Stanford Speech & Debate Tournament February 8-10, 2020
The Stanford Debate Society is pleased to invite you to the 34th annual Stanford National Invitational. Students from across the nation have been joining us for this national level competition since 1987, and we hope that you'll help us build on this tradition and join us in Palo Alto this year!
Speech: will be at the Santa Clara Marriott 2700 mission college blvd On Saturday
Debate: Will be at Stanford University on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, debate will be at the Marriott.
***This tournament is technically open to 8th graders and above!!!!***
Anyone under 8th grade is registering at their own risk. While the tournament won't ask for verification of age/grade, we would hope that those who sign up will do their best to not get into situations that would require the tournament to ask questions.
Speech: will be at the Santa Clara Marriott 2700 mission college blvd On Saturday
Debate: Will be at Stanford University on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, debate will be at the Marriott.
***This tournament is technically open to 8th graders and above!!!!***
Anyone under 8th grade is registering at their own risk. While the tournament won't ask for verification of age/grade, we would hope that those who sign up will do their best to not get into situations that would require the tournament to ask questions.
***IMPORTANT Independent Entry Information
MUST COMPLETE IN ORDER TO ATTEND!!! I would recommend doing this first before signing up. While we can take them up to the day of the tournament, it would be wise to do this now to avoid problems down the line (considering fees become due when you sign up).
EMAIL TO: info@tgsastaff.com AND nbudiman@tgsastaff.com
Important Tournament documentation that must be submitted with registration information!
We will NOT be accepting paper copies of these forms. PLEASE submit electronically
This information has been taken directly from the tournament invitation PLEASE READ!!!
THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS ARE LISTED BELOW: Every single student that attends via the unaffiliated entry mechanism (anything other than via a traditional school with official school chaperone) must submit both documents listed below. For the sake of clarity, every indepedendent entry, homeschooled student, and "club" or "academy" participant is bound by this requirement.
1) Stanford Individual Waiver: The Stanford Individual Waiver can be accesed from this link
NOTE: After January 19th, if we have not received all appropriate documentation from those who are missing either parent letter or waiver, we will begin to charge a $25 fee along with removing your registration from the tournament. We would rather not fine people for failure to turn in things on a timely manner but if we are missing any documents 3-4 days before the tournament, we will be subjected to doing an in person registration which the tournament has decided to charge a fee for programs that don't finish their registration process prior to that deadline. As such, we want to ensure we get everything before hand. We can do this, or we can just not register your child until we receive all documents. We would rather not do either but both are options in this case.
We will NOT be accepting paper copies of these forms. PLEASE submit electronically
This information has been taken directly from the tournament invitation PLEASE READ!!!
THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS ARE LISTED BELOW: Every single student that attends via the unaffiliated entry mechanism (anything other than via a traditional school with official school chaperone) must submit both documents listed below. For the sake of clarity, every indepedendent entry, homeschooled student, and "club" or "academy" participant is bound by this requirement.
1) Stanford Individual Waiver: The Stanford Individual Waiver can be accesed from this link
- Every student attending the tournament must complete and return a copy of this document to their squad coordinator in advance of the tournament.
- Each squad coordinator / head coach must remit a packet of completed Stanford Individual Waivers for every student their squad brings to the tournament. Completed waivers must be returned in advance as part of the squad confirmation process. Please do not scan and email or mail us the waivers, as we need them submitted via the proper organizational channel.
- Note: The Stanford Individual Waiver is a standardized document created by Stanford University which is required of all minors attending an official event taking place on the Stanford University campus. The Stanford Debate Society has no ability or authority to propose, authorize, or accept any modifications to this standardized agreement and all coaches, students and parents are hereby notified that any unilateral modification, line out, or other change to the agreement presumptively means that student(s) are unable to participate in the Stanford Invitational speech & debate tournament.
2) Parent/Guardian Permission Letter: The Parent/Guardian Permission Letter can be accessed from this link- Every student attending the tournament must complete and return a copy of this document to their squad coordinator in advance of the tournament.
