The Seventh Annual

Clash of the Titans

Speech & Debate Tournament!

WHEN:         Saturday, October 22nd, 2022

WHERE:       Cosby High School

14300 Fox Club Parkway

Midlothian, VA 23112

EVENTS:      This Speech and Debate tournament will follow VHSL rules to prepare students for upcoming conference, regional and state tournaments, although private schools are encouraged to compete as well.  We hope to provide a great local tournament option for Central Virginia schools especially!  Middle school students are also encouraged to compete in the novice category.

1.  Lincoln-Douglas:  Novice* and Open 4 rounds.

Novice and Open Topic: Resolved: The United States ought to implement a single-payer universal healthcare system.

2.  Public Forum:  Novice* and Open.  4 rounds.

Novice and Open Topic: Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially increase its investment in high-speed rail.

3.  Student Congress:  Open division.  Each student should submit a bill and teams should coordinate to divide bills up among the following 4 categories (Domestic, International, Virginia, Economic).  2 sessions of Congress, 2 hours each.  Congress topics are: 

Domestic:         Federal Courts, Federal Elections

International:     Ukraine, United Kingdom

Economic:         Inflation, Child Care

Virginia:            Parental Rights in Education, Tax Rebates

Email Congress legislation to scott_mckeag@ccpsnet.net  by 10/14/22

4.  Policy Debate:  Novice* and Open.  3 rounds.

Topic: Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its security cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in one or more of the following areas: artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cybersecurity.

*Novice debaters must be in their first year of competitive debate. If there are not enough numbers to operate a separate novice bracket, they will be combined into the open division but top novice awards will still be given.  Please indicate on Tabroom if a competitor is in his/her first year of competition.

5.  The following open speech categories will be offered (3 rounds each):  Extemp*, Impromptu, Original Oratory, Prose, Poetry, DI*, HI*, Duo, Storytelling, AND the exciting DUO IMPROV, and ORIGINAL SPOKEN WORD*! Students MAY double-enter in all speech categories EXCEPT Extemp.

*Extemp Topics:  Immigration, Social Media, Supreme Court

*DI/HI may be combined based on numbers entered.

*Original Spoken Word is a poetry piece/ selection that is written by the student, and is delivered in the style of spoken-word or slam poetry. This event requires a manuscript, and copies to be turned-in for each round. Other rules for this event will follow those prescribed by the VHSL for competitors in Poetry. Questions regarding this event should be directed toward william_waddell@ccpsnet.net .

JUDGES:    

Each school is responsible for providing their own judges with the following quotas:

1 judge for:

…every 2 Lincoln-Douglas Debate entries or fraction thereof,

…every 2 Public Forum Debate entries or fraction thereof,

…every 2 Policy Debate entries or fraction thereof,

…every 5 Student Congress entries or fraction thereof, and

…every 5 Individual Events entries or fraction thereof*

*Student Congress and IE event judges may be combined.

COSTS:       

Any school that is not part of the Richmond Forum Speech and Debate Initiative will be assessed a flat $50 fee.

**Above costs includes lunch for all competitors**

Tabroom will create an invoice for you that you can print out.  Receipts will be given at the tournament.

DROPS:  

Drops (for any reason) are permitted up to 48 hours before the tournament with no penalty.  Drops within 48 hours require schools to honor the entry fees AND still require the original judging quota.  If the original judging quota is not met upon registration, students may not be able to compete and there will be a $50 dropped judge fee.

SCHEDULE:

Registration:                                          8:00 - 8:30 am

Judges Meeting:                                    8:45 am

Extemp Draw:                                       8:45 am

Round 1 (all events):                             9:15 am

Round 2 LD/PF:                                    10:00 am

Extemp Draw:                                       10:15 am         

Round 2 Speech:                                  10:30 am

Round 3 LD/PF:                                    11:00 am

**Lunch in between rounds (beginning at 11:00 am)

Round 2 Congress:                               12:00 pm

Extemp Draw:                                       12:45 pm         

Round 3 Speech:                                  1:00 pm

Round 4 LD/PF:                                    1:00 pm

Awards Assembly:                                 4:00 pm

CONCESSIONS and LUNCH:

Concessions will be made available throughout the day. Lunches for competitors, coaches, and judges are included in the price of admission. Observers may purchase lunch from the concession stand for $5.

AWARDS:

Trophies will be given to the top 3 finishers in each category.   Sweepstakes and runner up sweepstakes trophies will be given to the schools with the most points in each division (speech and debate).

REGISTRATION:

Please go to http://cosbyclashofthetitans.tabroom.com

You will need to create a Tabroom account with an email and password (free).  Add your entries and judges.  On the main page, you will be able to print an invoice to know the amount due.  Direct any Tabroom questions to William_waddell@ccpsnet.net

All registrations will be due on Tuesday, October 18th at 5:00 PM  

Please bring checks payable to Cosby High School.  Thank you for supporting our Speech and Debate Program!

Best,

Jackie Clark (804-386-8000), Billy Waddell (434-390-2995),

Scott McKeag, & Kathleen McDermott

Cosby Speech and Debate Coaches