TOC DIGITAL 2

TOC DIGITAL SPEECH AND DEBATE SERIES 2

24-26 February 2023

DEADLINE

19 February 2023
NO REFUNDS AVAILABLE

ELIGIBILITY

Open to middle and high school students

PLATFORM

Online through NSDA Campus

Information

Invitation: TOC Digital Speech & Debate Series #2
February 24-26, 2023

Important Updates
The TOC Digital Speech & Debate Series is a new initiative from the University of Kentucky aimed at providing equitable access to competition across the world at an affordable price. Please see below for important updates and changes to this year’s event.

Competition will occur online utilizing NSDA Campus
Bids to the 2023 Tournament of Champions are offered as follows
- Congressional Debate: Tier 2 (Top 16)
- Lincoln-Douglas Debate: Semifinals (Top 8)
- Policy Debate: Semifinals (Top 8)
- Public Forum Debate: Semifinals (Top 8)
- Speech Events: TBD Based on Entries

Topics & Formats
All events are governed by the rules in the tournament procedures below. Coaches, judges, and competitors should familiarize themselves with these documents prior to the start of the tournament. Please note that any sources read or cited as evidence in competition must be available upon request.

Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Jan/Feb 2023 NSDA Topic | 6-3-7-3-4-6-3 Speech Times | 4 Minutes of Preparation per Debater

Public Forum Debate
February 2023 NSDA Topic | 4-4-3-4-4-3-3-3-3-2-2 Speech Times | 3 Minutes of Preparation per Team

Speech Events
Maximum Total of 3 Speech Events per Competitor | Only 2 Speech Events in Any Single Pattern

Speech Patterns

Pattern A: Extemporaneous, Humorous Interpretation, Informative Speaking, Poetry, Program Oral Interpretation
Pattern B: Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Impromptu, Original Oratory, Prose

Judge Obligations
Competitors at the 2023 TOC Digital Speech & Debate Series deserve the highest quality of judging throughout the tournament. Consequently, judges must be available to fulfill their commitment during all scheduled rounds on the day(s) they are obligated. Tournament staff will not honor specific requests for time off during competition; please do not ask or make judge notes to this effect. Specific penalties for missing a round when obligated are outlined below.

For Novice and Middle-School divisions, very experienced competitors in Grade 11 or 12 are eligible to serve as judges. If so, they should be marked as such on Tabroom, and “Student Judge” should be put in the judge notes for the tournament.

Judges who are obligated but fail to appear on time for an assigned preliminary round will be assessed a $100 fine per round.

Competition Event (Judges Must Read)

Elimination Rounds
LD, PF, & Policy: All judges are obligated through at least the last elimination round on Sunday, February 26, then one round beyond the elimination of GSA student’s last entry.

For example, if your last entry is eliminated in Quarterfinals, your judges are obligated through Semifinals. Even if none of your entries advance, your judges are still obligated through the first elimination round scheduled on Sunday, February 26.

Congress & Speech: All judges are obligated through the final round on Sunday, February 26.

Judges who are obligated but fail to appear on time for an assigned elimination round will be assessed a $150 fine per round, and the associated program will face potential sanctions at future UK Debate events.

Judge Conflicts
Non-disclosure of judge conflicts, or preclusions, is an ethical concern. Non-disclosure creates competitive imbalances and is taken very seriously by the TOC Digital Speech & Debate Series.

Please indicate all conflicts, for all judges, on Tabroom. Judges should preclude themselves from judging any competitors whom they have previously coached, whether online or in person, paid or unpaid; with whom they have had a close, friendly, and/or personal relationship; and/or toward whom they feel that they cannot be objective for any reason. Judges affiliated with any college or other institution should preclude themselves from judging competitors whom they have seriously recruited, and judges should preclude themselves from judging entries from their alma mater.

In the case that a judge and/or competitor reports a conflict after a pairing is distributed, resulting in a change to the pairing—the associated program will be assessed a $500 fine and risks losing judge preferences/strikes for the remainder of the tournament.

Judge Eligibility

All judges must submit the 2023 TOC Digital Speech & Debate Honor Code and Video Release via Tabroom in advance (instructions here)
Debate judges must post a paradigm on Tabroom before judge preferences/strikes open
High-school students in grades 11-12 with extensive experience are eligible to serve as judges in the novice and middle school divisions.
Tournament staff have the right to dismiss any ineligible and/or unqualified judge, unless the judge is the program director or coach of record officially employed by that school
Any violation of the tournament judge policies will result in a $500 fine to your program, loss of judge preferences/strikes, and potential sanctions at future UK Debate events

Participant Conduct
All participants, observers, and other guests attend the 2023 TOC Digital Speech & Debate Series at the invitation of the University of Kentucky, and must abide by all applicable rules in the tournament invitation and procedures, as well as those set by the University of Kentucky.

