Speech and Debate

Speech and Debate

The Concordia Speech and Debate program offers students the opportunity to participate in all eleven American Forensics Association events, parliamentary and Lincoln-Douglas debate. The team travels regionally and nationally with frequent attendance at the Pi Kappa Delta, National Christian College Forensics Association, National Parliamentary Debate Association, National Forensics Association, and American Forensics Association National Tournaments. In select years, the team has also competed at the International Forensics Association tournament and at the World Debating Championship tournament.

Concordia has sent students to national or international tournaments for much of the past 20 years, with students breaking into elimination rounds at the National Christian College Forensics Association, American Forensics Association and the National Parliamentary Debate Association tournaments during that time. In 1998, the winners of the NPDA national championship were Concordia University students. Concordia has finished in the top five of competition at the National Christian College Forensics Association Tournament for five of the past eight years.

In addition to regular competition, the team sponsors multiple tournaments and workshops for both college and high school competition each year. In the spring, Concordia co-hosts the Sleet and Snow Swing intercollegiate tournament in Seward with Bethel University (MN). For high schools, Concordia hosts the Concordia Home School Debate tournament in the fall and the CUNE High School Speech Classic in the spring. Concordia has also hosted high school workshops for speech and drama in the fall.

Forensics team scholarships

There are two ways to apply for a scholarship:

The first, quicker option would be to complete the online forensics interest form; please mark your interest in applying for a scholarship and answer the related questions. You will then just need to provide a live or recorded audition (see #4 below), which you would submit by mail or email, or in person—contact info below.

The second way to apply would be to follow the steps below:

1. List your speech team/debate team activities.

2. Write a statement of your intention to be involved in the forensics team.

3. Have your speech teacher or coach send a letter of recommendation to the address below.

4. Submit a short video or CD of a speech or another event in which you participate on your speech team. This can be done by a friend running a camera and it does not need to be filmed at an actual meet.

Early consideration will be made for applicants who submit their form/materials prior to December 15 of their final year before entering CUNE. All scholarship applications received before February 15 of the year in which the student intends to enter CUNE will be considered based on availability.

Materials in support of a forensic team scholarship should be sent to:

Bryan Moore, Director of Forensics
Concordia University
800 N. Columbia Ave.
Seward, NE 68434

OR

Emailed to:

Bryan.Moore@cune.edu