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    BARKLEY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOLS​
    for Alsion students only

    27-29 January 2023

    DEADLINE
    2 December 2022
    NO REFUNDS AFTER THIS DATE
    ELIGIBILITY
    Open to middle and high school students
    LOCATION
    Emory University, Atlanta

    Information

    It is our pleasure to welcome the member schools of the Barkley Forum for High Schools to the 68th Annual Barkley Forum for High Schools at Emory University in Atlanta, which will be held January 27, 28, and 29, 2023. It is an equal pleasure to invite applications from other schools to be with us in January. We are excited to welcome you back to the Emory University campus in person in Atlanta, GA this year.

    Per Emory University’s COVID-19 policies, all competitors will be required to submit one required release form, and all participants younger than 18 will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.  Please see COVID-19 Policies page for more information.

    Applications to attend (including the competitive records/qualifiers for each student applying) from non-member schools must be entered on tabroom no later than December 2, 2022, and admission will be granted based upon space available and competitive record.  Indications of attendance from member schools must be entered on tabroom by the same date. Shortly thereafter, an email will be sent to all the schools that have been selected to attend.

    Please note that there will NOT be in-person registration or an in-person Opening Awards Assembly this year.  Schools should check in on tabroom no later than 11:00 a.m. on Friday, January 27th.  We encourage all of you to view the pre-recorded Opening Awards Assembly for all students, coaches, and judges that will be released on Thursday evening, January 26th. We will recognize the new Key Coaches, name the winner of the Melissa Maxcy Wade Social Justice Award, and hear from Georgia Speaker of the Year Gabrielle Claiborne, co-founder of Transformation Journeys Worldwide, which offers transgender-focused inclusion training.

    With the exception of the Pelham Debates (which will start at 1:30 Friday with participants responsible for paying for parking), all events will begin on Emory’s campus after 4:00 p.m. on Friday, January 27th, which is the earliest we are permitted to park on campus.

    In The Pelham Debates (policy), Public Forum, and Lincoln-Douglas, we are accepting three entries from Member Schools and three applications from non-member schools. In Congressional Debate, we are accepting ten entries from Member Schools and ten applications from non-member schools.  In Speech Events, Member Schools may enter four entries in any one event. We will accept applications for up to four entries per event from non-member schools.  No triple entries will be allowed.  **New event! We will be offering Impromptu.**

    The Final Awards Ceremony will be held in the Emory Student Center on Sunday.  You will not want to miss the Presentation of the Silver Keys and supportive awards, as it is nationally unique. 

    We hope to bring you the best possible forensics experience we can offer.  May we hear from each of you soon.



    COVID-19 POLICIES
    The Barkley Forum for High Schools is required to follow the Emory University Visitor Policy, which can be found here. 

    As part of that policy, anyone under 18 years of age who participates in the Barkley Forum for High Schools is required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Those under age 18 with a vaccine exemption are required to receive a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of accessing campus, and proof of negative test must be emailed to emorybfhs@gmail.com prior to coming to Emory’s campus.

    The most powerful and effective mitigation action against COVID-19 is vaccination. Emory University requires all students, faculty, and staff to be fully vaccinated and boosted.  While only minors coming to campus are required to have received a full primary series of the vaccine, we strongly recommend that all visitors on campus for the tournament are vaccinated and boosted.  In addition, we strongly recommend that participants test for COVID-19 prior to coming to campus.

    Masking is optional indoors on Emory’s campuses with select exceptions, including the School of Medicine, which will be used for the tournament. 


    Q: Do students under age 18 need to submit their proof of vaccination? 
    A: No, parents/guardians just need to attest on the required form that their child has been vaccinated (or has an exemption and will test). 

    Q: What do I do if I have been exposed to someone who tests positive for COVID-19?
    A: You may continue judging or competing at the tournament and are expected to abide by current CDC guidelines. 

    Q: Where can I find COVID-19 tests near Emory’s campus?
    A: Emory University does not provide COVID-19 testing to visitors, but there are numerous pharmacies near campus where tests can be acquired.  The CVS in Emory Village at 1554 North Decatur Road is walking distance from campus.