- Each "unaffiliated" squad type's squad coordinator / head coach must remit a packet of completed Parent/Guardian Permission Letters for every student their squad brings to the tournament. Completed letters must be returned in advance as part of the squad confirmation process. Please do not scan and email or mail us the letters, as we need them submitted via the proper organizational channel.
- Note: The Parent/Guardian Permission Letter is a standardized document created by Stanford Debate in order to ensure parents understand the nature of the event, the relationship and roles fulfilled by various parties at the tournament, and to capture the various details required in order to allow unaffiliated entries to enter the tournament. We will not accept any modifications to this standardized letter template and all coaches, students and parents are hereby notified that any unilateral modification, line out, or other change to the template presumptively means that student(s) are unable to participate in the Stanford Invitational speech & debate tournament.
NOTE: After January 19th, if we have not received all appropriate documentation from those who are missing either parent letter or waiver, we will begin to charge a $25 fee along with removing your registration from the tournament. We would rather not fine people for failure to turn in things on a timely manner but if we are missing any documents 3-4 days before the tournament, we will be subjected to doing an in person registration which the tournament has decided to charge a fee for programs that don't finish their registration process prior to that deadline. As such, we want to ensure we get everything before hand. We can do this, or we can just not register your child until we receive all documents. We would rather not do either but both are options in this case.
DOUBLE ENTERING
- DOUBLE ENTERING: Double-entry in IE events is permissible, but there is NO cross entry between debate, LD, Public Forum, Congress and IE. The tentative schedule shows why cross-entry between debate and events is not possible. No special accommodations are made for those students who wish to double-enter in events, however, so students should expect to be rushed if they choose this option.
- INITIAL ENTRY LIMITS: The tournament allows the following initial entry limits per school. We can often ultimately accommodate more entries.
- Patterns
- Pattern A: National extemp, oratory, dramatic, spar, and expos/informative
- Pattern B: International extemp, duo, humorous, impromptu, oratorical interp, and program oral interp
- NOTE: National and International extemp are in different patterns, allowing serious extemp students to compete in eight prelim extemp rounds!
Oratory/Original Advocacy/Persuasive- All three events have been combined
Humorous Interpretation
Thematic Interpretation
Duo Interpretation
DOUBLE ENTRY: Double-entry in events is permissible, but there is NO cross entry between debate, LD, Parli, Public Forum, Congress and IE. The tentative schedule shows why cross-entry between debate and events is not possible. However, a student may NOT double enter the same event, and this prohibition includes entering duo-interp with two different partners
Entry Price/ Online Payment
We are now accepting online payment!
After you have completed registration you will be directed to a product page. We will no longer be accepting checks or cash for tournament registration. Registration will not be complete until payment is received. Note, please report any errors on the next page, the fees on this page are the accurate and failure to make the appropriate payment will result in non-registration.
Speech
One speech event with judge: $215
One speech event without judge: $315
Two speech events with judge: $295
Two speech events without judge: $395
Three speech events with judge: $365
Three speech events without judge:$465
Four speech events with judge: $430
Four speech events without judge: $530
Debate
JV LD with judge: $275
JV LD without judge: $375
Varsity LD with judge: $295
Varsity LD without judge: $395
JV PF with judge: $225
JV PF without judge: $325
Varsity PF with judge: $235
Varsity PF without judge: $335
Judges
Judges are obligated for ALL 3 DAYS of competition. Even if your child does not advance to the elimination rounds, you will need to judge. These are not our rules but the tournament expectation. Please schedule accordingly. If you cannot judge all three days, you must notify us but unfortunately we will have to charge a portion of the judge fee in order to hire someone for Monday's elimination rounds. Please notify us immediately if this is the case and we will make sure Nadia invoices you for Monday if we are able to find hired judges. We would encourage judges to ensure they are available all three days by requesting Monday off now.
As many of you can tell the fees for this tournament are very steep due to us having more paperwork (turning in all of the waivers and parent permissions forms together) to do along with the fact that the tournament is charging us as a private organization an additional $75 fee per student (if we were a school this would not be charged to us). Given this plus finding someone to judge on your behalf over the weekend is very expensive (you are asking someone to give up 8+ hours per day over the weekend), it is HIGHLY recommended you judge on your child's behalf.