Participants—including coaches, competitors, and judges—certify that all entries, forms, and other materials submitted for the TOC Digital Speech & Debate Series are accurate and complete. Submission of any TOC Digital Speech & Debate Series-related materials grants permission to distribute and verify the information contained therein among TOC Digital Speech & Debate Series administrators, tournament staff, and/or UK Debate staff.

Honor Code

All participants—including competitors, judges, coaches, and observers—must submit a signed TOC Digital Speech & Debate Series #2 Honor Code via Tabroom in advance. (Note: For digital completion and signature, all linked forms must be downloaded and opened in Adobe, as opposed to a web browser.) Step-by-step instructions are available here for judges and here for all other participants.

Every individual must also review and abide by the tournament invitation and procedures documents posted on Tabroom, along with the honor code and relevant policies of your own school or program.

The TOC Digital Speech & Debate Series Honor Code conveys the significance and importance of competitive integrity to all members of our community, in the interest of maintaining the highest standards of conduct. Participants must act with dignity and respect, and refrain from undermining the integrity of speech and debate as an institution. Participants should neither seek, nor encourage others to seek unfair assistance or advantage in competition. All participants, including observers, are expected to act in good faith and preserve the competitive integrity of the TOC Digital Speech & Debate Series.

Pledge
As a participant in the TOC Digital Speech & Debate Series, I pledge not to lie, cheat, steal or otherwise undermine the fairness of the tournament. I understand that competitive integrity and fairness is important to all tournament participants, and I promise to uphold the highest standards of honesty and integrity in competition.

Video Release
All participants must submit a signed TOC Digital Speech & Debate Series #2 Video Release.

This grants permission to live stream competition events, post recordings on third-party platforms (e.g. YouTube), and incorporate footage into future educational materials. If a participant is under 18 years of age, then a parent or legal guardian must also sign the form.

Entry Price

One PF event and parent is judging $75
One PF event and parent is OPTING OUT of judging $200

One LD event and parent is judging $75
One LD event and parent is OPTING OUT of judging $275

One speech event and parent is judging $75
One speech event and parent is OPTING OUT of judging $150

Two speech events and parent is judging $100
Two speech events and parent is OPTING OUT of judging $200

Two speech events and parent is judging $125
Two speech events 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.

Schedule - EST

Please note that all times will be in Eastern Time Zone (EST)

Click here to view the schedule for LD debate

Click here to view the schedule for PF debate

Click here to view the schedule for speech events

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

Before you proceed with the registration below, make sure ALL STUDENTS AND JUDGES must fill out the forms below. Failure to do so will result in the tournament dropping you without a refund.

HONOR CODE
Click to download TOC Digital Speech & Debate Series #2 Honor Code

VIDEO RELEASE
Click to download TOC Digital Speech & Debate Series #2 Video Release

STUDENT INFORMATION

* Indicates required field

Student Name *

First

Last

Student Email (DO NOT USE PARENT'S EMAIL) *

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

Signed Honor Code (competitor) *

Max file size: 20MB

Signed Video Release (competitor) *

Max file size: 20MB

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.

Parent Name *

First

Last

Parent Email *

Parent Phone Number *

EVENT SELECTION

Double entry policy:

Students can only enter in speech OR debate.
If competing in speech, students may enter in up to two events per pattern.

Got any questions? Please email nbudiman@tgsastaff.com, info@tgsastaff.com, vrivasumana@tgsastaff.com

I CAN ONLY ENTER IN EITHER SPEECH OR DEBATE. IF DOING SPEECH, I CAN ENTER IN UP TO TWO EVENTS PER PATTERN. *

YES, I UNDERSTAND THE DOUBLE-ENTRY RESTRICTIONS

Division for all events *

Middle School High School Novice High School Varsity

JUDGE PROVISION

Will you (parent) be judging at this tournament? *

Judge Name *

For judges, you need to agree to the pledge and submit your forms on your own through your Tabroom account. Please see the instructions here.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/16eP1yP4oxK34e3qRVEFOqaq6WUmIULp_iLrmfS-suiE/edit#bookmark=id.qyi6oeqiawil

Will you (judge) follow the instructions above? *

Yes and I understand that failure to do so may result in our entry being removed without refund. Not judging but understood as well.

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 (opting out)

Does your judge understand that he/she is responsible for the entire tournament schedule and that missing a round incurs fines from the tournament? *

Yes, understood Not judging but understood as well

Judge Philosophies
For debate, all judges must submit a judging philosophy to Tabroom.com (see instructions here). No LD entry will be considered complete until all affiliated judges have submitted a judge philosophy. This 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".

Disclosure of decisions and oral critique policy
The Tournament of Champions encourages judge-debater interaction by making decision disclosures and giving oral critiques in all four debate divisions. Please submit your ballot on Tabroom before giving any post-round feedback.

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.

More tournament resources can be found here.

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