Debate Foundations for 2026 - How to Begin

Lincoln-Douglas and Team Policy Debate - 2026 Foundations

The new year of debate has begun!  Wait, you say, it’s July and I’m on summer break.  Yes, you are, and you should enjoy some vacation time and family activities!  A well-balanced life must include rest and relaxation.

But you do have quite a bit of free time - think about it and you will realize that you do have far more free time than during the school year.  Why not put that to good use and build a strong foundation for the coming year of debate?

Lay the Foundation!

A strong foundation in debate is what separates strong debaters from those who struggle at key points in the round because their foundation is weak.  I have witnessed this over and over as a judge. Cross examination reveals what you do not know - and that can unravel your case in seconds.

In debate you are given a resolution.  Once those resolutions are published, look for foundational material to read. This might be a book outlining an expert's experience with the topic.  It might be reading some history or books about certain documents that you will need to understand.

Last year as debate coach for a local club, during the summer I read three books and listened to 3 others on audible.  Many students read them as well.  Those books sustained our knowledge and provided numerous evidence cards throughout the year.  It was time well spent! 

I have written the following information to apply for both TP and LD

NCFCA Team Policy this year will focus on all things Congress.  How much do you know about Congress?  You might know how many congressmen your state has.  You might know some of their names.  But do you know what they can and cannot do as a state representative in Washington?  Do you understand the committee process and how that works?  Does the Constitution limit what the government can do and does it speak specifically to what Congress can do?

The TP resolution states: 

Resolved: The United States Federal Government should significantly reform Congress.

Reform what? CONGRESS!  Therefore, you need to know what Congress can and cannot do, as well as rules that apply to HOW Congress can do things.

For Lincoln-Douglas Debate, the resolution appears to focus on outer space.  Be careful!  Look at the resolution and find the question: 

Resolved: In the exploration and utilization of outer space, international cooperation should be prioritized.

LD is about the why.  So “Why should we prioritize…?” is the question we are asking. What are we deciding to prioritize or not? International cooperation in the exploration and utilization of outer space.  Ahhh, now we understand the question of the resolution.

So what do you need to know?  Well, you need to know when and in what circumstances nations prefer to protect international cooperation and when they prefer to protect privatization or national interests.  This will set your precedents for understanding how each side is feasible and how to capitalize on historical precedents. 

I suggest printing the NCFCA Background Papers before reading on as you can refer to the papers as you read this article to see which sections I am referring to.

THE NCFCA TP BACKGROUND PAPER is found here: https://ncfca.org/wp-content/uploads/2025-26-Policy-Resolution-Background-Paper-Google-Docs.pdf. 

THE NCFCA LD BACKGROUND PAPER is found here:

https://ncfca.org/wp-content/uploads/2025-26-Value-Resolution-Background-Paper-Google-Docs.pdf

Below you will find a list of instructions for reading and using the NCFCA Debate Background Papers to begin your foundational understanding for this year’s resolutions.

1. PRINT AND READ: The first and most obvious thing to do is…PRINT OUT the papers.  Many of you will say, “I will read it online.”  My response as a coach and teacher is that this is an insufficient response.  You need to interact with this information.  It is one of the most important foundational documents that you will receive the entire year. It should be printed and kept in your binder the ENTIRE year.

Read this paper and highlight anything that suggests another document you should read.  For TP debaters, Article 1 of the Constitution is suggested in the very first sentence! (Believe it or not, there will be some debaters in rounds who have NOT read this document - you do not want to be one of them!)

2. DEFINITIONS: The committee has generously offered some definitions that they feel apply.  Do not limit yourself only to these definitions.  Your opponents will not do that and you need to know what else is out there.

3. SCOPE OF THE REZ: After your first reading and highlighting, recognize what this background paper is telling you.

The paper tells you the scope of the resolution; what is suitable for debating and what is not.  For TP the limiting factors point out that there are subjects to avoid.  You may read this and think, “Okay, don’t go there in rounds.” But you want to remember this warning.  Pay attention and recognize that this section is great for NEGATIVE case prep, as some debaters will venture into these areas, which will be considered off topic.

For LDers, take a look at the RELATED CONCEPTS to see the scope of outer space topics. Consider the various ACTORS suggested.  Now take a look at the CLASH information.  LD is about philosophical ideas and how they work in the real world and when they don’t.  When you read the ETHICAL FRAMEWORKS section, you are being given the information that the committee believes you need to study in order to effectively debate the question at hand.  

LDers, I recommend you invest in a book series titled Socrates Children, by Peter Kreeft. (This is a fairly new series covering the history of philosophy and written by a modern christian philosopher who is highly praised and respected today. This set of books can also easily provide a half-credit Philosophy course for high school.)

4. ORGANIZE THE INFORMATION: When you get to the TP section on Complexity, or the LD section on Values, you need to be in a quiet place and have a pen ready, and perhaps a notebook as well.  The writers are giving you some great information here: they are telling you how to organize information!

The TP Paper offers “Three factors…”, these three words help you 

understand that immediately, you need three file folders, either paper ones for printouts or digital ones on your computer.  Once created, everything you print at home or read online can be filed in the appropriate folder.  Within each folder, you will notice categories will appear. Inside each folder, you can create sub-folders for these categories.

