Resources
Free beginner-friendly and advanced resources to help students, judges, and teams learn parliamentary debate.
Intro to Parli Video (NYPDL)
Watch an easy-to-follow introduction to the structure and basics of high-school parliamentary debate.
Speaker Roles & Speech Starters (CDA)
Learn what each speaker should accomplish and see useful ways to organize and begin each speech.
Understanding Parliamentary Debate (CDA)
A simple introduction to how Connecticut-style parliamentary debate works.
Parli for Novices
(NYPDL)
A beginner-friendly introduction to parliamentary debate, including tournament basics, speech roles, prep, POIs, and rebuttals.
Beginner / Novice
Start here with essential guides and materials for new debaters.
Comparative Analysis
(NYPDL)
Varsity / Advanced
Level up with strategy guides and advanced debate skills.
A guide to writing and delivering strong principled (value-based) arguments.
Learn how to compare impacts, weigh tradeoffs, and make strong analytical arguments.
Looking for more advanced materials?
Sports Motions (NYPDL)
Background knowledge and common arguments for sports-related motions.
Motions & Topic Practice
Find past motions and topic-specific resources to help you practice and prepare.
NYPDL Motions Archive (NYPDL)
Hundreds of past and practice motions for team practice, mock rounds, and tournament preparation.
Judging & Team Tools
Everything teams and tournament staff need to run smooth debate events.
Judge Training (CDA)
Watch a guide to judging parliamentary debate, written for new and experienced judges.
Online Judge Training (CDA)
Training session for judges with tips, sample rounds, and Q&A.
How to Create a Tabroom Account (Tabroom)
A step-by-step guide to creating a Tabroom account for tournaments.
How to Register for a Tournament (Tabroom)
Learn how to register your team for a CTPDL tournament on Tabroom.
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