Just Keep Swimming Charity Debate Tournament

Event details

This competition will be a unique experience and will be strictly for charity. We will feature 4 preliminary and 2 out rounds. This will model the TIPDA format but allow debaters that fall into the professional category of IPDA eligibility to participate. Teams do not have to be made up of participants from the same program; in fact, we are encouraging teams to be made up of members from around the country, past and present. 

The JKS Charity tournament will feature unique opportunities that will allow us to raise more money for a worthwhile cause while making the tournament more fun for its participants; details are in the invitation. This event will not be a sanctioned tournament but will count against eligibility requirements.

For questions, contact Bob Alexander, AJ Edwards, or Preston Langley
[email protected]
[email protected]

Fundraise for this event

Fundraisers will be competing to raise the most money for childhood cancer research through The Cure Starts Now. Please note, in order to join a fundraising team you must first create an individual fundraising page.

Start Fundraising

Why We Fight

Our daughter Emilie was 9 years old when she was diagnosed with DIPG.  What began as headaches during flip-turns while swimming laps, turned into a trip to a neurologist, an MRI, and a whirlwind 13-month fight for her life.  Our family became semi-nomadic that year, traveling for treatment at St. Jude in Memphis, UCSF Benioff in San Francisco, and Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.  Unfortunately, as DIPG currently has no cure, Emilie passed away on Halloween night in 2017.  

Regardless that the last year of her life had its struggles, her crazy hats helped ease hospital woes, her sparkly rainbow unicorn-loving sense of style established her independent free spirit, and her ability to fight was reinforced through her competitive love for swimming and family game nights.  Seemingly ordinary situations, like a trip to a grocery store, inspired spontaneous theme songs sometimes accompanied by impromptu dance routines.  Emilie loved creating imaginary scenarios with her brother Alex, which included spy interrogations complete with British accents.  Life was never ordinary with our witty, spunky, Hulk-smashing girl, and we miss her every single day.