Dear Speech and Debate Coach:
On behalf of the Yale Debate Association, we invite you and your team to the eleventh annual Yale University High School Speech and Debate Tournament from Friday, September 19, 2003 to Sunday, September 21, 2003. The tournament will consist of competition in varsity and junior varsity Lincoln-Douglas debate, varsity policy debate, student congress, and six speech events.
Year after year, our tournament grows and gains national recognition for its high level of competition. Last year, close to 90 schools helped to make the tenth edition a huge success. The Yale tournament provides a wonderful opportunity to gain some early season practice and compete against both locally and nationally esteemed schools. Like last year, we expect that quarter-finalists in varsity Lincoln-Douglas debate will earn a bid to the Tournament of Champions.
With over a century of debating experience, the Yale Debate Association regularly places teams in the elimination rounds of various national college parliamentary debate tournaments. Many of our members also excelled in high school speech and debate competitions and now teach at various institutes during the summer, including Iowa and Kentucky. These same committed members form the core of a highly experienced judging pool and tournament staff.
Joining us in tab for another year will be Mr. Tim Averill of Manchester High School (LD), Mr. Chris Palmer of Milton Academy (Speech), Ms. Jenny Cook of Milton Academy (Policy), and Ms. Alicia Slavis of Christian Brothers Academy (Congress). All four are nationally recognized and successful tab coordinators. For the past few years, they have been integral in our ability to run a smooth tournament.
The information provided with this invitation and on this website should help answer any questions that you may have about our tournament. If you need additional assistance, please feel free to email us at monica.mix@yale.edu or aaron.zelinsky@yale.edu.
Best wishes for a restful and enjoyable summer. We look forward to seeing many of our old friends in New Haven in September.
Sincerely,
Monica Mix & Aaron Zelinsky
Friday, September 19th - Sunday, September 21st
New Haven, CT
Tournament Information
Events
Varsity and Junior-Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate
The resolution will be the September-October NFL topic. Both LD divisions will follow the 6-3-7-3-4-6-3 format. Debaters will have 4 minutes of prep time. Ties will be broken based on record, adjusted points, total points, double-adjusted points, judge variance, opponents' record, and flip of a coin, in that order. The break will be to triple-octafinals in varsity and double-octafinals in JV.
Policy Debate
There will be a single, open division of policy debate using the 2003-2004 NFL resolution. Teams will give 8-minute constructives, 3-minute cross-examinations, and 5-minute rebuttals and will have 10 minutes of prep time. Ties will be broken using the same criteria in the same order as those in Lincoln-Douglas debate. The break will be to quarterfinals. (If the field is large enough, an octafinal round may be added.)
Student Congress
There will be a single, open division of student congress. Chambers will be comprised of no more than 25 members and will debate up to three bills per session. A Super Congress session comprised of the top speakers from each chamber will be held on Sunay morning. Legislation must be emailed to monica.mix@yale.edu or sent to Monica Mix, PO Box 201789, New Haven, CT 06520 by September 12, 2003. Legislation that has not been received by that date will not be included. We strongly prefer email and take no responsbility for legislation that is not received on time due to complications with the US Postal Service. Legislation will be emailed to participating schools on September 13, 2003.
Extemporaneous Speaking
Domestic and foreign extemporaneous speaking will be combined into a single, open division; competitors should expect questions evenly split between the two areas. Competitors will have 30 minutes of prep time and up to 7 minutes of speaking time. Prepared notes, electronic devices, and consultation with teammates or coaches will be prohibited in the prep room. In accordance with NFL rules, the final round will feature cross-examination.
Original Oratory
Speakers will deliver and original speech with no more than 150 words of quotation. The oration is not to exceed 10 minutes in length and should not be reused from competitions prior to the 2003-2004 school year.
Oral Interpretation of Literature (Prose and Poetry)
Competitors will prepare two pieces (one prose selection and one poetry selection), each fewer than ten minutes in length, including introductions. Rounds will alternate between poetry and prose, with the first round determined by a coin flip. Both pieces must be read from a script.
Humorous Interpretation of Literature
Contestants will perform a memorized humorous selection from a published work, not to exceed 10 minutes in length.
Dramatic Interpretation of Literature
Contestants will perform a memorized dramatic selection from a published work, not to exceed 10 minutes in length.
Duo Interpretation of Literature
Two students will perform a memorized selection from a published work, not to exceed 10 minutes in length. Selections may be either humorous or dramatic. Team members should never face one another during their speech.
Please note: Lincoln-Douglas and Policy debaters will be guaranteed 5 preliminary rounds. Speech competitors will be guaranteed 3 preliminary rounds. Speech events will break to either quarterfinals or semifinals based on the size of each field.
Grace period in Lincoln-Douglas and Policy debate are at the judge's discretion. The grace period will be 30 seconds for all speech events. Any participant who exceeds the grace period will be penalized by being dropped by one rank. Any time a participant is penalized for a time violation, the judge must have used a precise timing device and must note the penalty on the ballot.
With the exception of timing policy, NFL rules for blocking, memorization, and performance will be used for DI, HI, Duo, Extemp, and OO. CFL rules will be used for OI.
All rules above are subject to change. The tournament directors will make you aware of any changes when you register.
-Policy debate: $50 per team
-Lincoln-Douglas debate: $40 per entry
-Student Congress: $30 per entry
-Duo Interpretation of Literature: $25 per team
-All other Independent speech events: $20 per entry
-Second speech event: $15 per entry
Teams will pay a replacement charge for each judge they fail to bring. For all events except policy debate, the charge is $40.00 per uncovered entry. If a team fails to bring a policy debate judge, they must pay $65.00 per uncovered entry. We require payment of the charge because we will have to hire a judge to cover your entry.
Yale Debate Association
c/o Monica Mix
PO Box 201789 New Haven, CT 06520
Registration will run from 1:30 until 3:00 p.m. on Friday, September 19th. Teams may drop entries without penalty up until Monday, September 15th. Changes must be made by emailing monica.mix@yale.edu or by calling Monica Mix at (216)392-4984. After September 15th, a drop fee of one-half the dropped tournament fees will apply. Unless prior arrangements have been made, we expect full payment at registration.