The SDP pursues two separate but complementary missions:

1. Competition: to bring honor to the University of Alaska Anchorage through competitive superiority and to represent the highest standards of debating excellence at each event we attend.

2. Service: to provide opportunities for others to participate in critical public discourse and to train others in the skills needed to participate as engaged contributors to the deliberative process.

Competition

Team Practice: We meet twice per week (Tuesdays 5:30-8:30 and Fridays 9:30-12:30 in ADM 266) to work on collective practice and preparation. These sessions usually consist of a short business meeting followed by briefings and practice rounds. We also have an optional team practice on Friday afternoons.

Individual Practice: Members of the traveling team are expected to meet with the coaching staff at least once per week to work on individual goals. These appointments may focus on brief writing, reviewing past practices and performances, skill development, etc.

Tournaments: The traveling team attends 7-10 tournaments per year, including regional, national and international competitions.

Service

Promoting Debating: We sponsor and host a number of events for middle and high schools in Anchorage and around Alaska. Our primary on-campus service project is to host the Cabin Fever Debates intramural debating tournament each Spring semester.

Training & Mentoring: We volunteer our time to judge and administer more than a dozen local middle and high school tournaments. We also host major events, such as the Alaska High School DDF Championships and the Middle School Public Debate Program Championship.

Public Discourse: With a variety of partners we promote debate on topics of interest to the campus and Anchorage community.

Why Seawolf Debate?

The Strada-Gallup Alumni Survey questioned around 100,000 American college graduates of all ages about their college experiences, looking for connections between how they spent their time in college and how fulfilled they say they are now.

The top 3 most fulfilling college experiences:

Establishing a deep connection with a mentor.
Taking on a sustained academic project.
Playing a significant part in a campus organization.

The Seawolf Debate Program offers all this. Active participants join a vibrant intellectual community committed to improving their skills and serving their community guided by professionals with years of experience. How will you benefit?

Benefits of participating

The benefits of being active with seawolf debate are manifold. Some tangible benefits include

- Skill development: You'll develop skills of informed advocacy & critical thinking that will assist you in whatever you want to accomplish in life.
- Travel: When circumstances permit, we attend tournaments around the US and across the world. In past years, we've competed in tournaments in Botswana, Germany, India, Malaysia, England, Greece, Jamaica, Hong Kong and South Africa, just to name a few!
- Financial assistance: Through the Seawolf Debate Program, you can earn tuition waivers (including our Onboarding Scholarship for new debaters), cash scholarships and employment opportunities to help pay for your education.

Intangible Benefits

By joining Seawolf Debate, you become part of a tradition of excellence that dates back decades. Our alumni have gone on to careers in industry, education, government, non-profits, law, and much more. UAA grads with the Seawolf Debate Team are admitted to the best graduate programs in the nation, including Harvard Law, Michigan Law, and the Kennedy School for Public Policy. Seawolf Debate members are awarded nationally-competitive scholarships. In fact, two of the last three Truman Scholar recipients from UAA have been members of the Seawolf Debate Program.

Check below for more notable accomplishments by members of the Seawolf Debate Program.

Seawolf Debate Notable Accomplishments

‘95 NPDA Semifinals - Ryan Warren & Sparrow Mahoney

‘98 NPDA Top Novice - Jenny Burgess

‘99 NPDA Top Novice - Quianna Clay

‘00 NPDA Semifinals - Quianna Clay & Erica Cline

‘02 NPDA Champions - Ben Garcia & Chris Richter

‘05 USUDC Champions - Mike Rose & Tom Lassen

'05 USUDC Finals - Chris Kolerok & Rose Helens-Hart

'06 USUDC 2nd Place - Tom Lassen & Chris Kolerok

‘07 WUDC Semifinals - Tom Lassen & Chris Kolerok

'07 CUSID BP Finals - Mike Rose & Ben Ferguson

‘08 USUDC Semifinals - Ben Ferguson & Severin Randall

'08 USUDC Top Novice - Amie Stanley

'08 USUDC Novice Champs - Amie Stanley & Michelle Hart

'09 USUDC Semifinals - Michaela Hernandez & Colin Haughey

'09 CUSID BP Finals - Michael Imeson & James Kilcup

'09 CUSID BP Top Speaker - Michael Imeson

'09 CUSID BP 2nd Speaker - James Kilcup

‘10 USUDC Semifinals - Colin Haughey & Michaela Hernandez

'10 USUDC Semifinals - Drew Cason & Sarah Carpenter

'10 USUDC Top Speaker - Colin Haughey (UAA swept 1-4th & 6th speakers)

'10 USUDC Top Novice - Brett Frazer

‘11 WUDC Octofinals - Brett Frazer & Amie Parrent

'11 WUDC Octofinals - Amie Stanley & Akis Gialopsos

'11 USUDC Semifinals - Colin Haughey & Drew Cason

'11 USUDC Semifinals - Brett Frazer & Amie Parrent

'11 USUDC Finals - Amie Stanley & Sarah Carpenter

‘12 WUDC Octofinals - Brett Frazer & Colin Haughey

'12 USUDC Semifinals - Brett Frazer & Amie Parrent

‘14 USUDC Top Novice - Jonathon Taylor

‘16 WUDC Double-Octofinalists - Jonathon Taylor & Johanna Richter

‘16 Western State Champions - Sarah Elton & Sam Erickson

‘16 USUDC Semifinalists - Sarah Elton & Sam Erickson

'16 Pan American Semifinalists - Sarah Elton & Sam Erickson

'16 Pan American Semifinalists - Mat Ostrander & Jacob Shercliffe

‘18 Western State Champions - Sam Erickson & Jacob Shercliffe

'23 YODL Finalists - Monica Fast & Geneva Luteria

'23 YODL Novice Finalists - Emma Mullet & Nathan Healy

'23 Pan Pacific Champions - Monica Fast & Geneva Luteria

'23 Pan Pacific Top Speaker - Monica Fast

'23 Pan Pacific Second Speaker - Geneva Luteria

'23 Pan Pacific Semifinalists - Casi Leblanc & Mckayla Montgomery

'25 YODL Semifinalists - Fredric Lacsina & Wayne Barnum