Posts Tagged ‘boston debate league’

It wasn’t the Boston Debate League, but a team from our sister league in Chicago recently won the National Forensics League Grand Tournament in Kansas City, making them the first Urban Debate League team ever to win a national championship (there are several- the NFL’s are the largest, though arguably not the most prestigious). The Chicago Debate League was one of the first UDL’s in the country and is considerably older and larger than the BDL. The winning team hails from Whitney Young High School, which actually had a debate team even before the CDL got off the ground.

Not that I can take any credit for this victory, but I worked with the CDL for several years while I was in college. In fact, it was a formative experience that led to my starting up the BDL when I moved to Boston. Even absent that personal history, I’d have to say that this is a very impressive accomplishment that hopefully will pave the way for more UDL success on the traditional debate circuit in the future.  Read the complete post...

Sorry it’s been quiet for the last few days, Emily and I have been camping in the White Mountains with very limited internet access and no poker playing. I’m about to start a session now though so hopefully I’ll have some good fodder for some more posts.

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who donated to the Boston Debate League. I promise I’m not about to turn this into a “pledge drive” blog, but it was a unique opportunity, and I appreciate your patience and your generosity.

At least one commenter mentioned frustration with the donation site’s request for personal information. That was the site we had to use for the “March for Goodness” competition, but you are always welcome to make donations by PayPay, credit card, or check through the Boston Debate League website. It will no longer count towards the contest, but it will still go towards a very good cause and make me very happy!

Today’s the last day of March and the last chance for you to help out the Boston Debate League in its March for Goodness competition. This is an organization that’s near and dear to my heart, and if you’ve enjoyed and/or profited from this blog, a $10 donation is a great way to say thank you. If we secure the most distinct donors of $10 or more, we stand to win $10,000!

Please donate here, right now!

I’ve got another story for you today about the power of debate, this one actually from a similar organization that I worked with in Chicago before I founded the Boston Debate League. I was a junior at the University of Chicago: white, reasonably well-off, over-educated, and sheltered. I grew up in a solidly white, middle-class suburb of Baltimore and, aside from a few summers working at a 7-11 and a year of volunteering in the Chicago Debate League, I had very little experience interacting with people from backgrounds different than my own.  Read the complete post...

Big thank you to everyone who’s contributed to the Boston Debate League so far to help us get more unique donors for our “March Goodness” competition (details here). If you enjoy reading this blog, and especially if you feel like it has helped to make you money, please donate to the Boston Debate League using this link. With as little as $10, you will make my day and contribute to an incredibly valuable program for young people who badly need and deserve such opportunities.

I want to share with you the story of one of the first BDL students to really make an impression on me. “Angela’s” school didn’t join the League until her senior year, so she only had one year to compete, but she really tore it up. She steamrolled the Novice division in her first tournament, won first prize, and immediately moved up into the Varsity division. She won two tournaments in the Varsity division that year and ended up taking second place in the City Championships.  Read the complete post...

A lot of commenters tell me that while the weird bluffs and thin value bets I post here are fun to read, they don’t feel they can apply them in the games they play. Well, today I’ve got a great investment that’s available to everyone! As little as $10 has the potential to return $10,000 and a world of opportunity for some very deserving young people.

The Boston Debate League, a non-profit organization that has been near and dear to me for some time, has entered a “March Goodness” competition. We are competing against 64 other non-profits in hopes of ultimately winning $10,000. To make it to the final four, we must generate more “unique donations” than the 16 other non-profits in our group.

I’d really appreciate your help with this. The goal isn’t necessarily to raise the most money, but to have the most individuals donate. You can donate as little as ten dollars, but of course we won’t complain if you would like to donate more.  Read the complete post...

The Boston Marathon is the most prestigious and oldest continuously-run marathon in the entire world. Many people dream of running it, but participation is extremely limited and exclusive. The only way to get a spot is either to qualify with a world-class time in a different marathon or to earn a waiver by raising money for select local charities.

I’m proud to announce that the Boston Debate League, a non-profit organization that I founded 5 years ago and on whose Board I now serve, has been selected as one of these charities. If any of you, or anyone you know, is interested in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to run the Boston Marathon and support a valuable cause, please e-mail me (andrew@thinkingpoker.net) for more information. Running for our team will get you weekly training and advice from a professional coach and the opportunity to share this experience with other motivated individuals like yourself. And the best part is, you don’t have to be an experienced distance runner already- that’s what the training is for!  Read the complete post...

Maryland-based freelance reporter Bill Ordine recently penned an article for the LA Times entitled “Poker Professionals Ante Up for Charity“. While it’s primarily about high-profile projects like Ante Up for Africa and Bad Beat on Cancer, he uses yours truly as an example of smaller scale philanthropy enabled by poker:

“But the 26-year-old Brokos’ real passion isn’t poker. It’s coaching inner-city schoolkids in the art of debate. When he couldn’t get a paying job in education pursuing his interest in forensics, he used his poker winnings to support himself while he started the Boston Debate League, which has grown from three schools in 2005 to eight. Impressed with Brokos’ bootstrap work, the city school system provided funding for a full-time executive director to run the league, but Brokos continues to donate his time several days a week — with poker remaining as his means of support.”  Read the complete post...

The Boston Debate League’s Fifth Annual City Championships took place over the weekend, and it was a great event. Nearly sixty students competed, which is actually a little low compared to the numbers we’ve had recently, but their enthusiasm more than made up for it. In the Varsity division, the reigning City Champions narrowly defended their title against a very promising upstart team. Meanwhile, a young school found a much-needed morale boost by closing out the JV division (that is to say, they won first and second place).

The BDL also got its first mention, and a fairly substantial one at that, in the Boston Globe, the city’s most prominent daily paper. The reporter did a nice job speaking with a variety of students, coaches, and administrators, and ultimately presented two of our most important themes: that debate is a rigorous academic activity that students nonetheless enjoy, and that it attracts all types of students, not only those who are already high achievers.  Read the complete post...