Updated noon January 12, 2018: Due to pending inclement weather, York has canceled this tournament.

The York High School Speech and Debate Team is pleased to invite you to a Debate and Congress Tournament on Saturday, January 13.

Registration deadline: Wed., Jan. 10, 11:55 pm

Judge hire request deadline: Fri., Jan. 12, 8 pm
Judge entry deadline: Fri., Jan. 12, 8 pm
Fees and judge obligations frozen (nonrefundable): Fri., Jan. 12, 8 pm
Drop deadline: Sat., Jan 13, 8 am

Any questions, please contact Michele Adams, Tournament Director, by email, phone, or text: [email protected], home 282-6383, cell 837-7939.

On tournament day, email is best, phone coverage is sketchy at best.

Registration

Registration must be completed through Tabroom.com by 11:55 p.m. Wednesday,  Jan.10.

Entry Fees

• $7.00 per entry (New schools $3.50)
• Teams (PF) are two entries ($14)

Entry fees will be NOT be capped.

Drops

Drops and changes will be accepted until Saturday, Jan. 13,  at 8:00 a.m. Invoices will be prepared at that time. Late add requests are not encouraged and will be accepted only at the discretion of the tournament host. Drops after this time will be assessed an additional charge of $10 per entry.

Call or text the MFA hotline (207-370-4632) Saturday morning once you are en route to the tournament to confirm your team and judge attendance. Drops communicated prior to arrival will be waived the $10 penalty.

Events

• LD: 3 levels, if numbers allow
• PF: 2 levels, if numbers allow
• Congressional Debate: Senate and House, as needed

Event/division definitions

Novice level is for students competing in their first year of high school forensics (i.e. first year competitors).

Junior varsity level is primarily for second-year competitors, but also first year competitors who have enjoyed success.

Varsity level is for competitors with more than one year of experience who wish to try a higher level of competition.

Maverick in Public Forum Debate is a single-person team. A maverick WILL be allowed at this tournament.

Debate Topics

LD resolution

Resolved: Plea bargaining ought to be abolished in the United States criminal justice system.

PF resolution

Resolved: Spain should grant Catalonia its independence.

Congress

The docket will be posted no later than one week prior to the tournament.

Judge Requirements

Help the meet run smoothly and fairly by supplying your required, trained judges, including unaffiliated, in accordance with MFA rules.

Note judge conflicts or shadow needs in your judge registration on Tabroom.com. Email the tournament host for any complex judge situations. Remember a parent cannot judge the category in which their child is competing.

Fractional entries round up (i.e. three LD entries = 2 judges). Third, fifth, and seventh judge must be neutral for LD and PF.

• LD: one judge for every 2 LD entries
• PF: one judge for every 2 teams
• Congressional Debate: one judge for every 5 entries

Judges are expected to be available for ALL rounds of competition. Fines will be assessed for judges departing early unless cleared through Tabulation.

Hiring Judges

There will be a VERY limited number of extra judges available for hire. Fees for purchasing judges will be $60 per judge.

Have all your judges finalized by 7:00 p.m. Friday, Jan.12. Submit requests to hire judges via Tabroom.com by Wednesday, Jan. 10.

If you have extra judges, have them enroll in the judge hire exchange or contact the Tournament Director so the judge can be added to the judge hire pool. The host will release any unhired judges by 8:00 p.m., Friday, Jan 10.

If you have extra judges encourage the judge to register with Tabroom.com and enter themselves into the hire pool.

Online balloting

While paper ballots will be available, we are encouraging all judges to participate in online balloting through Tabroom.com. To participate, judges must:

• Have an account on Tabroom.com that is linked to your school’s judge list.
• Bring their own device for indicating their adjudications and comments.

To read ballots at the end of the day, students should also have an account linked to your team on Tabroom.com.

Food

Students: Breakfast items, lunch and snacks will be on sale for students in the cafeteria. Students should not leave the school at any point during the tournament day.

Coach and judges: Complimentary breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks will be provided for coaches and judges.

Awards

Sweeps: Top three places in Debate and Congressional Debate

Individual awards for first through third in each category, and honorable mention as determined by Tab.

Note that ties in record will be broken first by MFA guidelines.

Tabulation of awards follows standards adopted by MFA.

Schedule

8:00-8:30 Registration (arrive early, please)
8:35 Judges meeting in Judges’ Lounge; Student meeting in Cafeteria
9:00 Rounds begin following briefings
4:30 Awards (sooner if possible)

Accommodations

We aim to make competition accessible and welcoming to all who wish to participate. Tournament participants can find gender-neutral accommodations throughout the building.

Coaches or students should reach out to the tournament host to request ADA accommodations.

Directions

York High School, 1 Robert Stevens Drive, York Maine 03909

SIDE NOTE: York High School is a cold building. Please plan accordingly.