August 22, 2012

Dear Colleagues,

 The Vanderbilt Debate Squad and the Department of Communication Studies invite you and your teams to the Vanderbilt Invitational Tournament held the weekend of October 19 - 21, 2012. All schools are welcomed.  

 Professor Neil Butt will be running the tab room.  The tournament will consist of three CEDA/ADA divisions: Open, JV and Novice ~ but we will collapse divisions if low numbers warrant. We will use the CEDA/ADA definitions for all divisions. In each division, there will be six preliminary rounds of debate competition on the 2012-2013 CEDA resolution. The appropriate number of elimination rounds will follow, and the tournament will follow CEDA and ADA rules.

 Each school should fully cover its own judging commitment.  Please use the Hired Judge Exchange on Tabroom.com.  If you have any problems, contact us.   

 Since the tournament weekend does not coincide with our Fall Break this year, we will have to return to our traditional schedule with rounds starting later on Friday.   We will still provide dinner on Friday, breakfast and lunch on Saturday, and breakfast on Sunday. Snacks will be provided throughout the tournament.

 All judges are obligated through the later of the following:  a) the end of the first full elimination round or b) through one round after their teams are eliminated. Judges will be required to submit decisions no later than 2 hours 30 minutes from the start of the round.

 If you are a new program, please let us know as soon as you decide to enter the tournament.  We will be happy to waive the entry fees for new programs and offer additional help to the extent possible.  Should anyone need airport transportation or any other help, please let us know and we will try to be of assistance.

 We look forward to seeing you all in October.

 Sincerely, 

M. L. Sandoz                                       Neil Butt

Director of Debate                                Assistant Director of Debate 

(615-) 322-8669                                      (615) 322-3784 Office

(615) 500-6184 Cell                                (540) 290-5827

(615) 343-7918 Fax                                Neil.S.Butt@vanderbilt.edu

ML.Sandoz@vanderbilt.edu

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

We will be using the new Tabroom.com system for entries.  Since this is a new system, we will try to be understanding of any problems that arise and we hope that you will be patient with us as we learn this system.

ENTRIES: Please enter through Tabroom.com.  Schools may enter any number of teams in any division. CEDA/ADA definitions for all divisions will be used. This is a sanctioned CEDA & ADA tournament.

JUDGES: Schools must provide a qualified judge for every two teams or fraction thereof entered. There will be only a small number of judges available for hire. If you can provide qualified judges for hire, please add their names to the Hired Judge Exchange on Tabroom.com. All judges are obligated 1 round after their teams are eliminated.

AWARDS: All teams reaching elimination rounds will receive awards. Half the teams in each division will break to elimination rounds as required by ADA rules.  We will not break brackets for elimination rounds. In addition, Speaker Awards will be given to the top 10 speakers in each division. Speaker Awards will be based on adjusted speaker points (dropping high and low), then total speaker points, then double adjusted speaker points, then judge variance, then ranks, then opponent points, then a random number.

FORMAT: Six preliminary rounds and the appropriate number of elimination rounds will be offered in each division. The 2012-2013 CEDA resolution will be used with the 9-3-6 minute format. Preparation time will be limited to 10 minutes. Rounds I and II will be randomly paired. Round III will be paired high/high based on cumulative records. Rounds IV through VI will be paired high/low within brackets and side constraints.

FORFEIT RULE: A 15-minute forfeit rule will be strictly enforced.

CEDA STATEMENT ON SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION: This tournament abides by the CEDA Statement on Sexual Discrimination and encourages an inclusive atmosphere for all those participating. Insofar as possible, the procedures in the CEDA Statement on Sexual Discrimination will be followed for complaints based on race, gender, or sexual orientation.

FEES: Entry fees of $50 per person (including judges, coaches, and spectators) will be collected at registration. All changes/drops at registration will result in a $15 fee.

Hybrid policy:  Hybrid teams will be allowed to compete in both preliminary and elimination rounds.

Judge philosophy policy:  We strongly encourage all judges to post their judging philosophies on-line. We reserve the right to adjust the judging commitments for schools that have un-placeable judges or judges lacking posted philosophies.

DEADLINES: All teams must be entered through tabroom.com by 5:00 p.m. (CDT) on Tuesday, October 16, 2012. Phone or e-mail changes no later than 1:00 p.m. Thursday, October 18, 2011.

AIRPORT SHUTTLE: Airport Express (615) 275-1180

LODGING: The Nashville Airport Marriott will hold a block of rooms until Friday, September 28, 2012.   Please book your rooms early.  The Titans and Vanderbilt have home football games that weekend and hotel rooms outside of the block may be difficult to find.

The hotel is located at 600 Marriott Drive, Nashville, Tennessee 37214.  This is just 10-15 minutes from Vanderbilt’s campus.  Reservations should be made on-line at: 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bnatn?groupCode=debdeba&app=resvlink&fromDate=10/18/12&toDate=10/21/12. 

The rate is $99.99 per room night, but that rate will change after September 28, 2012.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Report time/stop coaching time is 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

Oral critiques should be concluded no later than 15 minutes after the announced decision time.

Friday, October 19, 2012

12:00-1:45         Registration (Calhoun Hall 213)

2:00-3:00           Great Debaters Series Public Debate* (Buttrick 103)

3:00                  Rounds 1 and 2 Pairings Released

4:15      Round 1

6:45      Decision time for Round 1

6:45      Dinner

7:30      Round 2

10:00    Decision time for Round 2

Saturday, October 20, 2012

7:00      Rounds 3 and 4 Pairings Released (Calhoun First Floor Lobby)

8:00      Round 3

10:30    Decision time for Round 3

11:00    Round 4

1:30      Decision time for Round 4

1:30      Lunch

2:00      Pairings released for Round 5

2:30      Round 5

5:00      Decision time for Round 5

5:30      Pairings released for Round 6

6:00      Round 6

8:30      Decision time for Round 6

Sunday, October 21, 2012

7:00      Pairings released for Octafinal round

8:00      Octafinal round

11:30 (approx..) Awards ceremony

Remaining Elimination Rounds

*Plans for the Great Debater Series are incomplete at this time.  It is included in the schedule as a possibility only.  Further details will follow.