We will be hosting 10 debate tournaments that lead up to a Regional Championship, then a US & Canada championship.
Please see the attachment or read below. Please share with the debate community. This would be for students who are not able to do most of the 2-3 day tournaments and ALL the middle school kids. 5th-12th grade.
INVITATION FOR METRO DC SPEECH & DEBATE LEAGUE 2020 US & Canadian
VIRTUAL DEBATE SERIES
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.
We are taking donations for every tournament on top of the registration fees, and scholarships for technology, expensive tournaments, travel to camps and expensive camps, (all of the barriers that prevent everyone from excelling in the craft).
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!
This series also seeks to grab the attention of the Obama Foundation in pursuit to form an Obama Presidential Debate Series! Any help in grabbing their attention would be awesome.
Yours in Debate,
Julian Dotson
President/CEO
DCUDL
THE DEBATE SERIES
Prelims & Championship Dates the Virtual Debate Series:
MIDDLE SCHOOL SERIES DATES
HIGH SCHOOL SERIES DATES
Sept 26
October 10
October 17
November 11
November 28
December 12
Jan 9
Jan 16
Feb 13 Regional Championship
Feb 20 National Championships
AFTER FEB 20 we will repeat the prelims for the
Second Bi-Annual Championships
PF Each tournament is 3-4 rounds with a Possible 5th final round
Congress Each tournament is 2 sessions
PF: Your goal is 20 total wins in order to make it to the
Championships. The wins will add up from every round in the prelims. Regional Championships also count towards the 20 total wins.
*BYE ROUNDS DO NOT COUNT AS WINS UNLESS BY SOME CHANCE YOU GOT TWO BYES IN 8 TOURNAMENTS
Individuals and Partners with 20 wins qualify for the Championships. EXTRA LARGE Trophies will be given out in the championships.
HIGH SCHOOL Congress: Your Goal is to finish in the top 3 in at least THREE of the prelim tournaments in order to make it to the Championships. 8th grade and up.
Students in 5th-8th grade can participate
Students in 8th-12th grade can participate
Every tournament starts at 10am EASTERN TIME and ends at approx. 5pm EASTERN TIME. There are 4 rounds with 30 minute breaks in between. 4th and 5th round will have either 2 or 3 judge panels.
All debates are 100% professionally organized. There are many tournaments online these days, but those using NSDA Campus and expertly run tabroom, judging, and proper debate etiquette are what will make this series stand out!
The Online Platform
We will be using TABROOM.COM and the NSDA PLATFORM
This means each person must have a registered account on www.tabroom.com with their email account. That account must be tied to a school, club, or private team that has PAID membership to the league. This paid membership will cover the administrative costs of all tournaments!
Membership is $250.00
The individual team registration fees this year are $20/student.
TABROOM PROCESS CAN BE FOUND ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE TOURNAMENT PAGE OF EACH TOURNAMENT.
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! (see below for more)
How to Compete Online
Accessibility
NSDA CAMPUS will be the format.
ALL CAMERAS MUST BE TURNED ON THE ENTIRE DEBATE
STUDENTS WILL ALSO BE ASKED TO SHARE EVIDENCE AND OR SPEECHES WITH COMPETITORS OR JUDGES. DO NOT CHEAT.
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.
Eligibility for the Tournament
Again, the students involved should be members of schools, teams, clubs, etc who have paid $250 to the league (approx. $10 per tournament). And the ages/experience is from NOVICE to VARSITY middle and high school 5th grade to 12th grade.
AGAIN: 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!
Some schools/students who are unable to pay for the tournament fees should email jdotson@dcudl.org EVERY TIME or call/text 301-906-6226 to get a discount, especially those who are steady debaters in the league.
OPEN TO ALL STUDENTS REGARDLESS OF TEAMS! HYBRIDS ARE OKAY, CLUB, SCHOOL, PRIVATE TEAMS, all are welcomed! Homeschoolers may also be able to compete. SEE UNIVERSITYPRO option on the www.dcudl.org website.