    Q: What do I do if I test positive for COVID-19 after arriving on Emory’s campus?
    A: Please let the tournament administrator know by emailing emorybfhs@gmail.com and cc Nadia, and you will need to withdraw from the tournament and isolate.  Coaches and chaperones are responsible for determining next steps in terms of isolation should a student test positive.  The university will not be responsible for providing accommodations for isolation of any individuals testing positive for COVID-19. 

    Q:  Will Emory contact me if I was in close contact with someone who later tests positive for COVID?
    A:  No.  Emory will not be doing contact tracing.

    Q:  I am under 18 and have a COVID-19 religious or medical vaccine exemption. I understand I need to take a COVID-19 test within 48 hours of coming to campus. How do I submit results?
    A: Proof of negative test must be emailed to emorybfhs@gmail.com and cc Nadia by noon on 1/27.  Failure to do so prior to the start of competition will result in the contestant forfeiting round 1 so they can be tested. 


    ​TOURNAMENT-WIDE EXPECTATIONS AND POLICIES
    • Expectations for competitive integrity: ​​The Barkley Forum for High Schools believes that competitive integrity is more important than competitive success.  We also believe firmly that every participant has the right to participate in a respectful, safe, and supportive environment.  We expect that every competitor, judge, coach and observer will engage in a spirit of fair and affirming competition and will act in good faith to preserve the integrity of the tournament.  We expect participants to abide by the honor codes and integrity policies of their represented academic institutions.  We expect that no participants will lie, cheat, steal or otherwise undermine the fairness of the tournament and that all participants will hold themselves to the highest standards of honesty and integrity in competition. Your participation in the Barkley Forum for High Schools indicates that you understand these expectations and will abide by them. 
    • We have immense respect for the educators who make speech and debate programs available in schools, the schools who support those speech and debate programs, and the students who have put in the hard work required to attend the Barkley Forum for High Schools.  In order to respect all of these entities, we have these policies and procedures in place:
      • To stay true to the founding principle of the Barkley Forum for High Schools – to encourage the development of high-quality forensics programs at high schools around the country – the tournament will only accept applications from students representing their high schools.  No independent entries will be allowed, and no entries representing entities other than high schools will be allowed.  Rare exceptions to this policy may be made at the discretion of the tournament director.  If you would like to request an exception, please email Ed Lee at emorybfhs@gmail.com to describe your situation.
      • If a student is not accompanied by their debate coach to the tournament, they must have a hard copy of a letter on school letterhead from the school’s administration indicating the student has permission to compete on behalf of the school.  If the student is not able to provide the letter upon request during the tournament, tournament administration reserves the right to remove the student from the competition and forfeit all previous rounds. 
      • If students qualify to participate in the tutorials (i.e., clear), they are expected to be available through the final exhibition round to respect their opponents and the participants who will learn from their performance.  If a student must leave the tournament and cannot participate in a tutorial or exhibition round for which they have qualified, they will forfeit their award and all rounds.  Special circumstances may lead to rare exceptions to this rule at the tournament director’s discretion.  We are providing this information so you may make your travel plans accordingly.  
      • Unless approved by the tournament director, if you choose not to participate in a tutorial or exhibition (outround), you forfeit all previous rounds.  We will submit your results reflecting no wins/last place in each round to the TOC, NIETOC, and other entities to whom we provide results. 
      • In order for the tournament to function effectively, if you know there will be circumstances that will require you to leave prior to the conclusion of the tournament, please let us know as soon as you are aware of these circumstances.