The LD Paper offers numerous areas of clash, ethical frameworks, and six values for consideration.  LD folders are easily organized by creating a folder for each clash, ethical standard, and value. Each category will require support, so subfolders can be organized by a philosophical tag, historical tag, or examples from the modern day.

I personally believe organization is the most crucial skill for a debater.  Organizing information, especially when you have stacks and stacks of it, means you can find it easily and use it.  How many times have I seen a debater unable to locate the KEY piece of evidence in a round because it was buried in a pile of disorganized papers?  Almost every round!!! I wish this was an exaggeration, but generally one or the other debater is unable to find evidence he or she had prepared to refute an argument.  Sometimes it results in a loss, as persuasion drops when you stand on your opinion alone.

5. GOALS AND CASE IDEAS:  How nice it is to see where all of the initial reading can lead us to clear ideas about setting goals for reform or understanding values and clash.  The committee has done the reading and thoroughly considered many options.  Notice I did not say “all”.

But the committee will never compete in a debate round, and you will.  

Therefore, you must go through the same process and read and wrestle 

with the information just as they did.

Debaters sometimes refuse to do this and instead decide that they will take a piggyback ride on the background paper.  Just like the elephant rides at the fair, which are super fun and create cool memories, you don’t actually get on the elephant every day to go to school or the grocery store.  You can’t keep the elephant in the garage.  In the same way, you can’t take the debate committee and their knowledge into the debate round with you, you have to research and study.  

The TP Paper suggests ideas for goals and both AFF and NEG case ideas; the case ideas are inherent in the clash suggestions for LD. That information needs to wait!  Read through these and try to refer back to them as you read further in foundational documents. Enjoy this process!  This knowledge is going to elevate your understanding of how our government works, when international cooperation is good and isn’t, and what the best approach to the resolution is from your newly educated point of view!

Knowing when to NOT move ahead yet is key in the foundational preparation process. Many students want to jump ahead to case writing or source books.  The debaters that excel understand that knowing something organically is far different than having to sort through papers to read a piece of information that you will soon forget.

Knowledge of the subject matter means you can explain the problem or issue without the evidence.  The evidence is there to prove your opinion is warranted, not to make your argument and speak for you.  When you understand this, you develop a different mindset about everything you study.

6. RESOURCES: How nice of the committee to compile an exceptional list for you to begin the reading process!  Wow, if all you do before club starts is read these documents and underline and highlight and really try to understand them, you will be WAAAYYYYY ahead.  Your foundation will begin to develop and you will be sorting and organizing your thoughts about the resolution.  You will begin to see clear boundaries and limitations on your chosen resolution.

7. RE-ORGANIZE: I can’t say it enough, as you sort through the reading, re-organize the folders.  Create more sub-folders.  Create an AFF and NEG folder and place the appropriate information there.  Sorting takes more time than anything else in debate.  If you start with an orderly system that makes sense you will not only be a better debater, you will be a happier debater!

Citing the Paper…

The NCFCA Background Paper should generally not be used as evidence in a debate round.  “Why not?” you may ask. 

Here is an example of a debater stating the Paper as evidence: 

“The NCFCA Background Paper does not list my opponent’s definition as recommended for the debate discussion, it recommends mine.  I therefore encourage you to dismiss her definition and vote for my side.”

Students using this kind of argument usually do not know that the Paper is designed to motivate you to find more definitions and evidence from real documents and sources that are from a credible source that can speak to the topic.

You may respond to my objection by saying, “But the NCFCA is a credible source on reforming Congress or Space exploration.”  “No”, I would respond, “the NCFCA is a credible source on how to learn speech and debate skills.  And the Debate Committee has designed a teaching guide to get you started.”  If the league was an expert on something else, all of their business would be directed toward that topic.  Speech and debate leagues are there to help you develop speech and debate skills.

The key player here is YOU. The Background Paper writers and source book writers are there for you to see and understand what it takes to learn the resolution and to understand the scope of what you need to know to be a great debater.

And to quote the NCFCA Paper with a community judge may present an ethical issue.  Does that judge come to believe that when you cite your league’s Paper you must win that argument? It only makes sense to them that the league who sponsored the tournament would be correct on a debate topic. Will this judge then assume going forward to other rounds that quoting the league’s information must be the right thing to do? 

The judges go into a round believing you have done your homework, so you should do exactly that and quote from credible sources, a.k.a. experts on Congressional reform and international cooperation in space.

I always celebrate seeing a brand new debater competing in a round with a case he or she wrote plus a basic understanding of the scope of the resolution, (basic, not thorough) rather than a student who reads off of papers they have printed but are unaware of what any of it actually means.

There is so much information that will be given to you or that you can purchase.  You can choose to read it occasionally at club or in rounds, but never actually study it.  What will you learn? You will become a better reader.  But the goal here is to learn some pretty interesting information and to be able to wrestle with ideas that come into conflict.  

Whether you start now, or in August or September, start the right way.  Print those Background Papers and follow the instructions above.  Get ready to go to the library, research online, and read and print, read and highlight, and read and organize.  

I will be doing the same and hopefully see you in a debate round in the 2026 season!  Happy learning to you all.

René Schiltz

Editor

The /Eloquent Voice