Judge a Citywide Debate Tournament for Middle School Students

Debate builds confidence, academic skills, intellectual curiosity and creativity. You can make sure that young people in Boston have the opportunity to debate, support their growth, and affirm the idea that young people have important ideas to contribute to society by serving as a Volunteer Judge. Volunteer Judges listen to debate rounds in English or Spanish, determine a winner, and offer valuable feedback that contributes to debaters' engagement and growth in debate. 

 Please read: Everyone is welcome to serve: no debate experience is necessary to be a great judge. Volunteers receive an in-depth training on their role, which they can complete in-person 30 minutes before their shift, live over Zoom on the Tuesday before their shift, or at their own pace through Google Classroom linked here. (*Please note you will need a gmail account to access this training.*) To take the training live, volunteers should sign up through Boston Cares' calendar. Sign-ups for live trainings can be found HERE! 

Volunteers should also plan to complete a Volunteer Information Form (to help the BDL place you within the tournament) and an eCORI form. Both are required.

All debates will be held in-person. You will receive the location name and address of the location via e-mail upon signing up for the project. 

*Events scheduled as in-person may be held virtually following guidance from the CDC and Boston Public Schools. If the location of the event transitions to virtual, the BDL volunteer manager will contact you several days in advance of the debate tournament.

To view dates for the High School Debate Tournaments, please visit here.  

*Please also note: 

• The BDL Volunteer Manager will email you with more specific tournament details the week of the tournament.
• You may get an email from Golden Volunteers. This is BDL's volunteer sign-up platform. No need to take any action as long as you are signing up to volunteer through the Boston Cares website.**

 
Debate isn't possible without volunteers. Please join us!

About Boston Debate League 
The Boston Debate League (BDL) is a non-profit organization that works to integrate argumentation and competitive debate into public schools in the Greater Boston Area to develop critical thinkers ready for college, career, and the world around them. Their vision is that young people in Boston are engaged in critical discourse, informed by evidence, and empowered to lead. 
 
As part of that work, their After-School Debate League runs twelve tournaments per year for over 800 BPS students from 40 middle and high schools. Nearly 600 volunteers from all walks of life and from all neighborhoods in Boston and beyond make this possible.

At Boston Cares, we recognize that diversity, equity, and inclusion are fundamental values that guide our mission and work. Boston Cares is committed to creating a community where everyone is valued, respected, and can come and participate as their authentic selves. We expect that all volunteers and partners join us in promoting a safe and supportive space for everyone.