    • All participating students are required to submit the Release of Liability form found on tabroom and have a legal guardian signature if under 18.  Completed forms should be uploaded to tabroom by January 20, 2023 at 11:59 EST.  
    • Participating schools assume any and all responsibility and liability for both student and adult participants from their schoolsand by registering attest that an adult will be present at the tournament and will assume all responsibility for the school’s students.Additionally, while Emory will be conducting background checks on all judges we provide, all judges provided by the schools must have completed a successful background check conducted by the schools.
    • Entourage Rule: Anyone providing coaching or research support for any contestants in the Pelham Debates, Public Forum, or LD should be entered in the judge pool for a minimum of 2 rounds (4 flights, if applicable) and be available to judge elimination debates.  Anyone providing coaching or research support for any contestants in Congressional Debate must be entered as a judge and available for elimination debates.  If there is a reason someone requires an exception, they should reach out to tournament administrators prior to the tournament for approval. Should a school violate the entourage rule, debaters in LD and Pelham will lose prefs for one round, teams in Public Forum will lose strikes for one round, and schools with Congressional Debaters will be fined the fee for an uncovered judge.  
    • Please make sure all judges and students are informed about the tournament’s Title IX policy, which is detailed beginning on p. 16 of the invitation.
    • We require that all judges, coaches, and participating students have an established, functional Tabroom.com account - including a cell phone number listed.
    • At the final awards ceremony on Sunday evening, we will be presenting the results and awards from all final rounds as well as the top 5 speakers in Pelham and Public Forum.   
    • It is an expectation of the tournament that students will accurately represent material read during speeches. In order to ensure compliance, students may record their opponents’ speeches. It is the responsibility of coaches to ensure that their debaters and parents understand this tournament requirement and complete the paperwork necessary to ensure compliance with applicable state laws. 
    • If participants enter spaces the Barkley Forum is not using for rounds (professor offices, classrooms that are not on the pairing), they will be disqualified. 
    • For use while you are on campus, consider downloading Emory Mobile. Under “Campus Connection,” there are maps, and there are also instructions for getting your wireless devices connected to WiFi, dining information, etc. 
    • Please note that Emory is a tobacco-free campus.  For more information, please visit www.tobaccofree.emory.edu.  
    • The Barkley Forum for High Schools is pleased to be offering the services of one of the professional staff of the Emory University Ombuds Office (UOO) during the tournament should our guests have an issue, concern, or complaint. 
      • The ombuds is a neutral party who is available to provide independent, confidential conflict resolution assistance to tournament patrons by listening, referring to appropriate tournament officials, and offering a flexible range of options for addressing issues and concerns informally.  Please note that discussing issues with the ombuds does not constitute giving notice to the university regarding a violation.
      • The practice of the Emory UOO adheres to the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of theInternational Ombudsman Association (IOA). These principles require that the university ombuds function independently, maintain confidentiality and neutrality, and limit the scope of services to informal means of conflict resolution.
      • Fill out this form to contact the ombuds.  Please note that the ombuds is not a mandatory reporter for Title IX related complaints.  See pp. 16-17 of the tournament invitation to see more information on the tournament’s Title IX policies and procedures.  To make a Title IX complaint, email the address for your event’s tab room and identify that you wish to have a meeting with the tab room. Because email should never be considered confidential, please only include your contact information and availability to meet; do not include sensitive or confidential information.  Additionally, concerns about tournament procedure and tabulation should be reported to your event’s tab room.


