Persisting: Transitioning from Novice
Introduction:
High rates of young debaters, specifically young female debaters, drop out of debate.
A large part of this problem is that younger debaters often feel excluded due to the increased complexity of varsity arguments. While this has many educational advantages, the tendency to explain positions in buzzwords in conjunction with the greatly increased pace of the round makes it harder for new debaters to learn and is overwhelming.
The problem is often worsened when older members of the community do not create a welcoming community for debaters transitioning into varsity. Even friendly conversations are sometimes filled with unfamiliar and confusing references, which can feel like learning a new language. Even though it gets easier over time, many people constantly feel like outsiders. Additionally, opponents are often mean and condescending to younger debaters, which creates a hostile debate community and can even drive people out of the activity.
For girls, sexism is another common reason to quit debate. No matter how far women advance in the activity, sexist judging and remarks from peers are common, hurting female debaters who don’t have a strong support system.
Although sexism in varsity debate is often less blatant than that of some novice judges, it becomes more insidious and still remains. Instead of a parent voting a woman down because they didn’t dress “professionally”, an experienced, respected adult member of the debate community tells you that you’re too “aggressive” or “whiny”. These constant remarks quickly become disheartening, especially as women tend to be socially trained to have lower levels of confidence. Both sexist remarks and the exclusiveness of varsity debate make the lack of confidence harder to overcome.
Testimonials:
“There were rounds where I felt completely clueless about my opponent’s arguments, or where I was told that my argument was ‘just bad’ by my opponent; I was working twice as hard as I did in novice and doing half as well, and I felt like I would never be able to improve, making the transition very disheartening for me.”
“It became easier to understand everything the more I debated. Even if I had a really discouraging round, my teammates, judges, and opponents were always willing to explain what would have made the round better and help me improve.”
“In novice year, I always felt like I had to act more feminine due to the nature of the judging pool. One of my female friends was reprimanded for wearing a pantsuit to round. I’ve found that the ‘boys are confident, girls are aggressive’ dichotomy is very true in novice. However, in varsity, female debaters have more free reign and can express themselves more truly. I’m incredibly happy to see so many amazing female debaters rock the national circuit and show everyone that girls have a place in debate.”
“Transitioning from novice to varsity had its bumps but overall wasn’t as difficult as I initially anticipated. Even though novice year is intended to prepare you for the varsity level, there is still a huge learning curve once you move into the new division. Going from running stock ACs in front of parents to hitting tricks and multiple theory shells was definitely daunting at first but as I learn and grow as a debater I’ve had fun exploring and seeing all that the varsity level has to offer.”
Solutions:
Everyone in the debate community has a role to play in opening up the debate space for women and non-identifying people. In order to make debate more accessible, we have the following suggestions. These are by no means exhaustive, but we think these could have a material impact on younger debaters.
1. Advice to Older Debaters
Older debaters are role models to rising varsity women, so their actions are especially important. Although it’s generally an easier win, beating younger opponents on complicated arguments they don’t understand makes the round entirely devoid of education for either party. It also often leaves the younger debater upset and discouraged. When debating someone clearly less experienced, debaters should explain arguments clearly in cross-ex and or by using more comprehensible vocabulary.
Being talked down to, talked over, and/or talked past disproportionately affects young women in debate, leading potentially to discouragement and higher dropout rates. Specifically in CX, older debaters should make a conscious effort to respect and encourage a younger debater, rather than make them feel inferior. Finally, for those who are part of a debate team, older debaters should make an effort to be supportive and inclusive of younger teammates. Girls should support girls.
2. Advice to Adults
The adults in the debate community also play a huge role in shaping and inspiring rising varsity debaters. If you are an adult, you should make sure new varsity debaters, especially women, feel supported and get necessary explanations to help them succeed. Although it is easy to prioritize more experienced debaters, good coaching is crucial in the transition from novice to varsity. Adults should be conscious of students who are afraid to ask questions and check in with them. When judging, take into account the experience level of the debater, provide comments accordingly, and avoid giving sexist or harsh critique that wouldn’t be particularly constructive.
3. Advice to Rising Varsity Debaters
Remember that everyone was like you at one point. Even the best debaters had embarrassing rounds and didn’t know the meaning of complicated terms. Do not be scared to ask for help. Many coaches, teammates, and other debaters want to make this a more welcoming community. Never be afraid to ask questions and speak out about your confusion because odds are that you’re not the only one who feels confused.
We welcome people to reach out to us at hello@girlsdebate.org, Facebook, or Instagram.