High school debaters from throughout the southeast will compete in the annual Bishop Guild Debate tournament at Samford University Oct. 8 and 9.
Teams are expected from 28 high schools in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. Competitors from Alabama represent Chelsea, Decatur Heritage Christian, Homewood, Indian Springs, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate, Mountain Brook, Oak Mountain, Pelham, Spain Park, SpeakFirst, Trinity Presbyterian, UMS-Wright and Vestavia Hills.
Debaters will compete in policy debate, Lincoln-Douglas debate, public forum, extemporaneous speaking and interpretation categories. Round one of all events will begin Friday at 4 p.m. Elimination rounds will begin Saturday at 2:30 p.m., with the awards assembly at 5:30 p.m. in Brooks Hall auditorium.
Finalists in the policy debate event will receive an automatic bid to the Tournament of Champions, the high school national championship tournament.
The debate topic considers substantially reducing U.S. military commitments in various hotspots around the globe, such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
The tournament honors former Samford debate coach Brad Bishop, who directed Samford teams to three national titles. He is now a professor at Samford’s Cumberland School of Law.