    ​HISTORY & TRADITIONS

    1956 - THE 68th ANNUAL BARKLEY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOLS - 2023
    The Barkley Forum for High Schools is dedicated to those who have built the current tournament experience. The Barkley Forum for High Schools has several institutions dedicated to honoring excellence in forensics. The listing of Member Chairs honors schools with strong forensic programs of today and yesterday. Retired Key Coaches are recalled and honored. 
    The Forum salutes those who guide students in education, citizenship, character, creativity and recognition. The Forum congratulates those moderators who know how to teach students to motivate themselves and direct the necessary work to raise funds, to discipline young minds, to run interference where necessary, and to stimulate educational experience rather than pettiness. The Barkley Forum especially appreciates those coaches who can teach the value of vision beyond the trophy.
    Your participation in the 68th tournament affirms the pride Emory takes in the efforts of the various schools that have built the Forum. Emory recognizes its debt to you. Thus, in a way thanking you and them, the 68th year will salute success.

    BARKLEY FORUM MEMBERSHIP
    Two hundred ninety-five schools do hold or have held Chairs of Membership in the Barkley Forum for High Schools at Emory University. Click here for a full listing of member schools. The currently active schools, all reflecting quality performance of the past, have automatic reservations at the annual January meetings. Their memberships are valid for a minimum of two years. It is not necessary for the schools holding active Chairs to apply for participation in the current year. However, they should register their students online by the deadline to facilitate the acceptance of the maximum number of non-member schools.  Guaranteed reservations will only be held until December 5th to maximize competitive opportunities for all schools.  After December 5, member schools may apply and will be placed on the wait list; at this point, records need to be entered for each student being submitted for consideration.
    A member school may be absent for two years without endangering its standing. The third absence in succession vacates the Chair. Likewise, a member school may render an inferior performance at the Barkley Forum for one year without endangering its standing. Two successive years of substandard performance will question the membership. Guests are optional candidates for membership by three successive years of better-than-average performance. A number of schools are now under consideration.
    Membership recognizes high quality forensics performance resulting from commitments from the schools. Liberal Arts and Sciences Academy (Texas) was named a member school in 2022.

    GOLD KEY AWARDS
    The most prestigious presentation made by the Emory Barkley Forum is the presentation of the GOLD KEY. A select number of Directors of Forensics will be added in 2023 to this exemplary list of previous recipients. The recognition of those so named will take place at the online Opening Awards Assembly that will be available Thursday, January 26th. 
    The complete listing of the notable coaches and honorary designees can be found here.  Invitation to the KEY Society is a lifetime designation as long as the KEY coach comports himself or herself with dignity and the high standards to which role models in the debate community are held.  
    In 2022, Mike Bietz (Harvard-Westlake), Kirby Chin (In honorarium), and Adam Smiley (Alpharetta) were tapped into membership in the KEY society. 

    AWARDS TO THE PARTICIPANTS
    The SILVER KEY - In commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the Barkley Forum in 1980, the Grand Championship was denoted by the SILVER KEY, a small sterling silver emblem duplicating the design of the prestigious Gold KEY awarded only to the KEY Coaches. The SILVER KEY indicates a Barkley Forum Champion and may be worn only by the first-place individual debaters in the Pelham Debates and Public Forum and the first-place winners in the Pelham Debates, Lincoln-Douglas, Extemporaneous Speaking, Original Oratory, Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Program Oral Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Informative Speaking, Impromptu Speaking, Public Forum and Congressional Debate. The KEY has no written marking visible to the public and is a piece of fine jewelry suitable for any occasion. While trophies will be granted as usual for the appropriate victories, the SILVER KEY belongs to the Barkley Forum victors of the future.
    The Trophy KEY - Uniquely, the Barkley Forum trophy is a larger KEY cast from an antique brass KEY hidden in Georgia from Sherman's March to the Sea in 1864. This original KEY was discovered and donated to the Emory Barkley Forum by Susan and Thomas Glenn Pelham. Nashville attorney Larry David Woods, a distinguished alumnus of Emory and former President of the Forum as well as National President of the Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha debate fraternity, gave a grant to have KEYS cast each year from the original.


