Announcements & News:

2025 Virtual Summer Debate Camp Registration Is Open!
$399 ==> $349 (Early Discount Until 5/31 - No Code Needed)

AMERICAN DEBATE LEAGUE IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY

The American Debate League was founded in 2014 as the nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization to provide young people of all backgrounds the opportunity to develop debating, speaking and literacy skills through debate training and competitions that will ultimately improve self-esteem, academic achievement, graduation success rates, and access to higher education.

American Debate League will:

Provide opportunities for students to participate in competitive debate competitions bi-monthly or quarterly throughout the year.
Provide Summer Debate Camps for elementary to high school students.
Provide Regional Debate Centers to provide debate and public speaking education to those students who do not have access to a debate program in their schools.

LEARN MORE!

FORMER & PRESENT
DEBATE TOURNAMENT SPONSORS, PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS

Elected Officials Who Have Sponsored or Supported The American Debate League:
"Thank you for being our Partners and Supporters!"

American Debate League Summer Debate Camp Hosted in Partnership with Queens College
Left: NYS Assembly members: David Weprin, Clyde Vanel, Queens College Provost: Elizabeth Hendrey; Assistant Vice President of QC: Jeff Rosenstock

In Queens:

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz (Former)
N.Y.C. Council member Barry Grodenchik
N.Y.C. Council member I. Daneek Miller
N.Y.C. Council member Paul Vallone
N.Y.C. Council member Robert Holden
NYS Assembly member Alicia Hyndman
NYS Assembly member Andrew Hevesi
NYS Assembly member Brian Barnwell
NYS Assembly member Clyde Vanel
N.Y.S. Assembly member David Weprin
NYS Assembly member Michael DenDekker
NYS Assembly member Michael Miller
N.Y.S. Assembly member Nily Rozic
N.Y.S. Assembly member Ron Kim
NYS Senator Leroy Comrie
NYS Senator James Sanders, Jr.
NYS Senator John Liu
NYS Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr.
U.S. Congresswoman Grace Meng

In Brooklyn:

N.Y.C. Council member Alan Maisel
N.Y.C. Council member David GreenField (Former)
N.Y.C. Council member Kalman Yeger
N.Y.C. Council member Robert Cornegy, Jr.
N.Y.S. Assembly member William Colton
NYS Senator Kevin Parker
NYS Senator Roxanne Persaud

In The Bronx:

N.Y.S. Senator Gustavo Rivera
U.S Congressman Jose Serrano

In Nassau County:

N.Y.S. Assembly member Taylor Darling
N.Y.S. Senator Anna Kaplan
N.Y.S. Senator Kevin Thomas
U.S. Congresswoman Kathleen Rice

In New Jersey:

New Jersey Assembly Members Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey
New Jersey Senator Vin Gopal

Partner Colleges:

Adelphi University (Long Island)
Queens College (Queens)
Kings College (Manhattan)
Hofstra University (Long Island)
St. John's University (Queens)
Lehman College (Bronx)
Bronx Community College (Bronx)
Westchester Community College (Bronx)

Community & School Organization Partners (Past & Present):

Community School District 17 My Brother's Keeper (MBK)
Community School District 29Q Annual History Fair
Jack & Jill of American Queens Chapter
Jack & Jill of American Nassau County Chapter
St. John's University N.A.A.C.P.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

"HELPING STUDENTS BECOME BETTER THINKERS, SPEAKERS, & LEADERS"

Competitive debate is the most effective school enrichment activity for disadvantaged urban youth to bridge the achievement gap and break the cycle of poverty and crime that plagues minority populations in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut’s urban core. Beyond statistics, which show that debate increases at-risk youth’s chances of graduation by 30% and odds of succeeding in college by at least that much if not more, debate boosts the National Education Association’s “4 C’s” (critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity) to go beyond subject matter and prepare students to be effective citizens in the 21st century. New York City’s public school system is the largest in the US, with 1.1 million students. It is also one of the most segregated systems in the country, only behind Chicago and Dallas. And the schools that minorities and low-income students attend are the worst performing, with graduation rates hovering around 50% and college success rates for those that do graduate and qualify for post-secondary education below 20%.

Nowhere is an equalizer like competitive debate more needed, but there is a great gap in nonprofit programming for disadvantaged youth. In an effort to bridge that gap, American Debate League (ADL) was formed. The American Debate League was founded in 2014 as the nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization to provide young people of all backgrounds the opportunity to develop debating, speaking and literacy skills through debate training and competitions that will ultimately improve self-esteem, academic achievement, graduation success rates, and access to higher education. The American Debate League also sponsors speech and debate tournaments in NY, NJ and CT throughout the school year and summer.