Tennessee Speech and Debate Society

Tennessee Speech and Debate Society TSDS is UTK's Debate Team. We compete in individual and team IPDA debate around the nation. You can find updates about us here!

With nationals season upon us it is time for a throwback!
04/10/2026

With nationals season upon us it is time for a throwback!

Another amazing weekend competing at Tennessee State University! We are so proud of all of our team! GO VOLS!
03/12/2026

Another amazing weekend competing at Tennessee State University! We are so proud of all of our team!

GO VOLS!

Another amazing weekend in the books!We are so proud of all of our competitors who went to Murray State University! GO V...
02/16/2026

Another amazing weekend in the books!

We are so proud of all of our competitors who went to Murray State University!

GO VOLS!

With our next semester quickly approaching we are also looking back to our incredible last semester! These are just a fe...
01/06/2026

With our next semester quickly approaching we are also looking back to our incredible last semester! These are just a few of our favorite memories from it. We cannot wait to get back to school and for our many tournaments to come! As always, GO VOLS!🍊

After a busy semester, we are finally catching up with some tournament results 😬We had another awesome weekend at Clevel...
11/20/2025

After a busy semester, we are finally catching up with some tournament results 😬

We had another awesome weekend at Cleveland State Community College!

We are so proud of everyone who has competed. Stay tunes for more results!

As always, go vols!

We had the most amazing time this past weekend competing in the University of Alabama’s Crimson Classic Tournament!We ar...
10/15/2025

We had the most amazing time this past weekend competing in the University of Alabama’s Crimson Classic Tournament!

We are so proud of all of our members who competed in the tournament and are so excited for our next tournament this weekend at Cleveland State Community College!

As always, GO VOLS!

The Tennessee Speech and Debate Society made it’s annual trip to Middle Tennessee State University to compete in the Nav...
11/05/2024

The Tennessee Speech and Debate Society made it’s annual trip to Middle Tennessee State University to compete in the Naveen Scott Pejaver Memorial Forensics Tournament from October 25 - 27. The team usually assocaties this tournament with its Halloween spirit, fierce competition, and reuniting with friends across the state. This year, the team reflects on what makes the MTSU tournamnet so special each year: a community maintained by people that support eachother during, between, and after each competition round. It is always an honor to attend a tournament hosted by a team that fosters this sense of community outside of their squad. We at TSDS hope to maintain that true MTSU spirit throughout the rest of the season + beyond.

Tournament Results:

* Professional IPDA CHAMPION: CJ Parrish
* 4th Place Professional IPDA Speaker: CJ Parrish
* Varsity IPDA Quarterfinalist: Sienna Reid
* Varsity IPDA Quarterfinalist: Eli Habersetzer
* 3rd Place Varsity IPDA Speaker: Eli Habersetzer
* Junior Varsity IPDA Octofinalist: Maggie West
* 3rd Place Junior Varsity IPDA Speaker: Maggie West
* Team IPDA Quarterfinalist Team: Maggie West & Eli Habersetzer
* Bennett Strange Power Award: The University of Tennessee Debate Team with a 68.18% preliminary round win percentage in IPDA + TIPDA

Results from our participation in The Dr. Frank M. Thompson Jr. Crimson Classic Tournament & UA Alumni Swing Tournament ...
10/23/2024

Results from our participation in The Dr. Frank M. Thompson Jr. Crimson Classic Tournament & UA Alumni Swing Tournament this past weekend, hosted by the University of Alabama!

IPDA Results:

Eli Habersetzer ~
Varsity IPDA Finalist, VARSITY CHAMPION SPEAKER

Our debaters and IE participants faced tight competition in Tuscaloosa this weekend and did a fantastic job!

A few special thank yous also go out to:
Our Coach - Dr. Abbey Barnes
Our Graduate Coaching Staff: CJ and Abby
Our Judges: CJ, Sabrina, Abby, Athena, and Christina

Great work and congratulations, ! 🏆 Next week, we travel to Murfreesboro for the Naveen Scott Pejaver Memorial Forensics Tournament with our friends at MTSU!

Results from our participation in the Southern Forensics League Regional 1 and 2 this past weekend, hosted by Tennessee ...
10/09/2024

Results from our participation in the Southern Forensics League Regional 1 and 2 this past weekend, hosted by Tennessee State University!

SFL 1 (IEs)

Daniella Martin ~
4th Place Impromptu, 5th Place ADS

Maggie West ~
3rd Place Persuasive, 4th Place Impromptu

SFL 2 (IEs + Debate)

Daniella Martin ~
4th Place Impromptu, 5th Place ADS

Carter Norris ~
Novice IPDA Quarterfinalist

Sienna Reid + Maggie West ~
VARSITY IPDA CO CHAMPIONS

Maggie West ~
1ST PLACE SPEAKER

A few special thank yous also go out to:
Our Coach - Dr. Abbey Barnes
Our Graduate Coaching Staff: CJ and Abby
Our Judges: CJ, Sabrina, Abby, Harlan, and Athena

Fantastic job and congratulations, ! 🏆

Introducing your new TSDS executive board! We wanted to take a moment to highlight our next year’s leadership as we pass...
05/08/2024

Introducing your new TSDS executive board! We wanted to take a moment to highlight our next year’s leadership as we pass the torch on. Congratulations to everyone who was nominated and congratulations to our new leadership team!

Communications Director: Emily Stewart
Treasurer: Elijah Jarrell
Secretary: Daniella Martin
Vice President: Maggie West
President: Sienna Reid

Let’s have an amazing next season!

Results from our participation in Middle Tennessee State University’s tournament this past weekend!TIPDA~ Cameron Richar...
10/30/2023

Results from our participation in Middle Tennessee State University’s tournament this past weekend!

TIPDA~
Cameron Richards and Eli Habersetzer: Quarterfinalist
Elijah Jarrell and Owen Thurber: Quarterfinalist
Owen Thurber: 5th place speaker
Eli Habersetzer: 3rd place speaker
-3rd place overall sweepstakes!-

JV awards~
ELI HABERSETZER: 1ST PLACE SPEAKER

Varsity Awards~
Cameron Richards: Quarterfinalist and 5th place speaker

Congratulations to all of our who participated this weekend! Let’s keep it up! 🏆

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Address

Knoxville, TN
37916

Opening Hours

8pm - 10pm

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