4. Division Eligibility

Like last tournament, I will be checking that all entries are meeting eligibility requirements before removing them from the waitlist. Teams will not be removed from the waitlist until I can confirm that their division eligibility requirements are met. Teams that do not meet the requirements may face penalties up to and including being blocked from competing in rounds until the requirements are met.

NOVICE: The novice division is designed for beginning debaters. In order to ensure competitive equity, each student has 3 tournaments of novice eligibility. After competing in novice for this number of tournaments, students must move to a higher division. Rookie is equivalent to half a novice tournament, with a maximum of 2 rookie tournaments.This tournament will NOT feature a rookie division - any rookie debaters should debate in the novice division and be prepared to engage with the full novice evidence set.

JV: All students who have exhausted their novice eligibility should move up to the JV division. After competing in JV for 3 tournaments, students must move to the open division. A student can have their JV eligibility extended by having their coach make a request with me, articulating why it would be difficult for the student in question to compete at the next level. For mixed experience partnerships, debaters should be in the division of the more experienced debater.

VARSITY: This tournament does not have a Varsity division. Varsity students are not allowed to move down to debate. If they still would like to attend, they may help as a volunteer judge. Details and requirements for student judges are below.