Originally wrote this for my students, thought it would be worth publishing.
“Never pull an all-nighter. That’s what your coaches are for.”
— Sebastian
“Don’t overcomplicate debates when simplicity can get the job done.”
—Om
“I’m the goat”
—David
Intro
Everyone wants to win — but very few know how.
Winning a national circuit tournament isn’t just about debate skill. It’s about timing, strategy, and knowing what actually matters at each stage.
This guide brings together advice from people who’ve done it:
Om Modi, Glenbrooks and Digital 2 Champion
Bolang Zhu, Peninsula & Stanford Champion
David Xu, Stanford Champion
Sebastian Cho, coach of Glenbrooks and Valley Champion, and future NDT Champion
What follows is a timeline of what the best debaters actually do — before, during, and after each round — to make deep elimination runs.
Timeline
Pre-tournament
Sebastian:
1—Know the terrain.
Who are the top teams likely to make day 3?
What does the judging pool look like?
Build your macro-level strategy with those factors in mind.
2—New arguments must be practiced.
A new aff isn’t an advantage if it’s also new to you.
3—Finish your schoolwork
before the tournament.
Email your teachers. Get everything off your plate.
Lingering stress shows up in round — even when you think it won’t.
4—Rest the day before.
I don’t believe in doing too much the day before a tournament. Travel is already exhausting, and your mind needs space to reset. Prep never feels finished — there’s always more you could do — but last-minute cramming creates anxiety, not advantage.
Om:
1—Do speaking drills every day.
It doesn’t have to be long — but it has to happen.
Drills raise speaks. Speaks win tournaments.
2—Sleep is everything.
Nothing else matters if you’re tired.
Sleep affects clarity, speed, and recall.
Bolang:
Prep with your team.
Prelims
Om:
1—Debate is a marathon
Preserve Cognitive Load.
Don’t overcomplicate debates when simplicity can get the job done.
2—Focus on speaks
It determines seeding and byes.
3—Get in the zone
Have a ritual that helps you mentally register: you’re at a tournament, and you’re here to win.
For some, it’s talking through strategy with a coach or catching up with teammates. For others, it might be reviewing notes or running a pre-round drill.
For me, it’s listening to music — something that flips the switch.
Whatever it is, find the thing that activates you.
Sebastian:
1—Effective Post-Round
Always ask for feedback — even when you win. You need a clear picture of how the judge actually interpreted the round, because their perception will never align 100% with your internal narrative.
Ask what arguments they think your strategy is vulnerable to — it helps you avoid those pitfalls in the future.
Pay attention to how they respond to your packaging and delivery.
Build relationships with judges who are likely to see you again — in elims or at future tournaments.
2—Find Sleepers
Test arguments in front of hesitant judges.
For example: maybe you put skepticism in the 1NC but don’t extend it. Ask in the post-round: Could we get you on this next time?
3—Train Judges
If your opponent is less experienced, the round can become a teaching opportunity — not just for them, but for the judge.
Use the slower pace to introduce new strategies: a dense phil position, a nuanced K, a new framework. Take the time to explain.
When that judge sees you again — in elims or elsewhere — they’ll be more familiar with your style and argumentation.
4—Disclosure
Disclose while waiting for the RFD.
Then use that time to scout other teams.
It keeps you focused — and makes the wait less agonizing.
5—Sleep Outweighs
Let me be clear: sleep outweighs everything.
If you have an elim the next morning, do what you need to do — check the pairing, figure out what they read — and then go to sleep.
Never pull an all-nighter. That’s what your coaches are for.
Elims Day
So you made it to elim day.
Now the real tournament begins.
Every decision from here on out could end your run — or make your career.
Bolang: The first elimination on this day is most stressful.
Om: Adaptation is everything.
Think about the panel – one judge going the wrong way is the difference between a deep elim run and an early exit.
Don’t pigeonhole yourself into one argument. Adapt to the panel. Decisions should be informed first, and foremost, by judge preference.
David: Lets talk prefs.
Preffing is one of the most important parts of strategy that most people tend to neglect.
Pref for elims. Prelims don’t matter. Force yourself to get flexible enough that you can break regardless of what kind of prelim pairings you get.
Here’s how to think about elimination pref strategy:
Step 1: Identify likely elim judges.
Octas and quarters are full of usual suspects. Track which judges are commonly assigned to these rounds.
Also consider hire judges — they can be used in any elimination round, not just finals.
Step 2: Pref around elims, not just prelims.
Even if a hire or elim judge is ranked low, tab has to find three judges for every elim round. If a certain judge is a bad fit and likely to show up in elims, strike them, even over a parent or random lay judge — because those judges probably won’t be in the elim pool.
Step 3: Manage your 1s and 2s carefully.
Your 1s and 2s should be judges who will dip out early — people likely to get used in earlier debates and then be unavailable for elims.
This forces tabroom to dip into your 3s later in the bracket — where you’ve planted judges favorable to you.
Never go over the minimums. If there are 50 required 1s, submit exactly 50.
Step 4: Tilt the pairing math in your favor.
Let’s say your best strategy is going for skepticism against policy debaters. Identify judges who are gettable on skep — even if they’re not “perfect” — and rank them as 3s.
Meanwhile, your opponent might rate those same judges as 4s or 5s.
When pairings happen, tabroom tries to balance things out. If one judge is a clear 1 for your opponent and a 3 for you, tab may compensate by pulling a 3 you like (and your opponent hates) to balance the panel.
By burning out your 1s and 2s and manipulating the middle tier, you shape the panel to favor your strategy.
One exception:
If there’s a judge who both you and your likely opponent rate as a 1 — but you think you can win them — keep them high. Mutually acceptable 1s are valuable.
I’m the goat.
Sebastian:
1—Mindset
Every debate, you are 0-0
Don’t dwell on the last debate.
Don’t dwell on the next debate.
Focus on the debate you are in right now. Maintaining composure will give you significant advantage.
2—Counteract Coaching
As the tournament progresses, more coaches get freed from judging and shift into prep mode. By day 3, it’s often you versus your opponent and their entire coaching staff.
You need to plan accordingly.
Two key rules:
- Have two new affirmatives and two neg positions ready to break.
One for your first morning elim, and one held for finals. - The first morning elim neutralizes the opponent’s coaches overnight prep.
Finals neutralizes the prep that their coaching staff did during semis.
Coordinate with your teammates!
A new aff loses its strategic edge if someone else broke it in prelims — or if the other team prepped it out the night before. Have a plan for which affs get broken at what point in the tournament.
Conclusion
Most teams lose tournaments before the first round even starts — by failing to prepare, scout, rest, or align with their judges.
Winning isn’t magic. It’s the result of clear systems, early planning, and in-round awareness that most teams overlook.
It’s also not easy. It takes hours of prep, long travel days, early mornings, and late nights.
But that’s exactly why it matters.
The difficulty is part of the reward.
You don’t need to do everything perfectly.
You just need to be sharper — more prepared, more rested, more focused — than the team across from you.
So build your checklist.
Stick to your rituals. Trust your prep.
And when elim day comes, treat every debate like you’re 0–0 — because that’s how champions think.
Here is a checklist that you can download and fill out as you prepare for your next tournament.
Prep time for Loyola starts now. We’re prepping. What are you gonna do with your time?