Don't know how to judge? We have videos that you can watch to learn how to judge.
After you have completed registration you will be directed to a product page. We will no longer be accepting checks or cash for tournament registration. Registration will not be complete until payment is received. Note, please report any errors on the next page, the fees on this page are the accurate and failure to make the appropriate payment will result in non-registration.
Speech
One speech event with judge: $215
One speech event without judge: $315
Two speech events with judge: $295
Two speech events without judge: $395
Three speech events with judge: $365
Three speech events without judge:$465
Four speech events with judge: $430
Four speech events without judge: $530
Debate
JV LD with judge: $275
JV LD without judge: $375
Varsity LD with judge: $295
Varsity LD without judge: $395
JV PF with judge: $225
JV PF without judge: $325
Varsity PF with judge: $235
Varsity PF without judge: $335
Judges
Judges are obligated for ALL 3 DAYS of competition. Even if your child does not advance to the elimination rounds, you will need to judge. These are not our rules but the tournament expectation. Please schedule accordingly. If you cannot judge all three days, you must notify us but unfortunately we will have to charge a portion of the judge fee in order to hire someone for Monday's elimination rounds. Please notify us immediately if this is the case and we will make sure Nadia invoices you for Monday if we are able to find hired judges. We would encourage judges to ensure they are available all three days by requesting Monday off now.
As many of you can tell the fees for this tournament are very steep due to us having more paperwork (turning in all of the waivers and parent permissions forms together) to do along with the fact that the tournament is charging us as a private organization an additional $75 fee per student (if we were a school this would not be charged to us). Given this plus finding someone to judge on your behalf over the weekend is very expensive (you are asking someone to give up 8+ hours per day over the weekend), it is HIGHLY recommended you judge on your child's behalf.
Don't know how to judge? We have videos that you can watch to learn how to judge.
Drop Fee's
Registration will remain open until the tournament fills up. Once the tournament fills up, students will be on waitlist until space is made. If you don't make it off the waitlist, you will get a full refund. Once the tournament indicates it is full, we will close registration. No student will be added after that date. We encourage though that all students and parents try to register their student as soon as possible or by January 19th to have the highest chance of entry.
Given the tournament has had problems with programs committing and given how close we are to the start of the tournament, once you sign up, your fees become fully due. Please ensure you are absolutely sure your child can compete this weekend. Please check your schedule and their schedule because we won't be refunding due to mistakes you made in scheduling. We will only refund money if we can find someone to replace your child in the spot of the tournament you took but if we cannot find someone, then the fees become due. We will keep you up to date on the progress of finding someone to replace if you choose to withdraw. Keep in mind that likewise, if we are missing any of the documentation we need to turn in by the January 19th due date will also result in forfeiture of your fees. Please don't let that happen.
Payment deadline: If you do not pay in the next page, you don't get registered. We don't accept checks and we won't be invoicing you separately from the website.
Given the tournament has had problems with programs committing and given how close we are to the start of the tournament, once you sign up, your fees become fully due. Please ensure you are absolutely sure your child can compete this weekend. Please check your schedule and their schedule because we won't be refunding due to mistakes you made in scheduling. We will only refund money if we can find someone to replace your child in the spot of the tournament you took but if we cannot find someone, then the fees become due. We will keep you up to date on the progress of finding someone to replace if you choose to withdraw. Keep in mind that likewise, if we are missing any of the documentation we need to turn in by the January 19th due date will also result in forfeiture of your fees. Please don't let that happen.
Payment deadline: If you do not pay in the next page, you don't get registered. We don't accept checks and we won't be invoicing you separately from the website.
Deadlines
The "official" deadline when we will close registration for good will be January 19th but we reserve the right to close it down sooner if we receive notice that the tournament is not taking any more entries due to being at capacity. If you wait closer to the deadline to register, you risk not getting into the tournament despite our registration being open. Do not wait if you want to go. Sign up immediately!
