Making the Jump from JV to Open

In this video, Taylor talks about jumping from JV to open debate.

Debating in open can be intimidating because the top teams (locally, regionally, and nationally) debate in open. However, some of the debaters you encounter could definitely be at your same level. Taylor gives some tips for how to handle jumping up a division.

First, You should prepare to lose - but don’t feel doomed. Feel prepared (emotionally) to take some serious losses. You should take those losses as a self assessment skill to help yourself improve because it helps inform what you need to know.

Second, You should not forget the things you learned to do in novice and JV because a lot of those skills are particularly useful. Take advantage of your basic argumentative skills because any team can win any debate and you could even get a win!

Third, Do the best that you can in every debate and the more that you do that you’ll grow quicker than those who don’t.

Fourth, It’s really important when you make a division jump that you and your partner have a strong bond (if you’re doing a team debate event) because you may not be on the same page. You want to make sure that you have a really strong base to deal with all of the stresses that moving up a division brings with it.