    ​MELISSA MAXCY WADE SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARD
    Emory University forensics has a long history of encouraging students to use their forensics skills for the greater good of our society.  Both as a collective and as individual members, the Barkley Forum encourages service to others.  The Barkley Forum was at the forefront of the urban debate league movement to bring debate to disenfranchised students.  When middle school students expressed a desire to debate in Georgia, the Barkley Forum formed partnerships to provide those opportunities to students.  The Barkley Forum for High Schools itself was originally founded as a service to the forensics community in Georgia.  
    While we value and reward competitive success at the Barkley Forum for High Schools, we also value service to others, and we wish to reward and recognize a student competing in our tournament who has a passion for social justice work and a desire to continue to use his or her gifts and skills to serve others in his or her community.  
    The Barkley Forum established this award in 2013 as the Social Justice Award, and in 2016 we renamed the award the Melissa Maxcy Wade Social Justice Award in honor of Melissa’s retirement after 43 years of service to Emory University.   Melissa embodies the spirit of this award.  She has always sought out ways to empower people from all walks of life to find their voices to make the world a better place.  
    Any forensics competitor who is active on their squad and who will be attending the 2023 Barkley Forum for High Schools may be nominated for the award.  Nominations can be from coaches, judges, or other members of the forensics community who are familiar with the student’s work. 
    Nominations should include:
    • The name, school, and year in school of the nominee
    • The reasons for the nomination, preferably including anecdotes and examples of the student’s service
    • The name and affiliation of the person submitting the nomination
    Nominations should be emailed to emorybfhs@gmail.com using the form found here by January 5, 2023.  Finalists for the award will be announced during the week prior to the tournament, and the award will be presented at the online Opening Awards Ceremony.  
    In addition to a framed award, the award recipient will receive a $250 cash prize to be directed to the charitable organization of the recipient’s choice and a $100 cash prize for the recipient’s/nominator’s debate program.  The 2022 recipient was Anika Parthiban – Thomas Edison EnergySmart Charter School (New Jersey).


    HOTEL & PARKING

    HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS 
    It is suggested that each school make its own arrangements for housing as early as possible. There are no rooms available on the Emory campus for guest accommodations. The Barkley Forum suggests that you contact one of the following unless you have other arrangements for the weekend: 
    SPECIAL TOURNAMENT HOTELS
    Marriott Century Center ($139/night; click HERE for online reservations; discount available until 1/5/23)
    Note: there is now a $5 per vehicle per night parking charge; they can accommodate buses
    2000 Century Blvd., Atlanta, GA 30345
    (404) 325-0000                       
    Emory Conference Center ($159/night; click HERE for online reservations)
    1615 Clifton Road, NE
    (404) 712-6566
    (800) 933-6679 (toll-free)
    OTHER HOTELS NEAR THE CAMPUS
    Courtyard Atlanta Decatur Downtown/Emory
    130 Clairemont Avenue    (404) 371-0204
    Hampton Inn & Suites Atlanta Decatur/Emory
    116 Clairemont Avenue    (404) 377-6360
    Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites
    2183 North Decatur Rd.    (404) 320-0888
    Courtyard Atlanta Executive Park/Emory 
    1236 Executive Park Dr., N.E.    (404) 728-0708
    University Inn
    1767 North Decatur Road    (800) 654-8591

    PARKING ON CAMPUS
    Special parking arrangements will be required due to the lack of parking on the Emory University campus.  Closer to the tournament, we will be posting where on campus each division of the tournament will be located and which parking deck is closest to competition rooms.  
    With the exception of those with participants in the Pelham Debates (who will need to pay for their parking on Friday), please do not arrive on campus until 4:00 on Friday, which is the earliest we can secure access to the parking decks.  ​


