Colorado District Qualifier

for the 2018 National Tournament

Colorado District National Qualifying Congress

Colorado NSDA National Qualifying Congress

Douglas County High School

January 26-27, 2018

General Information:

• WE WANT YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONGRESS!
• This Congress competition determines who competes in Congress from our district at the NFL National Tournament June 16-23, 2018 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
• This is the best Congress of the year! The students are well prepared!  We have great judges and ample opportunities to speak! And the docket is great because of your wonderful bills and resolutions!
• Congress is a great opportunity for students to meet other students, practice speaking skills, and have a real voice in determining national qualifiers. Plus, students can earn many NFL points!
• The more students and schools that participate, the more students that are able to gain from the experience and the more students that attend nationals.

More Specific Information:

• Submissions for Bills and Resolutions are due on Friday, January 12 by 3pm. Please see the information below on proper bills and resolutions.
• Legislation should be submitted via email to mbenham@cherrycreekschools.org, preferably as a word document. 
• Each school should submit 2 bills or resolutions and 2 alternate bills and resolutions. The school should prioritize these for selection by the committee. 
• In order to compete, students must be a member of NSDA 7 days prior to the congress.
• The number of students you may send to the congress is determined by the members and degrees that your school has on record on January 19, 2018 at 4pm (CST). So be sure to enter your NFL points to increase your number of degrees.
• Presiding Officer Nomination Applications are due on Friday, January 19, 2018.  Nominations must be submitted by the coach.
• Students may compete 1 day or both days in the Congress. 
• The entry is $14.00 per student.
• The docket will be set and sent no later than Friday, January 12th.
• Be sure to review the NSDA Congress Manual for all rules and procedures.
  

Apportionment:

• Affiliate Schools and Chapter Schools may seat members based on the table below and based on the members and degrees on record at 4pm (CST) 7 days prior to the Congress.

Houses/Senate:

• We are able to qualify 1 representative per house and 2 senators for the district. 
• We hope there will be four houses and 2 senates and one qualifier from each house/senate for a total of 6 qualifiers. 
• The number of senates and houses is based on the number of senators and representatives present at the congress. 
• When the senate reaches 31 or more senators, there will be two senates. 
• If the senate divides into 2 chambers, you will be allowed 1 senator in each senate.
• We need to have 91 or more representatives to have 4 houses. 
• Your representatives will be evenly divided between the houses.
  

Fees:

• Entry fees are $7 per person per day of competition (or $14 per person for the entire congress). 
• Checks should be made payable to the Colorado District of NFL and sent to Marti Benham, Cherry Creek High School, 9300 E. Union Avenue, Greenwood Village, CO 80111

NSDA Fees:

• All outstanding balances to the NSDA must be paid before your students may compete in the Congress. 
• This may be paid in cash, check or by purchase order.
  

Student Food:

There will be NO concessions available.  Vending machines are available and there are numerous eating establishments nearby.  Please keep in mind that we would like coaches to attend a coaches meeting during the lunch break on Saturday.  

Adult Food:

We will provide munchies, a light dinner on Friday, and lunch on Saturday for coaches and judges.

Judging:

Coaches will be used to judge some sessions of congress.  It is our intention to not use any coach in more than 2 sessions.  We will hire some judges to assist us with Congress.  If you have suggestions for hired judges, please email me with the information. 

 Congress Rules:

Please take a moment to review the Congress manual before the Congress begins so that you are familiar with the rules and procedures.

 The Docket:

The docket will be set and sent via email on or before January 12th.

Nominations for Outstanding Speaker:

Students may be nominated for outstanding speaker by a parliamentarian or scorer in one of the sessions.

Awards:

Presiding Officers will receive a gavel.  Nominees will receive a plaque.  Qualifiers will receive a qualifying trophy.

Miscellany:

Please remember there must be a coach on site at all times and that the coach must be available to judge.

Colorado NFL District Congress Schedule 

Friday

Registration 3:00 - 3:30

Friday Congress Session 4:00-7:30pm.

Saturday

Saturday Congress Session  8:30-11:30am

Coaches' Meeting/ Lunch Break 11:30am-1:00pm

Saturday Congress Session 1:00-4:00pm

Voting  4:00pm

Awards 5:30pm or sooner