While we do not wish to apply any fee's on our competitors, we have had too many issues in the past with individuals dropping after our drop date. Understand that drops cost us a great deal of money and labor which puts a heavy stress on our small business..
Please talk to your students about signing them up to a tournament. If they do not feel 100% prepared, talk to your coach.
Please add the drop date to your personal calendar.
Drop/Change deadline for this tournament does not exist. This is due to the accelerate schedule the tournament has set up for drops (we just started our semester and are approaching their deadline). As a result it is absolutely important that you are 100% committed to be able to attend the tournament. If you drop out after signing up, you risk forfeiting your fees (see exceptions above). Have questions? please email us or your child's coach
Regarding Team Events: In the event that one partner drops, that partner will be required to pay the full registration fee for themselves in addition to a $100 fee to help cover their partner.***
* If you sign up a judge, drops will incur a $100 fee, on top of difference owed on the original, non judging registration fee. Please understand that it extremely difficult and expensive to find last minute judges, if any are available at all.
** We do not guarantee any exceptions, emergency or otherwise. Please plan accordingly.
*** Parents with partners must coordinate with each other to ensure that they can register for a tournament. Parents may ask info@tgsastaff.com, the team's coach, Nathan Leal or Victor Rivas Umana for help and contact info but understand that the obligation is ultimately with the parent. If you do not feel comfortable with the teammate, please inform us so we can find a solution for future tournaments.
While we do not wish to apply any fee's on our competitors, we have had too many issues in the past with individuals dropping after our drop date. Understand that drops cost us a great deal of money and labor which puts a heavy stress on our small business..
Please talk to your students about signing them up to a tournament. If they do not feel 100% prepared, talk to your coach.
Please add the drop date to your personal calendar.
Drop/Change deadline for this tournament does not exist. This is due to the accelerate schedule the tournament has set up for drops (we just started our semester and are approaching their deadline). As a result it is absolutely important that you are 100% committed to be able to attend the tournament. If you drop out after signing up, you risk forfeiting your fees (see exceptions above). Have questions? please email us or your child's coach
Regarding Team Events: In the event that one partner drops, that partner will be required to pay the full registration fee for themselves in addition to a $100 fee to help cover their partner.***
* If you sign up a judge, drops will incur a $100 fee, on top of difference owed on the original, non judging registration fee. Please understand that it extremely difficult and expensive to find last minute judges, if any are available at all.
** We do not guarantee any exceptions, emergency or otherwise. Please plan accordingly.
*** Parents with partners must coordinate with each other to ensure that they can register for a tournament. Parents may ask info@tgsastaff.com, the team's coach, Nathan Leal or Victor Rivas Umana for help and contact info but understand that the obligation is ultimately with the parent. If you do not feel comfortable with the teammate, please inform us so we can find a solution for future tournaments.
Pick up, drop off, & Transportation
All student and parents must organize there own transportation to the tournament. No form of transportation will be organized by the coaching staff. Student are expected to be picked up as well as dropped off by a legal guardian. Student MAY NOT take PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION!
Pick-up and Drop off:
When Arrive on campus all student should go DIRECTLY to meet up spot that is outlined in the email you will get as we get closer to the tournament. A GSA coach will be waiting in the cafeteria to meet you. NOTE that a pick up time has been Set HOWEVER, tournament never run on time. Student will be instructed to call parents of any changes to the schedule.
It is absolutely important that students and parents are properly checking in and out their students at the tournament. We will NOT allow students to talk off campus to your car, you MUST pick them up physically on site. Students found offsite without approval from our coaching staff will result in immediate dismissal from the tournament.
It is important that parents and students understand that checking in and out of the tournament is not optional. This is for your child's safety and for our own sanity. Failure to check in and out with our coaches will result in us notifying the tournament to drop you from the tournament. We would rather not do that but given how large of a campus we will be on and the length of this tournament, we would like everyone to be able to get home at a reasonable time. Our staff cannot and won't leave until we confirm that all students have been picked up.
