Atlanta Urban Debate League

Name

Atlanta Urban Debate League

Legal name

Atlanta Urban Debate League

Website

https://atlantadebate.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Atlanta Urban Debate League is a nonprofit educational organization, founded in 1985 and based in Atlanta, Georgia, that delivers debate education programs, structured curricula, and competitive tournaments to elementary, middle, and high school students across the Atlanta metropolitan area through member schools, coaches, and volunteer judges.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Debate Education Services

NAICS

All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Debate Tournament & League Organizers (EDAMAOAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Debate (Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, Parliamentary, Public Forum) (EDAMAGAA), In-School Debate Teams & Speech Programs (EDAMAOAA), After-School Public Speaking & Debate Clubs (EDAMAOAB)

Keywords

• Debate education programs
• Youth debate leagues
• Competitive policy debate
• Speech and debate tournaments
• School debate curriculum

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a nonprofit organization, the AUDL primarily relies on donations from individuals and organizations, as well as grants from foundations to fund debate education programs and operations.
2. Membership Fees: Schools pay membership fees to join the league and participate in debate tournaments and programs.
3. Tournament Fees: Schools can purchase pizza at tournaments for $10.00 per pizza as a supplementary revenue stream.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Atlanta Urban Debate League (AUDL) is an educational nonprofit that delivers structured debate education programs, tournaments, and curriculum resources to member schools across the Atlanta metropolitan area. Its offering spans elementary through high school and includes evidence packets, coach and student curriculum guides, the Digital Debate Center for virtual coaching, the Argumentative Speech Bowl competition, and site-visit coaching support. Revenue is generated through school memberships, donations, and grants, supplemented by minor in-tournament concessions.

Product overview

Atlanta Urban Debate League offers a comprehensive debate education ecosystem with a multi-tiered product portfolio. The core offering consists of debate education programs and tournament services spanning elementary through high school, supported by evidence/resource packets and structured coach and student curricula. Add-on modules include the Digital Debate Center (virtual coaching via Zoom), the Argumentative Speech Bowl competition, a Judgers' Lounge with volunteer judge resources, in-person Site Visits, the Adam Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship, and Tournament Pizza Sales. All tournament registration is managed through SpeechWire integration, while curriculum and resource distribution leverages Google Drive, Dropbox, and Canva platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Debate Education Programs
• Tournament Services
• Coach Curriculum
• Student Curriculum Guides
• Evidence and Resource Packets Comprehensive debate evidence packets containing pre-prepared arguments, evidence cards, and instructional workbooks organized by speech and topic for tournament competition.
• Digital Debate Center Weekly virtual coaching and support forum hosted via Zoom, staffed by AUDL professional staff and student interns, providing tournament performance review, argument brainstorming, and research assistance for member schools.
• Argumentative Speech Bowl Speech competition program where students prepare and deliver speeches on topics of public interest, advancing through multiple rounds reviewed by the AUDL community.
• Site Visits In-person coaching support where AUDL staff or interns visit schools to provide feedback, review curriculum packets, and teach specific debate skills, bookable through Acuity Scheduling.
• Adam Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship Annual $5,000 scholarship for high school students (grades 9-12) honoring Adam Goldfarb's legacy, administered in partnership with Emory University's Barkley Forum and Center for Civic and Community Engagement, celebrating debate skills, intellectual curiosity, and civic engagement.
• Tournament Pizza Sales Food service offering whole large cheese or pepperoni pizzas at $10.00 each for schools competing at AUDL tournaments, ordered through SpeechWire.

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Emory University - Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, and DialoguecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Barkley Forum at Emory University administers the Adam Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship in partnership with the Center for Civic and Community Engagement. This scholarship awards $5,000 annually to high school students who demonstrate passion for debate, intellectual curiosity, and commitment to civic engagement.
• Emory University - Center for Civic and Community EngagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-administers the Adam Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship with the Barkley Forum, providing scholarship funding and oversight for the annual award to deserving high school debaters.
• GivePulsesupportingTechnology or IntegrationGivePulse platform is used for volunteer judge sign-ups at tournaments. The AUDL uses GivePulse to manage volunteer registrations and event coordination.
• SpeechWirecoreTechnology or IntegrationSpeechWire is the tournament management software used for debate tournament registration, scheduling, and results tracking across AUDL competitions.
• Georgia Forensic Coaches Association (GFCA)supportingOthersRegional debate organization whose tournament formats and speech times are commonly used as reference standards for AUDL HS Open division tournaments.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Dallas Urban Debate Alliance: A regional urban debate league serving Dallas-area schools with tournament and curriculum programming — a comparable Southern-metro league peer to AUDL.
• Houston Urban Debate League: A nonprofit urban debate league serving Houston-area schools with policy debate programming and tournaments; directly analogous in structure and mission to AUDL.
• Boston Debate League: A nonprofit urban debate league serving Boston-area schools with structured policy debate programming, coach training, and tournaments — directly parallel to AUDL's Atlanta-based model.
• New York Urban Debate League (NYUDL): NYUDL organizes competitive debate programming and tournaments for NYC public school students, mirroring AUDL's school-based league model, curriculum approach, and tournament infrastructure.
• Chicago Debate League: One of the largest and most established urban debate leagues in the U.S., serving Chicago public schools with structured debate curricula, tournaments, and coach support — directly comparable in mission, model, and school-based delivery to AUDL.
• Los Angeles Debate Foundation / LA Urban Debate League: Provides debate programming, tournaments, and coach support for Los Angeles-area schools; a direct urban-debate-league peer to AUDL operating in a similarly large, diverse metropolitan market.

Others

• National Forensic League (legacy) / NSDA District Chapters: Local NSDA-affiliated district and chapter organizations that run speech and debate tournaments in the same Atlanta and Georgia regions as AUDL — adjacent ecosystem peers competing for the same school and student participation.

Broad incumbents

• National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA): The national honor society and governing body for middle and high school speech and debate, operating tournaments, curricula, and rankings nationwide. It is a broader incumbent whose member schools and tournaments overlap substantially with AUDL's customer base.
• National Association for Urban Debate Leagues (NAUDL): NAUDL is the umbrella organization that supports and incubates urban debate leagues across the U.S., including AUDL. It is directly comparable as the parent/coordination body governing similar K-12 urban debate programming nationally.

Regional players

• Emory University Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, and Dialogue: Hosts high-profile collegiate and high school debate tournaments and co-administers AUDL's Adam Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship. Comparable as a regional debate-hosting and curriculum entity serving the same Atlanta-area debater community.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/atlantadebate
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/atlantadebate
• Facebookfacebook.com/atlantadebate
• Instagraminstagram.com/atlantadebate
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/atlanta-urban-debate-league

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Atlanta Urban Debate League