33rd Annual Grapevine Classic Speech and Debate Tournament

A Hybrid Tournament Experience

(817) 251-3090

August 01, 2021

Dear Colleagues,

Please accept this as your personal invitation to attend the 33rd Annual Grapevine Classic TFA, TOC, and NIETOC qualifier to be held September 10-12, 2020 as a hybrid tournament. We will be hosting debate events online through NSDA campus and individual events on campus at Grapevine High School. 

This year, we continue to have one of the best Tabrooms in the country with Dave Huston, Jason Sykes, Dan Lingel, Tracey MacFarland, Cindi Timmons, Robert Shepard, Matthew Stewart, Jake Casio, and many others. We are excited about the schedule of events, level of competition, quality judging and unique opportunities provided this year. We hope you can participate!

We are happy to offer all the TFA events including World Schools Debate.  We are hoping the Grapevine Classic will reach friends in both the United States and abroad! As well, this year we will offer a Junior Varsity division for Policy, Lincoln Douglas, Public Forum Debate, Extemp, and Interp (Prose/Poetry). To qualify for Junior Varsity, and in consideration that many new students did not get a full competitive experience last year, a student may have up to one year of participation in any event. We believe in providing quality educational experiences for all students and are committed to providing these students with a positive tournament experience with feedback to help them learn and grow. Entries in the Junior Varsity/Novice divisions will not be eligible for TFA state points or bids to NIETOC or TOC.  

Debate Events

All debate events (Public Forum, Policy, Lincoln Douglas Debate, World Schools, and Congress) will be virtual. We have made this decision out of consideration for the safety of all those involved in the tournament as we navigate the ongoing Pandemic. Please note that The Grapevine Classic is a Quarter-Finals qualifier for the National Tournament of Champions (TOC) in Policy, Public Forum, Lincoln Douglas Debate, and a Top 6 qualifier in Congress.  Debate will have 5 preliminary rounds before going into the required elimination rounds depending on entries. 

We understand that some schools may be traveling from out of town to compete in IEs at the Grapevine Classic. Should schools wish to bring their debate competitors to the Grapevine campus with their IE students, we will accommodate by providing classrooms for those students to virtually compete in. 

So we can accommodate all of these students, coaches must complete this google form to confirm that debate students will be competing on the Grapevine campus on Saturday and will need space to compete virtually. This form must be submitted by August 28, 2021 @ 4:30 PM to allow us time to adjust room pools. 

Individual Events

All IEs at this time are in person and will be hosted at Grapevine High School. We are monitoring the number of cases in our area with the ongoing spread of the Delta Variant. Should we feel it necessary to adjust the tournament to entirely virtual, we will make the announcement at least two weeks in advance so schools can cancel travel arrangements, if needed, and adjust to virtual competition. Should we move to virtual competition for IEs, all individual events will be synchronous and maintain the same competition schedule that is posted on tabroom. IEs are entirely on Saturday. 

Independent Entries

We do not accept independent entries.  A school coach or adult must enter students to the Grapevine Classic.  A school authorized adult must be in attendance at all times at the Grapevine Classic.

Jonathan Brody Service to Debate Award

Please remember to nominate a Senior Debater for the Jonathan Brody Service to Debate Award given since 1997.  Information is included on this site. Nominations are due on Friday, September 3 by 4:30 pm. We are proud that Jon's parents continue awarding a scholarship to the Brody Award Winner each year.

Covid Safety Protocols

We will be utilizing the best practices recommended by TFA’s safe restart committee for our in person competitors to the best of our abilities. What will this look like? 

Masks - While we cannot force a mask mandate on our participants, we are highly encouraging all competitors, coaches, and judges to wear masks during the tournament except when they are actively performing or eating. The Grapevine Speech and Debate Team will be wearing masks, along with all of our parent volunteers regardless of our vaccination status. We will also have disposable masks available for use throughout the competition. 

Social Distancing - We will mark seats in competition rooms to best allow for social distancing of competitors, judges, and observers. We will limit room capacity to allow for safe social distancing. We ask that all individuals on campus for the tournament practice social distancing when navigating the hallways and shared social spaces. We know that it is very exciting to be seeing our friends in person once again - but please remember to give one another space as you interact. Tables will be assigned for schools in the cafeteria to allow for a “pod system”. Students should sit at their assigned tables when eating or drinking and should try to stay in their podded areas. Sanitization supplies will be provided on each table to help with sanitization throughout the tournament.

Food Distribution - Food will be sold at concessions and provided in the hospitality lounge. Provided food will be individually packaged, such as box lunches, pre-packaged snacks, etc. We will not be distributing any buffet style items to limit possible spread. Adult volunteers and students working in hospitality and concessions will be gloved and masked. We will be taking a “preorder” on food so we can ensure we provide enough box meals are provided to judges, coaches, and students. Schools do have an option to decline food options provided by the school and a list of available restaurants and delivery options will be made available on our tournament website. A preorder form is available here. This form is due by August 27 @ 4:30 PM to allow us time to finalize food orders for the tournament.

Sanitization - Student volunteers will wipe down surface areas in competition rooms after every round before the next round begins. We will provide hand sanitizer throughout the school. 

For a full breakdown of the safety standards created by the TFA safe restart committee, please see here. It is our goal to follow these guidelines to the best of our ability within our space. The utmost care will be taken to provide the safest environment possible for all in-person participants. 

We know that, as excited and ready as we are to return to normal, we have a responsibility to our community to ensure best practices are implemented. The pandemic has not yet ended and we do not want to put anyone at an increased risk for the sake of a trophy. We know that you have many tournaments to choose from on any given weekend - we are so grateful if you choose to join us as we navigate a return to normal while maintaining safety protocols for the sake of our beloved community. 

Sincerely,

Stef Cambra, Director of Interp stef.cambra@gcisd.net

Fiker Tesfaye, Director of Debate