Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to the Carter/King Quest for the Dream at Henry W. Grady High School in Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia. Our tournament is on a different weekend this year as a result of our tournament being cancelled last year for the Great non-Blizzard of January, 2016. We hope you can join us this year on this unique-for-Grady date. We plan on offering mutliple judges in preliminary rounds, great hospitality, and sharing a bit of history. Our tournament is named for Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter and the Carter family for their contributions in the Grady HS area and the global impact of their efforts to improve the world, as well as Yolanda King, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Martin Luther King, Jr., who graduated from Grady High School and sought to improve the world around her just as her family did and still does. We are proud of this legacy and strive to make our tournament memorable, enjoyable and competitive. 

THE GRADY TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE IS AS FOLLOWS:

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18: BIG QUESTIONS DEBATE;

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19: ALL GFCA/NSDA EVENTS.

We will offer Novice divisions in both Public Forum and Lincoln-Douglas debates. As Westminster is hosing a Policy Debate tournament the same weekend just miles away (Go Westminster!), we will offer one division of Open Policy Debate and cap the entry at 12. BECAUSE OF A SHORTAGE OF JUDGES, POLICY ENTRIES WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED IF JUDGING OBLIGATIONS ARE MET. YOU MAY NOT BUY OUT POLICY JUDGES.  Open divisions in Extemporaneous Speaking, Imipromptu Speaking, Original Oratory, Informative Speaking, Dramatic Interp, Humorous Interp, Duo Interp, Program of Oral Interp and Student Congress will be offered as well. 

Awards will be given to all students who advance to elimination rounds. The top 10 speakers will be recognized in all debate divisions. The top 5 schools will each receive a Sweepstakes trophy.

If the size of the tournament is such that we run out of rooms at Grady HS, we will utilize Inman Middle School, about 3/4 a mile up the road. If we do use Inman, it will be for Lincoln-Douglas Debate ONLY. Schools will be notified if such an addition is required.

We are pleased to announce the The Jesters will offer Big Questions Debate. Specific information is located on the Big Questions Debate tab of this invite. There is no charge to enter the Big Questions Debate Tournament.

We are also pleased to be a bid tournament for the 2017 Individual Events Tournament of Champions in Lexington, KY, April 29- May 1. Buds are awarded based on the actual entries in a given events. If 24 or few competitors enter, the Top Three receive bids. If 25 to 72 entries compete, all Finalists receive bids. If 73 or more compete, all Semifinalists receive bids.  

We will follow NSDA and GFCA rules to guide our tournament. Tournament Director decisions on area of concern or protest are final. 

More information can be found on the webiste tabs at the top of the page. Please don't hesitate to reach out should you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you in November!

Mario Herrera

Speech and Debate Coach

Henry W. Grady HS, Ga.

rioherrera@gmail.com

404-242-2297