    TITLE IX INFORMATION
    Sex and Gender Based Discrimination and Harassment Guidelines
    I.         Guiding Principles:
    Emory University is committed to maintaining an environment that is free of unlawful harassment and does not discriminate on the basis of sex within its educational programs and activities. Thus, in accordance with federal law and its commitment to a fair and open campus environment, Emory cannot and will not tolerate discrimination against or harassment of any individual or group based upon race, sex, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, genetic information, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran's status, or any factor that is a prohibited consideration under applicable law. The university recognizes its responsibility to increase awareness of sex discrimination, prevent its occurrence, and diligently investigate reports of misconduct.
    II.       Prohibited Conduct: *
    ·      Gender-Based Harassment. Includes harassment based upon gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, which may include acts of aggression, intimidation, or hostility, whether verbal or non-verbal, graphic, physical, or otherwise, even if the acts do not involve conduct of a sexual nature when:
    a. Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s academic, co-curricular, or campus life activities;
    b. Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for academic or student life decisions affecting that individual;
    c. The conduct is so severe and/or pervasive that it unreasonably interferes with a person’s University employment, academic performance, or participation in University programs or activities; or
    d. The conduct is so severe and/or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, hostile, demeaning, or offensive campus or living environment.
     ·      Sexual Harassment. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual contact or favors, conduct based on gender stereotypes, or other verbal, non-verbal, physical, or visual conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when:
    a. Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s academic, co-curricular, or campus life activities;
    b. Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for academic or student life decisions affecting that individual;
    c. The conduct is so severe and/or pervasive that it unreasonably interferes with a person’s University employment, academic performance, or participation in University programs or activities; or
    d. The conduct is so severe and/or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, hostile, demeaning, or offensive campus or living environment
    ·      Dating Violence. The use of physical violence, coercion, threats, intimidation, isolation, stalking, or other forms of emotional, psychological, sexual, technological, or economic abuse directed toward a person with whom one is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or sexually intimate nature that does not constitute domestic violence
     ·      Non-Consensual Sexual Contact. Any intentional sexual touching, without a person’s affirmative consent
     ·      Non-Consensual Sexual Intercourse. Any form of sexual intercourse without a person’s affirmative consent
    ·      Sexual Exploitation. Non-consensual abuse or exploitation of another person’s sexuality for the purpose of sexual gratification, financial gain, personal benefit or advantage, or any other purpose
    ·      Retaliation. Any adverse action or threatened action, taken or made, personally or through a third party, against someone who has filed a sexual harassment/misconduct complaint (a Complainant), has been the subject of a sexual harassment/misconduct complaint (a Respondent), or any other individual who engages with the University in connection with a sexual harassment/misconduct complaint
    III.      What happens if a guest on Emory’s campus reports a Title IX related matter:
    Emory University policy adhering to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 requires Barkley Forum representatives to report to our Title IX office any allegation of sex and gender-based harassment or any other discrimination or harassment that is covered under Title IX made by a student or adult attending the Barkley Forum for High Schools.  All employees of the Emory University community are mandated to promptly report incidents of sexual harassment and discrimination to the University Title IX Coordinator, the Title IX Coordinator for Students, a Deputy Title IX Coordinator, or other mandatory reporters in order to adhere to the university's Title IX process. Each tab room has an Emory University employee with mandatory reporting responsibilities as its director; if you experience one of the above-referenced behaviors, please report it to the tab room for your event. 
    Steps by Barkley Forum after receiving a report involving sex and gender based harassment:
    1.  Inform the person making the allegation that we are mandatory reporters and will be making
    a report to the Title IX office.
    2.  Give the person making the allegation the “What You Need to Know” brochure from
    Emory University’s Title IX office, which is available here.
    3.  Promptly report the matter to the Title IX Office.
    4.  The Department of Title IX will promptly reach out to all parties involved to initiate its process to stop, prevent and remedy any sex and gender-based harassment.  Please note, violations of any Emory policy or process may result in immediate dismissal from the program. 
    Termination of Participation: 
    Students, judges, and coaches participating in the Barkley Forum for High Schools hereby acknowledge the authority of the Barkley Forum to terminate a person's participation in the tournament if the person’s behavior is inappropriate or disruptive or if other circumstances warrant such action. Participants will abide by Emory’s Sexual Misconduct Policy as stated in this document.  Any violation will result in actions that may include a dismissal from the tournament at any time. 
    IV.      Further Information on Title IX at Emory:
    Should you wish to learn more about Emory’s Department of Title IX and their role on campus, please visit http://equityandinclusion.emory.edu/title-ix/index.html
    *The United States Department of Education recently released New Title IX Regulations.  The implementation date for the new regulations is August 14, 2023.  Please be advised the definitions presented in this document are subject to change on or after August 14, 2023. 


