DEBATE SERIES IX

US CANADA VIRTUAL DEBATE SERIES IX

13 February 2021

DEADLINE

10 February 2021
NO REFUNDS after 9 February 2021

ELIGIBILITY

Open to 5th-12th graders
Public Forum only

PLATFORM

Online through TABROOM.COM and the NSDA PLATFORM

Information

The District of Columbia Urban Debate league has decided that this year’s experience online with the COVID19 Pandemic has created an online debate explosion, and there are many choices for coaches and teams to debate online. At one point in time and even now, the TOC and NSDA nationals have been the goal, but there is a 10,000 Black Debater Shortage in the activity. This Virtual Debate series seeks to raise funds to recruit Black debaters and train them to become competitive PF & Congressional debaters on the world stage.

Based on the current state of affairs we have made the decision to move all of the 2020 Tournaments onto a NSDA CAMPUS and they will lead to a two Championships! We want to urge teams from our Mid-Atlantic region and our friends throughout the country to compete in our series to prepare for rigorous competitions!

Certificates will be given out as awards in all prelim debates, and EXTRA large trophies will be given out in both championships. Read more below to find out if this series works for you!

Yours in Debate,
Julian Dotson
President/CEO DCUDL

Your goal is 12 total wins in order to make it to the Championships. The wins will add up from every round in the prelims.

Best location
It is advised to use your school as a first resort. If circumstances make your school inaccessible, a second-best option is PLUGGED INTO THE ETHERNET AT YOUR HOUSE. If those prove untenable, debating at home via strong WiFi signal is next best.

Technology
All students are expected to use laptops or desktops with Webcams. Debate series arguments about technology equity are moot, and will be considered MEME or K debates. We get it, students without advanced tech are at a disadvantage, which is the purpose of DCUDL. So entering into this tournament will assume that those involved are paying into a league that benefits students who can’t afford them. MONEY FROM THE TOURNAMENTS GOES TOWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO WANT TO ENTER COSTLY DEBATES! (refer to above for fees)

Cheating
We are asking all competitors, judges, and coaches to participate and act in good faith to preserve the competitive integrity of the tournament. So any debaters suspected of using extra “help” in the form of parents, coaches, teachers, etc should be exposed and removed from the tournament with no refund.

Students with excessive camera/mic issues will be removed from tournaments. This is not to punish students, but the issue may drastically throw off rounds. Try to reduce these issues by practicing online and getting tabroom, camera, mic, software, computer, wifi, whatever issues resolved before you debate.

Public Forum (We will follow the NSDA TOPICS for all rounds) - FEB TOPIC
NSDA rules for speech, preparation times and the coin toss.
Times are all the same for PF except you will have 4 minutes of prep time

Divisions
PROPER ABILITY LEVEL PLACEMENT FOR PUBLIC FORUM DEBATE

Middle School Novice
Middle School JV & Varsity
High School Novice: must be in 1st or 2nd year of high school if you debated in middle school or any 1st or 2nd year debater in high school can be in any grade
High School JV & Varsity: It is your choice, but you should have a good record in novice and you should be advanced

Judging
Please be sure that when supplying judges, each judge has a registered TABROOM account with a paradigm. There will be no judge training at any tournament. But the DCUDLPF guide is located in the uploads to the right of the tabroom site.
The tournament will seek qualified hired judging to add expertise and flexibility to improve the experience for all competitors.

Judge Philosophies
Public Forum: all judges must submit a judging philosophy to Tabroom. There are no judge strikes.

This tournament is hosted by the Metro DC Speech & Debate League aka DCUDL visit DCUDL for more details.
Be sure to test out connections for BEST results. Video must be on, and Mics must work 100% volume

Entry Price

All PF events $60
If you don't provide a judge, you will pay an additional $70

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.
All students who drop after Wednesday will not receive refunds and drop fees are $10 each.

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.

Schedule

Please note that all times are in EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST).

NSDA PF Feb: Intra-African Policy
Resolved: On balance, the benefits of urbanization in West Africa outweigh the harms.

Round 1 - 10am
Round 2 - 11:30am
Round 3 - 1:15pm
Round 4 - 2:45pm
(subject to change)

All rounds Eastern Standard time and subject to slight change depending on technical fluidity
STUDENTS NEED 12 TOTAL WINS IN PRELIM TOURNAMENTS to qualify for the Championships

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

* Indicates required field

Student Name *

First

Last

Student Email (make sure you have a Tabroom account) *

Student Phone Number *

Does the student have a Tabroom account? *

Yes and it is linked with GSA's account(s) Yes but it is not linked and we need you to add to your roster No but I will create one before submitting registration No but I will pay the additional $35 setup fee

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

Parent Name *

First

Last

Parent Email *

Parent Phone Number *

EVENT SELECTION

Partner Name *

First

Last

JUDGE PROVISION

Are you supplying a judge? *

Judge Name *

Judge email (Must be linked to a tabroom account. Register first at tabroom.com before completing this sign up) *

Judge phone *

Does your judge have a Tabroom account? *

Yes No but I will create one before submitting registration No but I'll pay the additional $35 setup fee Not judging

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 takes two minutes.

First time judging? Click here to learn how to do it! Or watch our Youtube playlist here.

Tournaments recommend judges to have a judge philosophy 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).

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

I will keep a copy of this form for reference. *

YES

We are signing up with the understanding that my child will work to be ready by the tournament date. If we choose to drop out because my child is not ready that will be considered when making assessments for future classes. *

YES

I understand that if I fail to drop the tournament before the deadline that I will still be responsible for the fees of both my son or daughter, along with that of his or her partner and the fines. *

YES

I understand that if payment is not received we won't be registered and our spot will be given up to someone else. *

YES

I confirm that I have completed all necessary paperwork for this tournament. *

YES

I understand that The Golden State Academy has no control over tournament entries other than the initial sign up. I understand that my child's priority will be based on either the last time I signed up OR the date paid, whichever is latest. *

YES

I understand that my child must check in and check out periodically at the tournament with the coach and that if I do not my child will be barred from participating in following tournaments. This is to ensure coaches can see where students are at competitively and to give any initial feedback for improvement. *

YES

I understand that I can check my entry status through tabroom.com. *

YES

I am a consenting adult. I understand that by submitting this form I agree to all that has been covered. *

YES

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

US CANADA VIRTUAL DEBATE SERIES IX

13 February 2021

Information

​Entry Price

Schedule

Drop Fee

Contact Info

Registration Form

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

School year Hours

Telephone

Email (preferred)

Locations

Entry Price

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