Be the Light Youth Association | Speech and Debate - Be the Light Youth Association

This Generation is our Future.

Why does my child need speech and debate classes?
According to the Pew Research Center, 90% of adults say that communication is the most important skill in life. We're here to help with that.

Be the Light (BTL) hosts top notch speech and debate classes to give our kids an avenue to express themselves and change the world. Why us?

Our speech and debate classes are taught by instructors who are top in the nation, including two national and state champions. We know what it takes.
Our low student to teacher ratio means that your child will receive individualized attention.
100% of our proceeds go to local organizations that aid disadvantaged or underserved children.

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WE'VE RAISED OVER
$150,000

All of our proceeds go to local, regional, and
statewide organizations that are dedicated to providing
a better future for every child.

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WHAT OUR STUDENTS
HAVE TO SAY

"This is my second time competing at a Be the Light tournament, and I thoroughly enjoyed it as much as the first one. All of the judges are experienced and knowledgeable; I received detailed, articulate ballots that have helped me in my events immensely. The tournament was also well organized (even better than our school tournaments, honestly), and I had a great time competing in it! It gave me the same enthusiasm as the May tournament. :) Be the Light puts so much effort into high quality work they do, and it is one of the best speech and debate organizations in our area - they have tournaments, workshops, and so much more. Anyone who comes into BTL will leave out as a better, more confident speaker or debater."

"I loved the tournament. Personally it was first time doing a competition in general along with my partner so I got to see how real debate tournaments would be and get great feedback to take with me in the future. This was a great experience to learn from and it was fun to debate against different people."

"The feedback I've gotten from the judges are phenomenal, and I have had a lot of fun during this tournament. I actually saw one of my judges nod her head in agreement to what I said, and that helped me a lot in my speech. If Be The Light hosts more speech tournaments like this, I swear I'll join every one of them!"

- VARIOUS COMPETITORS at the 2020 Fall Be the Light Speech and Debate Tournament

"I loved my BTL summer classes! I originally didn’t want to join, but I learned so much!!! I made new friends, and I believe I am a better public speaker now."

"Be The Light's outstanding instructors, well-designed curriculum, and engaging activities have all given me an amazing chance to express myself and learn so many new things. It was truly an extraordinary experience!"

"Everything in the camp was taught well, and the instructors were very nice and genuinely cared about how they were helping and what they are teaching."

"This club is amazing! I learned a lot and I am definitely coming next summer."

I learned so much about debate. I didn’t want to join at first, but now I love these classes! I learned all about writing arguments. And how to attack your opponent! Most importantly I made some new friends! I would rate Be The Light, 10/10! ☺️ Can’t wait to learn more!

- VARIOUS STUDENTS at Be the Light Summer Camp 2020

"Camp has been extremely fun, fruitful, and a great learning experience. It boosted my confidence and I gained knowledge of a lot more speech events, such as impromptu speaking, extemp, and original oratory. The camp actually covers and exercises all the different events we can compete in and gives us a chance to choose which one we prefer. The most helpful part of camp for me was the speaking drills. This was because when I entered camp, I hated speaking for others for one reason - anxiety. If I was lucky I wouldn't shake, but would still rush and eventually mess up my speech. I noticed a huge difference in my confidence level at the end of this camp. Not only could I control my speech, but I was now also giving it with passion and emphasis, something I would never have come close to fulfilling before the camp. The camp taught me so much in just two short weeks and I would definitely come again next year!"

- Anne Chen, STUDENT at Be the Light Youth Summer Camp 2020

"Be the Light's summer camp is awesome! The teachers have lots of experience even though they are teens. It is actually nice that they are closer to the age of the students because it is easier to talk to them and you feel more comfortable. Be the Light has many fun activities which you can have fun with but take feedback and get better in public speaking or debate. I took debate one and I felt that the instructors thoroughly explained the basics and cracked me out of my shell! If you want to go to a summer camp I can a hundred percent say BTL is the best!"

"Be the Light Camp is awesome. I used to be really shy and never wanted to talk to anybody I didn't know but this camp changed that."

"It has boosted my confidence by so much, I used to actually shake when delivering a speech, but I have improved so much and no longer shake and can now put emphasis and dynamics in my speeches! I learned about so many different types of speaking- I didn't ever know that an "Impromptu Speaking" category existed."

"I really love this camp! Before this I was afraid of doing things like this and competing but my amazing teachers and our practicing helped me get out of my shell, I am extremely grateful."

- VARIOUS STUDENTS at Be the Light Summer Camp 2020

"I loved my BTL summer classes! I originally didn’t want to join, but I learned so much!!! I made new friends, and I believe I am a better public speaker know."

"This was a great camp, the instructors were nice and had a lot to share. As they were all teenagers, it was definitely much easier to communicate and talk to them. The camp was well run, and I got a lot of great debate experience. I met lots of new people, and had a great time. Although I've only debated for a few weeks, I feel like I have seen dramatic improvements in my confidence, logic, and speaking ability."

"The camp is very nice and the instructors were so kind and fun. I would definitely recommend this camp!"

"The Be the Light camp was amazing even though it was online, and it was fun giving my speech!"

- VARIOUS STUDENTS at Be the Light Summer Camp 2020

"This camp was like none others I had seen or been to. I got to interact well with teachers and get comfortable being taught as a student and it makes learning debate really fun. Beyond that, we also got a lot of one-on-one and small group time, really working on our technique and learning the importance of blocks... which brings me to my next point. This camp focuses on picking on things we don't have mastered, like frontlining or even using crossfire to your advantage. It differs from other camps because they don't focus on YOUR strengths and weaknesses, but rather general strengths and weaknesses, like enunciation, fluency, case reading, and more. Once you have those down, there's not much you can do but to pray to get lucky for an opponent who doesn't know how to frontline or extend well. I have now filled in these gaps. This camp has benefited me greatly."

"I started PF as a clueless 3rd grader who relied on her partner for virtually anything. After the loss of my partner, I switched over to LD and learned to debate decently in LD. This camp has reminded me of the different options of debate and that PF is a fun, collaborative form of debate, rather than the scary competitions I remember it to be. I learned a whole lot from this camp, from writing a case, to flowing, to tactics in crossfire, that I usually do not get at my other camps, which mainly focus on the speeches and frontlining. I also received a lot of one-on-one or small group attention, which I am very thankful for."

- VARIOUS STUDENTS at Be the Light Summer Camp 2020

"This tournament was a really fun experience! It was well-organized and it gave me a chance to do one last middle school tournament."

"Be the Light has some of the highest-ranking judges in the nation, and I was incredibly grateful to be able to take part in this organization! The experience and atmosphere welcome anyone interested in speech and debate; and you'll gain valuable feedback from it. "

"The BTL tournament gave me an opportunity to practice and rehearse my debate skills and was a great opportunity during the stressful times that we are in. It was a lot of fun and I learned so much and met so many new peers. It was a truly enriching and exciting experience!"

"This free tournament provided such an amazing, realistic experience, and I greatly appreciate Be the Light for giving students this opportunity."

"Such an immersive experience even online!"

- VARIOUS COMPETITORS at the 2020 Summer Be the Light Speech and Debate Tournament