Lane County Debate League

The Lane County Debate League is a county wide policy debate league run by the UO forensics team. With the frustrating budget situation in area high schools, the UO has created this program as a free of cost opportunity for area students. We offer two free debate lessons a month at the University of Oregon and five policy debate tournaments over the course of the year. For more information on how to sign up or ask questions, you can visit our website here.

This program will never cost parents or students anything. Here at the University of Oregon we feel access to debate opportunities is fundamental for academic growth. The league is modeled off a simple Little League model. Meaning any student, regardless of how many others attend from each school, will have a full set of opportunities to compete. In other words, if you’re the only kid in your whole high school, you’ll have a debate partner and compete just the same.

Simply put, debating in high school can be done by anyone. You don’t have to be tall, fast or from any background to compete in debate. It allows students to find a way to express themselves and advocate for what they believe in. We encourage everyone in the valley to come and try debate with us. This is an opportunity for any student in the area to learn a skill that colleges everywhere, including right here at UO, recruit heavily. Last year, our first, every regularly participating senior had the opportunity to debate in college after the LDL season. Many students qualified for the Oregon State Debate Tournament with our lessons alone. The LDL is the fast track to debate success, and it’s free. Please visit our website for more information.