ASAP Home
EVENTS
  • Mon, Jan 16th
    MLK Day
    Girard College

  • Thu, Jan 26th
    Scrabble Winter Classic
    School District

  • Sat & Sun, Feb 4th-5th
    Chess Marathon
    Temple


ASAP's Mission
ASAP’s mission is to keep Philadelphia’s youth safe and active by facilitating supervised enrichment activities in the dangerous after school hours.

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MLK Day of Service
Monday, January 16th, 8am - 1pm
Girard College, 2101 South College Avenue

ASAP will man tables at the MLK Day hub at Girard College. At the Expo ASAP will provide information on our work to parents, caregivers and volunteers. Scrabble and Chess boards will be set up in the kids carnival. Additionally, ASAP will provide Scrabble and Chess trainings for new club leaders. For more information on MLK Day and ASAP's involvement, check out the website or contact Marshall Bright at 215-545-2727 x 12.


Scrabble Winter Classic
Thursday, January 26th, 2:00-4:00
The School District of Philadelphia, 440 N. Broad, Atrium

On January 26th ASAP will host the Scrabble Winter Classic, an annual Scrabble competition at which students in Scrabble clubs from throughout Philadelphia compete in the School District Atrium. For more information contact Marshall Bright at 215-545-2727 x 12.

PECO-ASAP Checkmate Violence Chess Marathon/ Tournament
Saturday and Sunday, February 4th-5th
Temple University Gittis Student Center Room 200,
1755 N. 13th St. Phila., 19122
Saturday 8:30am-8pm and Sunday 8:30am-5pm.

Our popular Checkmate Violence Chess Marathon, sponsored by PECO, returns for a fifth year! This year the Marathon, a two-day chess tournament, kicks off Saturday morning, February 4th with non-rated and rated tournament sections, and will continue on Sunday February 5th with the conclusion of the rated tournament. Our annual coaches’ classic tournament will also take place during the weekend. There will not be an overnight component to this year’s Marathon. For more information please contact Ben Cooper at at 215-545-2727 x 17 or bcooper@phillyasap.org .

"Spring into Scrabble"
Wednesday, June 8th; 2:30pm-5:00pm
The Franklin Institute

Spring into Scrabble is the culminating event of ASAP's Philly Plays Scrabble program. Students in ASAP Scrabble clubs are invited to participate in an afternoon of friendly Scrabble competition and to tour the Franklin Institute. For more information or to RSVP please contact Emily Goss at egoss@phillyasap.org or at 215-545-2727 x 10.

Community Yoga Night
Thursday, May 5th; 3:00pm-5:00pm
John Wister School
67 E. Bringhurst St. Philadelphia, Pa 19144

For more information contact Rachel Utain-Evans or click here for the event flyer.

Event 6
Thursday, April 23, 2009
To view our flyer, click here Lincoln Financial Field

To view our flyer, click here. Chess Activity Leader Training

The Eagles Youth Partnerships sponsors its annual all-day chess tournament for more than 200 of Philadelphia’s most competitive school-age students from ASAP’s Philadelphia Youth Chess Challenge, with a special awards ceremony in the Eagles locker room. Chess Challenge students also will have an opportunity to flex their chess muscles in scrimmage games against several Philadelphia Eagles players. In addition, this year’s tournament will feature a chess simul with local chess expert Chris Miller playing 15 students at one time.
To view our flyer, click here

  • 4/9 PGPC TOURNAMENT
    REGISTRATION
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    Chess Funders
    Eagles Youth Partnership
    Department of Health
    Dolfinger-McMahon
    Greenfield/Rosenberg
    Phil Lindy
    Mellon Charitable Trusts
    Morgan Stanley
    Neighborhoods Now
    PECO
    Phillies
    Target
    Henrietta Tower-Wurts
    Townsend Foundation
    Volpe-Koenig
    Wachovia
    Scrabble Funders
    Comcast
    Hasbro
    The National SCRABBLE® Association
    Parkway Foundation
    PNC Bank
    Verizon
    Debate Funders
    Fourjay Foundation
    Lance Funston, Save a Mind Foundation
    Dance / Yoga Funders
    Dance:
    Annenberg Foundation
    Phoebe Haas Charitable Trust
    The Food Trust
    Yoga:
    Patricia Kind Foundation
    Penrose
    People for People Charter
    SLA students discuss their position during a round.
    ASAP's Philadelphia Scholastic Debate League

    2011 Philadelphia Scholastic Debate League Results

    Championship Teams
    1. George Washington A team, Raisa Masud and Sam Shanazarov
    2. Masterman A team, Melanie Millwood and Maia Reumann-Moore
    3. Constitution A team, Deion Jordan and Kayla McCoy

    Individual Speaker Champions
    1. Desislava Gergishanova, George Washington
    2. Raisa Masud, George Washington
    3. Maia Reumann-Moore, Masterman
    4. Jeff Kessler, Science Leadership Academy

    School Sweepstakes
    1. Masterman
    2. Central
    3. George Washington

    Check out pictures of the finals round on ASAP's facebook page.

