College Debate National Championship

Thought March Madness was crazy? Another tournament is about to descend on Spokane, and the stakes are arguably higher. From April 4-7, Gonzaga University hosts the National Debate Tournament, the oldest intercollegiate debate championship in the U.S. that was first held at West Point in 1947. Pairs of debaters from Ivy League schools, private colleges and nationally ranked universities will gather in Spokane for two-hour exchanges about energy policy in one of the last spaces reserved for intense, respectful civic disagreements. Eight preliminary debates will narrow down teams into a “Sweet Sixteen,” who then enter elimination rounds on Monday. “These are nothing like the political debates one might be familiar with from television,” the press release says, “but rather light-speed exchanges of ideas that a casual observer might have trouble even tracking.”

National Debate Tournament • Fri, April 4 through Mon, April 7; times vary • Free • The Centennial Hotel and Gonzaga University • gonzaga.edu