MIFA offers Public Forum Debate at the Middle Level which runs in conjunction with the High School Debate tournament schedule.

Public forum debate is often compared to a nationally-televised debate, such as 'Crossfire' in which the debaters argue a topic of national importance. Successful public forum debaters must make persuasive and logical arguments in a manner that is accessible to a wide variety of audiences.

Nationally, Public Forum debate changes its topic monthly however in order to provide students with a little more preparation time our schedule is slightly modified. Tournaments in September and October will use the September/October topic. Tournaments in November and December will use the November/December topic. Topics (past and present) can be found on the NSDA website here.

Public Forum Topic     Release Date
September/October    August 15 — 9a CT
November                 October 1 — 9a CT
December                 November 1 — 9a CT
January                    December 1 — 9a CT
February                   January 1 — 9a CT
March                      February 1 — 9aCT
April                        March 1 — 9a CT
National Tournament  May 1 — 9 a.m. CT​
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Key MIFA Dates & Forms
2025-2026 Season 
Oct 25, 2025 Pappas Invitational @ Wayne State
Event Details here. 

Dec 13, 2025 Debate State Finals @ Wayne State
Event Details here. 

May 15-16, 2026 Public Forum w/MSCI @ Grand Hotel, Mackinac
Event Details here. 
Travel Questions? Contact Becca Weissman, Business Manager
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List of Invitational Tournaments
Are you hosting an invitational?  Send details HERE! so the MIFA can put it on the calendar! 
Registration for (most) Invitational Tournaments can be found on:
tabroom.com - OR - speechwire.com

Speech Activities
​Relevant portions of our "rule book", SPEECH ACTIVITIES for all MIFA events can be found under the "Resources" tab.  

Other helpful documents for public forum debate are available here.