 2015.

There will be two topics related to economics that will be released shortly, one about current economic policy issues and one about broader economic philosophy in government.

Selection Process

Teams should contact davidsong@resources.chicagodebates.org with their interest and a brief summary of students’ competitive experience in the CDL, prior experience in doing public debates, and why they’d be well-suited to debate about economic issues in a public debate format.

We will select 10 teams total, looking for a mix of schools between all CDL conferences.

Each participating school will receive $500 in coach compensation and the chance to compete for college scholarships to be offered to the top debaters at the event. The first $250 will be paid out to coaches after all four case drafts have been submitted. Note that coaches are expected to attend prep sessions with students and will have to help arrange for students to miss classes on Friday, December 11th to compete.

Preparation Schedule

We will host three weekday evening prep sessions at the Performance Trust offices at 500 W. Madison Ave. on Monday evenings: 11/16, 11/30, and 12/7. We will also require teams to take part in two online practice debates, one on the week of 11/30 and one on the week of 12/7.

The CDC will post a research guide with annotated links, helping schools with their affirmative and negative positions.

Tournament Schedule