THE ONLY RULE IS THERE ARE NO MEME ROUNDS, NO CRAZY TEAM NAMES. So for example,
TEAM NAME: George Washington Carver High School Independent (Johnson & Haynes) is acceptable.
TEAM NAME: G.O.A.T. Institute (Johnson & Haynes) is NOT ACCEPTABLE.
IF YOU ARE NOT FROM THE US OR CANADA, PLEASE EMAIL jdotson@dcudl.org
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO COMPETE, BUT YOU HAVE TO PICK A PARTNER SCHOOL or TEAM in the US OR CANADA!
DEBATES ARE OPEN TO ALL STUDENTS IN THE US & CANADA
REGIONAL DEBATE CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE BROKEN UP BY THE FOLLOWING REGIONS
UNITED STATES REGIONS
Entry Fees and Payment Instructions
Fee Due Date
Entry fees must be paid in full every Wednesday before the debate tournament.
All students who drop after Wednesday will not receive refunds and drop fees are $10 each.
Methods of Payment
1. Paying by Credit Card- You can request a PayPal Link to pay with credit cards.
2. Paying by Cash APP $dcdebate
3. Paying by Zelle jdotson@ducdl.org
NO CHECKS OR CASH ACCEPTED THIS YEAR
School/Administrative fee: $250 for the entire year for all schools and teams (that is only $10 per school per tournament compared to $75 for some single tournaments)
Per Public Forum entry: $20/student ($30/student for teams of two students small teams with no judge req.)
Judge hire fee per tournament $60
LATE FEE per tournament $10
Be sure to cover 1 judge for every 2 teams!
Topics and Formats
FOR TIMES, judges may pause debates in the event of technical difficulties. 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)
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
CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE:
Docket will be uploaded for each tournament 3 weeks before the tournament. Students may submit bills and resolutions to jdotson@dcudl.org with the title: BILL FOR UPCOMING TOURNAMENT.
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 DCUDL PF 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.
High School Judges
High School kids can judge middle school tournaments as long as they have debated ONE entire year in high school.
VARSITY high school students can judge high school novice.
Encourage them to judge, because they get NSDA points!
Judge Philosophies:
Public Forum: all judges must submit a judging philosophy to Tabroom.
There are no judge strikes.
PF: Be sure to cover 1 judge for every 2 teams!
CONGRESS: Be sure to cover 1 judge for every 6 congress students!
Hired Judging
The tournament will provide, and coordinate hired judging, upon request if judge hires are available. So Ask EARLY.
To cover PF judges teams shall pay $15/round. Hired judging fees are not refundable no matter what happens to your team.
All judging requests need to be communicated to jdotson@dcudl.org
You will receive an email either confirming your request will be honored or letting you know we cannot accommodate it.
PF: Be sure to cover 1 judge for every 2 teams!
CONGRESS: Be sure to cover 1 judge for every 6 congress students!
Awards
Certificates for prelim rounds will be mailed to ONE location (coach shall provide this location)
Trophies will be very large for the Championships for the top 3 finishing teams. Schools will also be given a GRAND champion trophy. Total percentage wins for the entire series.
The MARK_KALAVRITINOS Captain’s award
Each coach may nominate their captain for this award. Award recipients shall be: Captains or Co-Captains of teams that would otherwise not operate without them! Mark Kalavritinos was the captain of the Landon School under the coach, Margaret Sopher and the last in person debate tournament would not have happened without their help! At that tournament, Mark received the first captain’s award and from now on there will be one award per Championship. There are two championships each school year!
Contact Information
DCUDL website: www.dcudl.org
Please direct any administrative questions to:
Julian Dotson, President DCUDL
301-906-6226
THE DCUDL IS A 501c3 ORGANIZATION.
Please read about the 10,000 BLACK DEBATER shortage on our website. It is my goal to recruit 10,000 black debaters in my career. -Julian Dotson