Honoring the Memory of our Founder and Board Chair, Jim L. Flegle

December 3, 1951 - November 21, 2022

Dr. J.W. Patterson founded the "Tournament of Champions" in 1972 with the intention of bringing together the best debaters in the country to create an event that would serve as the pinnacle of the high school debate season.

The first year of the Tournament 64 teams, 128 students in total, traveled to Lexington, Kentucky from all over the country to compete in Policy Debate.

Over the years, the Tournament has expanded to include competition in three more debate divisions: Lincoln-Douglas Debate (added in 1986), Congressional Debate (added in 2002), and Public Forum Debate (added in 2004).

 

In addition, the Tournament now hosts seven individual speech events which include, Extemporaneous Speaking, Original Oratory, Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Program Oral Interpretation, and Informative Speaking.

In the spring of 2020, the "Tournament of Champions" once again pioneered a new path in the world of speech and debate as the host of the first virtual national competition at a either high school or college level.