Pick-up and Drop off:
When Arrive on campus all student should go DIRECTLY to meet up spot that is outlined in the email you will get as we get closer to the tournament. A GSA coach will be waiting in the cafeteria to meet you. NOTE that a pick up time has been Set HOWEVER, tournament never run on time. Student will be instructed to call parents of any changes to the schedule.
It is absolutely important that students and parents are properly checking in and out their students at the tournament. We will NOT allow students to talk off campus to your car, you MUST pick them up physically on site. Students found offsite without approval from our coaching staff will result in immediate dismissal from the tournament.
It is important that parents and students understand that checking in and out of the tournament is not optional. This is for your child's safety and for our own sanity. Failure to check in and out with our coaches will result in us notifying the tournament to drop you from the tournament. We would rather not do that but given how large of a campus we will be on and the length of this tournament, we would like everyone to be able to get home at a reasonable time. Our staff cannot and won't leave until we confirm that all students have been picked up.
Tournament schedule
Individual Events (Speech)Saturday, February 8 | Santa Clara Marriott
Sunday, February 9 | Stanford Campus
All debate events (LD, Policy, PF & Parliamentary)
Note that debate events take place according to the following site schedule:
Saturday, February 8 | Stanford Campus
Sunday, February 9 | Stanford Campus
Monday, February 10 | Santa Clara Marriott
Click here for a full schedule of debate events: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1blkD71o6U_z2Bkc1vVr0H3xO5aGEi4iVDP36rzZXuFs/edit#gid=249889006
- Rounds may be moved up if subsequent rounds finish early. Competitors should watch the postings area. Please note that we start with panel B events!
- 8:00 am: General Assembly for all students/coaches and Judge Check-in
- 8:15 am: Postings released, Extemp draw
- 8:45 am: Round 1 B (V & JV)
- 10:15 am: Round 1 A (V & JV)
- 11:45 am: Round 2 B (V & JV)
- 1:15 pm: Round 2 A (V & JV)
- 2:45 pm: Round 3 B (V & JV)
- 4:15 pm: Round 3 A (V & JV)
- 6:45 pm: Quarters B (only events with over 60 entries) / Semis B (events with 60 or fewer entries)
- 7:15 pm: Quarters A (only events with over 60 entries) / Semis A (events with 60 or fewer entries)
- Note: Quarters/semis of B and quarters/semis of A will overlap. Pattern A quarterfinalists/semifinalists will be released as soon as we have them and rounds will start immediately thereafter.
- 8:15 pm: Semis B (only varsity events with over 60 entries [events that break to quarters])
- 8:30 pm: Semis A (only varsity events with over 60 entries [events that break to quarters]) Note: Semis of B and semis of A will overlap. Pattern A semifinalists will be released as soon as we have them and rounds will start immediately thereafter.
Sunday, February 9 | Stanford Campus
- 8:00 am: JV IE judges check in at IE tab/judge room (TBD)
- 8:20 am: JV IE pairings posted (see tabroom.com), Extemp draw (TBD)
- 8:45 am: Finals of all JV IEs begin(you must arrive before this to check postings and locate your competition rooms)
- 9:30 am: Varsity IE judges check in at IE tab/judge room (TBD)
- 9:45 am: Varsity IE pairings posted (see tabroom.com), Extemp draw (TBD)
- 10:15 am: Finals of all Varsity IEs begin (you must arrive before this to check postings and locate your competition rooms)
- 1:30 pm: Awards for IE’s and Congress (TBD)
All debate events (LD, Policy, PF & Parliamentary)
Note that debate events take place according to the following site schedule:
Saturday, February 8 | Stanford Campus
Sunday, February 9 | Stanford Campus
Monday, February 10 | Santa Clara Marriott
Click here for a full schedule of debate events: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1blkD71o6U_z2Bkc1vVr0H3xO5aGEi4iVDP36rzZXuFs/edit#gid=249889006
Location |
Contact info |
|
Debate
Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305 Speech Santa Clara Marriott, 700 mission college blvd |
Nathan Leal
Contact email: info@tgsastaff.com, nleal@tgsastaff.com |