Dear Forensics Family:

You are cordially invited to the Paul Laurence Dunbar Blyton Bulldog Winter Novice Debate Tournament! We look forward to having you join us ONLINE synchronously on Saturday DECEMBER 16 for debate competition.

Platform: Debate events will be held synchronously online on DECEMBER 16 using NSDA Campus for competition. All competitors and judges must have registered Tabroom.com, NSDA accounts, and the technology available to compete in or judge rounds effectively. Competitors AND judges must have access to a camera and microphone in order to participate in the tournament.

Events: We will be offering all KHSSL NOVICE debate events and Congress (NLD, NPF). Novice competitors are those in their first year of debate. All events will follow the competition rules established by the Kentucky High School Speech League. More information about competition guidelines can be found in the Kentucky High School Speech League handbook and at the official KHSSL website. Also, please take time to review the KHSSL ratings guidelines as you prepare both your students and judges for the competition.

***We will be using the November/December topics for LD and PF***

Entries & Deadlines: Teams may enter students in one debate event. Entries are due Tuesday, December 12 @8:00pm EST. Adds will be allowed based on space left in rounds and judging quota. Substitutions are free.

Schools may submit 1-3 bills utilizing the NSDA format/template for consideration. Bills must be sent to neomia.hagans@uky.edu by Saturday, December 9 @ 8:00 pm EST. PLD will be allowing its students to participate in the competition as judging and space allows. PLD students will not be eligible to earn sweepstakes points or earn team awards.

JUDGES ENTRY: Debate events must provide 1 judge for every 2 entries or fraction thereof. Congress must provide 1 judge for every 6 entries. Schools must provide at least 1 judge in debate and/or congress events if their students are competing. In the event you cannot provide the required number of judges, you may hire up to 1 judge for $30 each.

All judges should be familiar with KHSSL rules and ballots and are expected to be in the judge pool during rounds where they are not explicitly scheduled. ALL JUDGES MUST HAVE A TABROOM.COM ACCOUNT IN ORDER TO BE PLACED ON YOUR JUDGING ROSTER. Although we will plan to keep judges in their primary pool (debate, or congress), all judges will be considered for all debate events and should be prepared for competition accordingly. All judges are asked to be present at the judge roll call on Saturday morning.

Cost:

School fee = $10 Single entries = $6 Double entries = $12 (PF)

Entry drops/adds after deadline = $15

Unfulfilled judge burden = $30 per judge

Judge drops = $50 Judge no-show = $30 per round

AWARDS: We will be presenting medals for the top four entries in all debate events. Plaques will be awarded to the top 3 schools. Awards will be mailed to schools upon completion of the tournament and collection of fees.