UPENN 2023
Our top debaters will be competing at the University of Pennsylvania on February 10-12! With your support, we’ll be able to provide students and families with:
The basics (hotel, bus, meals and registration fees): These can quickly add up for a student competing at an overnight tournament and we will never let these costs get in the way of kids competing.
Tablets: At national-level tournaments like UPenn, almost of the competitors use tablets to organize their cases, research and rebuttal blocks and we’ll make sure to provide them for BDL students who don’t have them.
Professional attire: It’s customary for students to wear professional attire at national-level tournaments, and we’ll make sure all of our kids are dressed for success!
“I am excited to go to UPenn because of two reasons. My first is that it will be a new experience debate-wise which would allow me to further improve my debating skills. Second, it is a chance to meet new people and thus I can also work on my networking skills just in time for college.”
- Marc, 12th grader
“I’m excited to compete at UPenn because it’s a way for me to challenge myself as a black debater. It can be intimidating to walk into debate spaces where you don't see anyone who looks like you. However, competing at UPenn demonstrates that black female debaters like myself are capable of succeeding despite the obstacles placed in our path.
- Yazmin, 12th grader
“I’m excited to go to UPenn because it was all I could think about when I started debate. Also who doesn’t want to spend the weekend with friends!”
- Jade, 10th grader