Dear Speech and Debate Coach:
On behalf of the Yale Debate Association, we invite you and your team to the tenth annual Yale High School Speech and Debate Tournament. The tournament is scheduled for Friday, September 27, 2002 to Sunday, September 29, 2002 and will consist of competition in varisity and junior varsity Lincoln-Douglas debate, varsity policy debate, student congress, and six independent speech events.
Year after year, our tournament grows and gains national recognition for its high level of competion. Last year, over 60 schools helped to make the ninth edition a huge succes. The Yale tournament provides a wonderful opportunity to gain some early season practice and compete against esteemed local and national experience. These facts were recently confirmed with the announcement 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 parliamentary debate tournaments. Many of our members also excelled in high school competition and now teach at various institutes during the summer, including Iowa and Kentucky. These same committed members will 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 in Massachusetts and Mr. Chris Palmer, a former coach of and competitor for Milton Academy. Both Mr. Averill and Mr. Palmer are nationally recognized and successful tab coordinators. For the past two years, they have be integral in our ability to run a smooth and on-time tournament.
The information provided with this invitation and on our tournament website, http://www.geocities.com/yaledebate2002, should help answer any questions that you may have about our tournament. If you need additional assistance please feel free to email us at andrew.korn@yale.edu or michael.s.palmieri@yale.edu.
Best wishes for a restful and enjoyable summer and we look forward to seeing many of our old friends in New Haven in September.
Sincerely,
Andrew Korn & Michael Palmieri
Events
Participants in Congress or policy debate cannot double enter. Participants may double enter in two speech events or L-D debate and one speech event.
Varsity and Junior-Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate
The resolution will be the September-October National Forensic League topic. Both L-D 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 double octafinals.
Policy Debate
There will be a single open division of policy debate using the 2002-2003 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 order as Lincoln-Douglas debate. The break will be to quarterfinals (an octafinal round may be added, if the field is large enough).
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 Sunday morning. Bills and resolutions must be emailed to andrew.korn@yale.edu or sent to Andrew Korn, PO Box 203130, New Haven, CT 06520 by September 13, 2002. We strongly prefer email and take no responsibility for legislation that is not received on time due to complications with snail mail. Legislation will be mailed to participating schools on September 16. Please let us know the email or street address to which the packet should be sent.
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. The final round will feature cross-examination, which is an exception to CFL rules.
Original Oratory
Speakers will deliver an original speech with no more than 150 words of quotation in 10 minutes or less. The oration should not be reused from competitions prior to the 2002-2003 school year.
Oral Interpretation of Literature (Prose and Poetry)
Competitors will prepare two pieces (one prose and one poetry), each under ten minutes in length, including their 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.
Dramatic Interpretation of Literature
Contestants will perform a memorized dramatic selection from a published work, not to exceed 10 minutes.
Duo Interpretation of Literature
Two students will perform a selection from a published work, not to exceed 10 minutes. Selections may be either humorous or serious and should be read from a script. Team members should never face one another during their speech. CFL rules for blocking, reading, and multiple characters apply.
Please Note: Lincoln-Douglas and Policy debaters will be guaranteed 5 preliminary rounds. Speech competitors will be guaranteed 3 preliminary rounds. There will be a 30-second grace period for all speech events. Grace periods in Lincoln-Douglas and policy debate are at the judge’s discretion. Speech events will break to quarterfinals or semifinals, at the discretion of the tournament directors, based on the size of each field.
All rules above are subject to change. The tournament directors will make you aware of any changes when you register. Please check our website at http://www.geocities.com/yaledebate2002 to stay up to date on the latest announcements.
For more detailed tab polices please click the following links: Speech, Debate, Congress
Fees
--School registration fee: $25/per team
(waived for first-time schools in the last three years, schools that fly to the tournament, or schools that have less than 3 total entries)
--Policy debate: $50/per team
--Lincoln-Douglas debate: $35/per entry
--Student Congress: $25/per entry
--Duo Interpretation of Literature: $20/per team
--All other Independent speech events: $15/per entry
--Second speech event: $10/per entry
Judging Requirements
We require teams to bring one judge for every 3 Lincoln-Douglas debaters, or fraction thereof. Teams must bring one judge for every 2 policy debate teams, or fraction thereof. For all independent events and student congress, teams must bring one judge for every 5 entries, or fraction thereof. Judge obligations extend through the first elimination round and then one round past the round in which that judge's team(s) are eliminated. As a courtesy and honor to those participating in elimination rounds, any judge who MUST leave early should notify the tournament directors in advance.
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.
Awards
Awards will be given to competitors reaching elimination rounds in all events. Also, sweepstakes trophies will be awarded based on team performance with points earned by each competitor who reaches elimination rounds.
Transportation and Housing
We have arranged for group rates at various hotels. Click here for housing information. Click here for travel information
Registration
We require that teams pre-register no later than Friday, September 20, 2002. We strongly reccomend that you register online by clicking here. To obtain a printable form, click here or email andrew.korn@yale.edu. Please mail paper registrations to
Yale Debate Association
c/o Andrew Korn
P.O. Box 203130
New Haven, CT 06520
Registration will run from 1:30 until 3:00 p.m. on Friday, September 27th. Teams may drop entries without penalty up until Monday, September 23rd. Changes must be made by emailing andrew.korn@yale.edu or by calling Andrew Korn at (516)510-6318. After that day, a drop fee of one-half the dropped tournament fees will apply. Unless prior arrangements have been made, we expect full payment at registration.
Schedule
Click here for a preliminary schedule.
Admissions & Tours
For students interested in learning more about Yale, we will arrange a tour of the campus with the admissions office. We expect it take place around lunch time on the 27th or during early elimination rounds on the 29th, but full details will follow. If you are interested, please make a note on your pre-registration.
Questions
Questions should be addressed to Andrew Korn or Michael Palmieri. We can be reached by e-mail at andrew.korn@yale.edu or michael.s.palmieri@yale.edu. If you need an immediate response, you may call Andrew at (516)510-6318.