    ​SCHEDULE INFORMATION
    Tentative schedules are posted on tabroom. Locations are subject to change.
    The Opening Awards Ceremony will be virtual and distributed prior to the start of competition. We will hear from Georgia Speaker of the Year Gabrielle Claiborne, co-founder of Transformation Journeys Worldwide, which offers transgender-focused inclusion training; announce the Melissa Maxcy Wade Social Justice Award recipient; and honor the new inductees into the Gold Key Society.  
    All schools should check in on tabroom by 11:00 a.m. EST on Friday, January 27th.  Online registration/check-in will open on Thursday, January 26th at 7:00 p.m.  
    Pelham Debates ONLY will start on campus at 1:30; they will be responsible for paying for parking. 
    All other events (besides Pelham Debates): please do not arrive on the Emory campus earlier than 4:00 on January 27th, when we have permission to park on campus.   Rounds for all other events will start at or around 4:30 on the Emory campus. 
    Final rounds for all speech events except Program Oral Interpretation will be at Rollins/Nursing School, the final round of Congressional Debate will be in the Candler School of Theology, and final rounds for all other events (LD, Public Forum, Pelham Debates, and Program Oral Interpretation) will be in the new Emory Student Center.  The final awards assembly is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 29th in the Emory Student Center.  


    ​INSTRUCTIONS FOR PUBLIC FORUM DEBATE
    Public Forum Debate was added to the events at the Barkley Forum for High Schools in honor of the 50th anniversary of the tournament in 2005.  Public Forum Debate is designed to engage students in debate about current, controversial issues in front of community audiences. 
    Each member school is invited to enter three teams in Public Forum Debate.  Non-member schools will be granted admission of up to three teams on the basis of applications that speak to the level of experience of the teams. We will have a partial triples out round to try to ensure that all teams with a 4-2 record or better clear. 
    Unless otherwise stipulated by tournament officials, rules for procedure will be those contained in the National Speech and Debate Association’s Unified High School Manual. A Public Forum round begins with the electronic flip of a coin on tabroom.com between the competing teams to determine sides and speaker position.
    The time limits for the contest will be as follows:
        Team A Speaker 1 - Constructive    Four Minutes
        Team B Speaker 1 - Constructive    Four Minutes
        Crossfire    Three Minutes
        Team A Speaker 2 - Rebuttal    Four Minutes
        Team B Speaker 2 - Rebuttal    Four Minutes
        Crossfire    Three Minutes
        Team A Speaker 1 - Summary    Three Minutes
        Team B Speaker 1 - Summary    Three Minutes
        Grand Crossfire    Three Minutes
        Team A Speaker 2 - Final Focus    Two Minutes
        Team B Speaker 2 - Final Focus    Two Minutes
        Preparation Time (per team)    Three Minutes
    The topic for debate will be the national topic debated during the month of January. 
    Contestants will get judge strikes for preliminary rounds that will be equivalent to 10% of the judge pool.  If your judges are not entered by January 14th, you will be required to pay the full judge hire fee.  Please have all judges post their judge philosophy on tabroom.com under “paradigms” by January 14th.  Teams will not be able to enter strikes until their judges’ paradigms are posted.  All paradigms must align with the Barkley Forum’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and expectations for competitive integrity.  In addition, judges should mark as a conflict any student:
    (1) whose high school you attended in recent years;
    (2) to whom you are related;
    (3) who attends a school with whom you have had a coaching or judging relationship, paid or unpaid, during the past two school years (does not apply if your only relationship to a school was as a hired judged at that school’s tournament);
    (4) who attends a school that has offered to hire you to coach or judge in the future;
    (5) for whom you have ever had primary instructional responsibility as, e.g., a school coach or a personal coach
    (6) with whom you have or have in the past had personal friendships or romantic relationships, or with whom you socialize in non-debate settings;
    (7) who personally has provided your transportation or housing at this tournament, or who attends a school that has provided your transportation or housing at this tournament;
    (8) who has been hired by, or who has an outstanding explicit or implicit offer from, a debate business (e.g., workshop or brief company) to which you have financial ties.
    (9) if your current, or in the past two years, coach of record is currently coaching the student.
    (10)  If you coach or debate for a college/university, any student that is debating for your program next year or whom your school is still actively recruiting.
    (11) with whose coach(es) you have or have in the past had romantic relationships.
    (12) to whom you bear any other relationship that might reasonably be thought to compromise your impartiality as a judge.  To determine whether a relationship meets this test, you might ask yourself, “If I were a competing student and knew nothing about my judge except that he or she bore the relationship in question to my competitor or my competitors coach, would I have any doubts about his or her impartiality?”  If the answer is “yes,” you should mark students to whom you bear that relationship as conflicts.
    Once confirmed, decisions are final. To encourage the pedagogical aims of the tournament and to avoid any confusion with ballot entry, we encourage judges to disclose their decisions but only after they have entered their decision on Tabroom.
    No Pelham debater, Lincoln-Douglas contestant, Congressional Debate contestant or Speech Events entrant may enter Public Forum Debate at the Barkley Forum for High Schools.
    Anyone providing coaching or research support for any contestants in the Public Forum division should be entered in the judge pool for a minimum of 2 rounds and be available to judge elimination debates.  If there is a reason someone requires an exception, they should reach out to tournament administrators prior to the tournament for approval. 
    Mavericks cannot clear or advance; they must have debated as a team collectively for at least 4 rounds in prelims to clear. Should the occasion arise that a student does debate maverick due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness, the debater not debating in the round will receive speaker points of 25 for the round.


