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The Anatomy of A Debate Tournament Handout #4

First time participating in a debate competition? Learn how to state your points, rebut the opposition, and cooperate with your friends/teammates.

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AF37
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13 views

The Anatomy of A Debate Tournament Handout #4

First time participating in a debate competition? Learn how to state your points, rebut the opposition, and cooperate with your friends/teammates.

Uploaded by

AF37
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION

Tournament Etiquette

The Anatomy of a Debate Tournament Handout #4


Purpose of a Tournament
Debaters attend tournament competitions at other schools in order to test the skills we have
learned in practice. Tournaments allow you to compete against other students from Georgia and
the United States. Debate tournaments are very fun; however, they are more like a business trip
than a family vacation. While we will always have time spent enjoying ourselves as a team, the
majority of the daytime hours will be spent participating in debates.

Schedule
There are three general schedules for tournaments that first year (novice) debaters attend:
*Please note- these are merely examples, modify these to fit your region

One Day Local Tournaments


One day local tournaments take place on Saturdays. They usually feature four rounds of debate.
Each team will participate in all four of these rounds, alternating affirmative and negative so that
each team is affirmative twice and negative twice. For example, a team might be affirmative in
rounds one and three and negative in rounds two and four. An awards assembly will follow
round four. Some of these tournaments also have a final exhibition round for the top two teams
in each division, determined by teams’ records

Example — One Day Local Tournament:


7:30-8:30AM Registration
8:45-9:00AM Assembly
9:00-11:00AM Round 1
11:00-1:00PM Round 2
1:00-2:00PM Lunch
2:00-4:00PM Round 3
4:00-6:00PM Round 4
6:30PM Awards

Two Day Local Tournaments


Two day local tournaments take place on Friday evenings and all day Saturday. They usually
feature between four and six preliminary rounds. Based on a team’s record, they may then
advance to the elimination rounds; like a tournament in most sports, elimination rounds feature
the top X number of teams with the highest seed debating the lowest seed (and so forth). Teams
usually flip for sides before the debate and the loser is eliminated from the tournament. There
will be an awards assembly on Saturday, usually before the final elimination rounds.

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NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION
Tournament Etiquette

The Anatomy of a Debate Tournament Handout #4


Example — Two Day Local Tournament:
Friday
3:15 -3:45 Registration in Media Center
4:15 Round 1
6:00 Dinner Break
6:30 Round 2
8:25 Round 3
Saturday
8:00 Round 4
10:00 Round 5
12:00 Lunch Break
12:45 First Elim Round
2:45 Second Elim Round
4:45 Awards

Multiple Day National Tournaments


Occasionally novices will have the opportunity to attend tournaments outside of Georgia. Due to
travel time, these tournaments usually last several days. They are very similar to the two day
local tournaments except that they may feature more debates.

Example — National/Regional Tournament:


Friday
11:00AM Depart School by bus
1:00-3:00PM Registration (coach only)
3:45-5:30PM Round 1
5:30-7:30PM Round 2
8:30-10:30PM Round 3

Saturday
7:45-9:30PM Round 4
11:00-1:00PM Round 5
2:00-3:30PM Round 6
4:00PM Awards
4:30-6:00PM Elimination Rounds
6:30-8:00PM Elimination Rounds
8:30-10:00PM Elimination Rounds

Sunday
9:00AM Return to School by Bus

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NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION
Tournament Etiquette

The Anatomy of a Debate Tournament Handout #4

The Novice Division


The novice division is for first-year debaters only (although it may include second-year debaters
with very minimal experience). Therefore, the playing field is very level — you will not have to
worry about debating an experienced varsity team. In Georgia, novice tournaments feature
limited topic areas that confine teams to the arguments contained in the packet. This helps
debaters better prepare for debates and encourages more clash. At some novice tournaments in
other states, however, the novice division does not feature a case list. If you attend one of those
tournaments, you will have to be prepared to debate any topical affirmative case.

Pairings
Before each debate, the tournament will release “pairings” or “schematics” which tell you who
you are debating against, whether you will be affirmative or negative, who will judge the debate,
and where the debate will take place. They are released between ten and thirty minutes before
the debate. When the pairing comes out, you should go to your assigned room and prepare for
your debate

SAMPLE DEBATE PAIRING

Room Affirmative Negative Judge


A116 Chattahoochee KK Alpharetta TW
Gibson
A120 Johns Creek RS Marist AV Jordan
A114 Northview CH Johns Creek BJ
Miller
A110 Westminster SW Chattahoochee KL Spiegel
A122 Marist EZ Alpharetta ES Batterman
A118 Carrollton BH Pace Academy HT
Schirmer
A128 Marist MS Fayette County RL
Grellinger

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NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION
Tournament Etiquette

The Anatomy of a Debate Tournament Handout #4

Ballots
For each debate that you participate in, you will get a ballot that indicates the winner and loser
and how many speaker points are awarded to each debater. Points are awarded on a 30 point
scale based on the overall skill of the debaters, not necessarily the differential between the two
teams. Points are not used to keep score; they are used to communicate how well the judge
thought you performed above and beyond the decision. In fact, a team can win with fewer points
than the losing team if they have done an overall better job but lost a critical argument.

Here is an example ballot that shows that the affirmative from Pace Academy won the debate
versus the negative from Lexington High School in Massachusetts:

Awards
At the end of the tournament there will be an awards assembly. Students earn team awards based
on their win-loss record in the tournament. Students earn speaker awards based on their speaker
points in the debates, not wins and losses. Students who participate in elimination rounds will
typically receive awards for their performance.

While we are always excited to see Woodward debaters do well, it is important to remember that
respectful competition requires politely clapping for our teammates, not cheering or yelling when
they receive awards.

It is expected that debaters stand to applaud the top speaker and champion in each division.

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