BINGHAMTON, NY – Binghamton University’s Speech and Debate Team will host two major national debate tournaments over spring break: the Cross-Examination Debate Association (CEDA) Nationals and the National Debate Tournament (NDT).

The CEDA Nationals will kick off with an opening award ceremony at 8 p.m. Friday, March 25, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in downtown Binghamton. Rounds will take place from approximately 8 a.m.-8 p.m. March 26-28 in the Fine Arts Building, on campus. Elimination rounds will continue on March 29 at the Doubletree, with the final round expected to start around 8 p.m.

The NDT starts with an opening reception at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at the DoubleTree. Rounds will take place from approximately 8 a.m.-8 p.m. April 1-3 in Mountainview Dining Hall, on campus. Elimination rounds will continue on April 4 at the Doubletree, with the final round expected to start around 8 p.m. There will also be an awards banquet at the Doubletree on April 3 starting at 9:30 p.m.

"It’s a real honor to host nationals again," said Joseph Leeson-Schatz, director of debate at Binghamton University. "The support provided by the Provost’s Office, as well as how great of a job we did in 2011, is a large part of the reason why we were able to secure the bid to host this year. However, this time it’s even more exciting, since we get to host both national tournaments. The Binghamton Chamber of Commerce has also been a big help pulling everything together."

Both tournaments currently have over 400 people registered. Teams will fly in from California, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Kansas, Nevada and from countless other places from around the nation to compete. Binghamton University last hosted the nationals in 2011.

"While CEDA Nationals allows everyone to compete, only the top 78 teams in the nation qualify to compete at the NDT," said Binghamton Speech and Debate Team president Jason Smith.

The community is invited to attend debate rounds on campus or at the Doubletree, free of charge. Community members can also live stream debates off the team’s webpage at http://speechdebate.binghamton.edu.

For more information, or to schedule an interview, contact Joe Leeson-Schatz at 607-765-3659 or at debate@binghamton.edu.  For the full tournament invitation, complete list of tournament participants, and full schedule, visit https://www.tabroom.com/index/tourn/index.mhtml?tourn_id=5074 for CEDA Nationals and https://www.tabroom.com/index/tourn/index.mhtml?tourn_id=5148 for the NDT.