Debate

DID YOU KNOW -- When members of the Washington and Jefferson Literary Societies at the University of Virginia decided in the fall of 1913 to organize a debating league among the secondary schools of the state, they could not have conceived how their small project would develop, expand and grow into what is now the Virginia High School League. By the fall of 1914, 100 schools were enrolled in the Virginia High School Literary League. Its program was expanded during 1914-15 to include a contest in oral reading, and statewide competition in baseball, basketball and track soon followed. Each activity was governed by a set of standard rules developed by the League which was renamed "The Virginia High School Literary and Athletic League."

In 2004, team competiton became a VHSL championship activity with Yorktown High School winning the Group AAA championship title three consecutive years (2006-08). Broad Run High School  has won four Group AA titles, including the first-ever VHSL debate championship in 2004.  In Group A, Madison County has won three titles.

In 2010, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology won its first Group AAA crown, while Blacksburg claimed its second Group AA title and Madison County won the Group A championship for the third time.

732 girls and 706 boys at 123 member schools participated in debate in 2009.

 

In Debate