    Finals, 12/14/11:
    Team Standings
    Individual Debater Standings
    School-Sweepstakes Standings

    2011 League Schedule
    This year, the Philadelphia Scholastic League will host exciting new events including middle school tournaments and spring debate rounds.
    To view the 2011 League Calendar click here. Please note that ASAP has changed the date of the new coach training to Thursday, September 22nd.

    ASAP now offers Middle School Debate!
    ASAP now operates a middle school debate league. Teams will have the opportunity to compete in at least two tournaments per semester and ASAP will provide coach training, transportation, debate materials and a volunteer assistant coach (depending on availability). Interested middle school teachers or administrators should contact Meg Hess-Homeier at 215-545-2727 x 10.

    Public Forum, October 2010 Resolution:
    "Resolved: NATO presence improves the lives of Afghan citizens."

    Public Forum, November 2010 Resolution:
    "Resolved: High school Public Forum Debate resolutions should not confront sensitive religious issues."

    Public Forum, December 2010 Resolution:
    TBA

    2010 League Schedule
    The PSDL season runs October, through December.
    To view the 2010 League Schedule click here.

    Following the PSDL season there will be additional opportunities for interested teams to participate in debate events and tournaments throughout the remainder of the academic year.

    League Results
    (10/13/10): Canceled

    Round 1 (10/21/10):
    Team Standings
    Individual Debater Standings
    School-Sweepstakes Standings
    Round 2 (10/27/10):
    Team Standings
    Individual Debater Standings
    School-Sweepstakes Standings
    Round 3 (11/3/10):
    Team Standings
    Individual Debater Standings
    School-Sweepstakes Standings
    Round 4 (11/10/10):
    Team Standings
    Individual Debater Standings
    School-Sweepstakes Standings
    Round 5 (11/17/10):
    Team Standings
    Individual Debater Standings
    School-Sweepstakes Standings
    Round 6 (12/2/10):
    Team Standings
    Individual Debater Standings
    School-Sweepstakes Standings
    Round 7 (12/9/10):
    Team Standings
    Individual Debater Standings
    School-Sweepstakes Standings
    Round 8 --FINALS (12/14/10):
    Team Standings
    Individual Debater Standings
    School-Sweepstakes Standings

    Scoring
    Team Standings: Teams (of two debaters) are compared by win/loss record as well as the number of speaker points earned by the team over the course of the season. Team Standings will determine match assignments for finals.
    Individual Debater Standings: Debaters earn individual speaker points during every debate they participate in. Debaters are judged on a scale of 0-4 in the following areas: Analysis, Evidence, Reasoning, Cross Fire, Rebuttal, & Delivery, for a maximum of 24 individual speaker points per debate.
    School-Sweepstakes Standings: Schools earn points for up to two matches each round. Schools earn 2 points for a win, and 1 point for a loss (making the max. point total for schools 4pts per round). Coaches who enter more than two teams in a given round must identify which teams will count for school points before the round begins.

    Participating PSDL Teams For 2009*:
    Bodine
    Central
    Constitution
    Engineering & Science
    Esperanza Academy
    Fels
    Frankford
    Franklin Towne Charter
    Furness
    George Washington
    Girls High
    Kensington International Business
    Masterman
    Mastery Charter Lenfest Campus
    Mastery Charter Pickett Campus
    Northeast
    Olney West
    Palumbo
    Roxborough
    Science Leadership Academy
    South Philadelphia
    Walter D. Palmer
    *Visit ASAP's facebook page to view team photos

    ASAP coordinates the Philadelphia Scholastic Debate League among Philadelphia public and charter high schools. With a generous grant from Lance Funston of the Save A Mind Foundation and through aggressive outreach and recruitment, ASAP has expanded the League from six high schools to twenty, with a diverse group of student participants from different backgrounds and neighborhoods across the city.

    Why Debate?
    Research shows that debate offers young people an opportunity to develop and excel in oral presentation, research, writing, strategic thinking, and sportsmanship and because of these benefits, college admissions officers value participation in debate programs. According to the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues, students participating in debate for only one year experienced a 44% improvement in critical thinking skills. In addition, teachers reported a 50% reduction in the number of disciplinary referrals for students involved in debate clubs.

    About the Program
    The Philadelphia Scholastic Debate League (PSDL) consists of 20 high school teams that compete in weekly debates at Central High School, October through December. Students learn policy debate, using the Public Forum format, debating monthly national topics. The league's season culminates in December with a final tournament and awards ceremony at Central High School. ASAP also encourages PSDL teams to pursue additional debate opportunities throughout the year on the local, state, and national levels. All PSDL teams are led by faculty coaches, usually teachers; however ASAP also recruits experienced volunteers to provide 'in-class' support to coaches or serve as judges at PSDL tournaments. This year ASAP is also partnering with Perspectives, a local organization that advocates for increasing debate opportunities for Philadelphia Youth. Together ASAP and Perspectives are working to increase PSDL participation, provide experienced volunteers to assist coaches during debate team meetings, and involve Philly students in debate related activities throughout the entire academic year. If you are interested in volunteering, please click here. If you would like more information on how your school can get involved as a member team of the PSDL please contact Brian Pollock at bpollock@comcast.net

    Click here to view debate funders

    What happens after graduation starts with what happens after school.