2019 Rules and Tabulation Practices

(1) All rounds will use NPDL-TOC legislation rules as guidelines.

(a) Points of Information are allowed in all constructive speeches. There is no protected time.

(b) Points of Order are allowed only in rebuttals. Points of Order can be made if the opposing side brings up a new argument in the rebuttal with the exceptions of examples illustrating previous arguments and PMR responses to new arguments made in the MOC. Points of Order are not included in speech times.

(c) During the 20 minute preparation time, debaters may consult with their partners only. There is no restriction on the type of prep material that may be used by debaters. All teams will have access to the internet during prep time.

(d) A handwritten case or argument prepared prior to the announcement of a round's resolution may not be brought into the round. The case itself may be used in round, but it must be transcribed onto a new sheet of paper during prep time. Violation of this rule may result in forfeiture of the round at the discretion of the Protest Committee.

(2) Teams from the same school will not be paired against each other during preliminary rounds, but brackets will not be broken in elimination rounds.

(a) Hybrids will be considered by the tab staff to be unique schools and will not be protected from any entries.

(b) If teams from the same school are paired against one another in elimination rounds, the coach has the option of allowing the teams to debate or a walkover. If a hybrid team is paired against a team from one of the constituent schools in an elimination round, the teams will debate unless both coaches agree that one should advance.

(3) Each preliminary round will be adjudicated by 2 judges. Each judge should disclose and provide a brief oral RFD. The total time for RFDs should not be longer than a combined 15 minutes for both judges.

(4) All rounds are open to the public and may be recorded.

(a) Participation in the tournament constitutes consent to being recorded and to publication of the recordings on the NPDL website. All recordings are the property of National Parliamentary Debate League.

(b) Teams may not refuse entry to spectators.

(c) Judges have the discretion to ask spectators to leave the room if their behavior is disruptive to the round.

(5) The NPDL-TOC will use a speaker point scale between 24 and 30, with points below 25 being reserved for overtly offensive performances. Points may be awarded in increments of 0.1.

(a) 25 - Poor performance

(b) 27 - Average debater

(c) 28.5 - Deserves to clear to elimination rounds

(d) 29.5 - Best debater at this event

(e) 30 - Best debater you (the judge) have ever seen

(6) Tiebreakers

(a) Total ballot count

(b) Head-to-head (if applicable)

(c) Opponent seed

(d) Z-score

(e) Speaker points – 2H/L

(f) Random number generation/coin toss

(7) Any protests must be brought to the protest committee immediately after the round in question.

(8) The tournament will use mutual preference judging.