    ​Entry Price

    The fees below assume that parent will be judging, will take their child to Atlanta, and will book their own accommodations.
    If you are leaving your child to travel with the GSA team, we will collect a $300 deposit on top of the judge opt-out fee. The final expenses per student minus the deposit will be invoiced once we know the final cost.
    ​

    One PF event and parent is judging $105
    One PF event and parent is OPTING OUT of judging $225

    Each person in a PF team would be responsible of providing their own judge, so one PF team would need to either provide two judges, both pay the judge fee, or one of each option.

    Registration will not be complete until payment is received.
     
    NOTE: We will charge set up fees if we have to create tabroom.com accounts for judges. It is recommended you do so on your own.

    Tentative Schedule

    Click here to see the schedule

    Drop Fee

    Drop fees will be the same amounts as the entry fee PLUS any fees the tournament charges us for late drops. Drop requests should be made to Victor and Nadia.

    Please do not drop out last minute to avoid being charged these fees.

    Contact Info

    Victor Rivas Umana
    Contact email:  vrivasumana@tgsastaff.com

    Nadia Budiman 
    Contact email: nbudiman@tgsastaff.com

    Or info@tgsastaff.com

    Registration Form


    STUDENT INFORMATION
    If this is your first time competing, make sure to first create a Tabroom account here: https://www.tabroom.com/user/login/new_user.mhtml
    It's super simple and quick (<1 minute), but follow the guidelines here in case anything is confusing: ​https://docs.tabroom.com/Sign_Up

    PARENT CONTACT INFORMATION
    Your email address will be the one included when we send the logistics email.

    EVENT SELECTION
    ​
    Got any questions? Please email nbudiman@tgsastaff.com, info@tgsastaff.com, vrivasumana@tgsastaff.com
    BOTH partners must fill out form and pay in order to be registered!

    ​JUDGE PROVISION

    ​Click here to complete the highly recommended Cultural Competency judge training course

    Signing up a judge without having a Tabroom account will result in us charging you for the set up fee.
    ​You can do this easily on your own by going to tabroom.com. It literally takes less than a minute.


    First time judging? Click here to learn how to do it! Or watch our Youtube playlist here.
    ​There are also these training cards available that include a summary of each event's rules and comments.​

    ​This tournaments requires judges to have a paradigm on their Tabroom account, which can be a few sentences on your preferences of debating styles, etc. See here for example. It doesn't need to be this long, but make sure to add something before you sign up. For example: "I am a parent, please speak clearly and slowly and avoid technical jargon".​

    ​More tournament resources can be found here.

    TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Submit/take to payment

We would love to have you visit soon at one of our open houses.
Check our home page for the schedule!


School year Hours

M-F: 3:45 pm - 8:30 pm 
Sun: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Telephone

510-270-8480
510-470-0531

Email (preferred)

For more info email us at: info@tgsastaff.com

Locations

Fremont: 200 Brown Rd #201, Fremont, CA 94539

Cupertino: 20432 Silverado Avenue Suite 211, Cupertino, CA 95014

Aborn Institute: 2804 Riedel Road, San Jose, CA 95135 
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