GDL Dragons Elephants and Eagles 1​

    14-16 March 2025

    DEADLINE
    8 Mar 2025
    NO REFUNDS AFTER THIS DATE
    ELIGIBILITY
    Open to middle and high school students
    PLATFORM
    Online through NSDA Campus

    Information

    We are excited to invite debaters from around the world to compete in the most popular global debate format, Public Forum Debate. This event will feature the NSDA February topic and will be conducted online via Tabroom.com.
    ​
    Teams will participate in Public Forum Debate (PFD), and we are pleased to offer five divisions for debaters of all levels: 
    • Middle School Novice
    • Middle School Rising Stars
    • High School Rising Stars
    • Novice
    • Varsity

    The results from this tournament will help determine eligibility for the Global Debate Championship. 

    Topic: 
    NSDA February Topic (Topic details will be provided by the NSDA closer to the event date)

    Tournament Format: 
    • Session 1 (Friday, March 14): 3 rounds (Preset pairings)
    • Session 2 (Saturday, March 15/16): 3 Rounds (2 Prelims - 1 Elim)

    Divisions: 
    This tournament will feature four divisions based on experience level:
    • Middle School Divisions: Open to students in grades 6-8
      • Middle School Novice - First year in competitive debate.
      • Middle School Rising Stars - All experience levels.
    • High School Rising Stars: Open to students with less than two years of competitive debate experience or who are in middle school and want to debate in a High School division.
    • Novice Division: Open to students in their first year of debate (no previous tournament experience)
    • Varsity Division: Open to experienced debaters with at least two years of competitive debate experience

    General Tournament Information:
    1. Debate Format:
      • Public Forum Debate (PFD) based on the NSDA February Topic
      • All rounds will be conducted via Tabroom.com, with judges providing feedback on each round.
    2. Team Composition:
      • Teams must consist of two debaters. Each team member will present arguments, participate in crossfire, and respond to the opposing team’s arguments.
    3. Tournament Platform:
      • The tournament will be administered online through Tabroom.com, where teams will find their pairings, results, and access to judge feedback.

    Judging:
    • Experienced debate judges will be assigned to each round. Judges will evaluate based on content, delivery, strategy, and teamwork.
    • Please ensure that your team members are familiar with the Public Forum Debate format, as it will be central to the event.
    • Camera Mandate for All Judges! Judges who do not turn their camera on will be removed from the pool and the team they represent will be charged a judging fee of $200.00 USD.
    • Judges must provide a “VERBAL” but brief reason for decision to the debaters after the debate. Students will be encouraged not to argue with the decision.

    Important Notes:
    • Time Zone Considerations:
      • Many time zones are listed. Please convert these times into your local time zone, especially for participants joining from different regions, including Shanghai.
      • We encourage all participants to adjust their schedules ahead of time to ensure that they are available for all rounds.
    • Tech Requirements:
      • Participants must have a stable internet connection to compete effectively in the online format. We recommend using Zoom for video calls and Tabroom.com for registration and results.
    • Code of Conduct:
      • All participants must adhere to the Global Debate League Code of Conduct, which emphasizes respect, fairness, and sportsmanship.
    ​
    We look forward to your participation in this exciting global event and wish you the best of luck in your preparation! 

    ​Entry Price

    PF and parent is judging $75
    PF and parent is OPTING OUT of judging $200
    ​
    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.

    Schedule

    Please keep in mind of the different time zones.

    Click the link below to see the schedule
    ​gdl_dragons_schedule.pdf

    ​Although the tentative schedule lists the start and end times, please keep in mind that there are various factors that may arise during a tournament that can cause rounds to be delayed. Therefore, if you are signing up for this tournament, please make sure you do not double book yourselves on these dates. Keep your schedule open and DO NOT leave the tournament without notifying the GSA chaperones first.

    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:  [email protected]
    Nadia Budiman 
    Contact email: [email protected]
    Or [email protected]

    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 [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
    Make sure you understand that this online tournament is live and takes place in Eastern Time.
    ​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?
    This is a great collection of short videos that one of the leagues have put together to learn each event: click here.
    ​There are also these training cards available that include a summary of each event's rules and comments.​
    ​Click here to find other training and official certification resources. Or watch our Youtube playlist here.
    ​
    ​Tournaments encourage 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

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: [email protected]

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 

​​​​Dublin: Loving Tree Academy, 6693 Owens Dr, Pleasanton, CA 94588​​