Chesapeake District Qualifier

for the 2020 National Tournament

Chesapeake District Newsletter #4 (2/9)

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION / CHESAPEAKE DISTRICT NEWSLETTER #4

2/9/2020

Dear colleagues,

The countdown is on!  We are now officially less thab two weeks away from the Chesapeake District Tournament, which will take place on Saturday February 22^nd at Loyola Blakefield High School in Towson.  Registration is now OPEN and will close on Wednesday 2/19 at 8:00 PM.  The District is the qualifying tournament for the National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament in Albuqerque in June, the largest academic competition in the country.  We hope that you and your students are able to join us.

The tournament web site, http://chesapeake.tabroom.com, is the registration site, and contains important information about the schedule and procedures for the day.   Please read it carefully!  For information on how to register, eligibility, and entering NSDA points on the website, refer to District Newsletter #3, which was sent two weeks ago, and is also posted on the tournament web site.

AWARDS NOMINATIONS DUE SUNDAY 2/16:  Nominations are now being received for Student of the Year, Administrator of the Year, Communicator of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Coach of the Year, and New Coach of the Year.  These special awards will be presented at the District Tournament.  All nominations are due by Sunday 2/16.  For more details and to submit nominations, visit https://www.tabroom.com/index/tourn/index.mhtml?webpage_id=8474&tourn_id=14935

CAN A STUDENT OR SCHOOL ATTEND DISTRICTS EVEN IF THEY CAN’T ATTEND NSDA NATIONALS?   YES!  Everyone is encouraged to attend the District Tournament.  It is meant to celebrate forensics across the district, names district champions in the varying events, and offers an opportunity to compete against students and schools you might not typically see.  The number of qualifiers Chesapeake sends to NSDA Nationals in each event is directly related to the number of students participating, and year-by-year participation at the District Tournament is also one metric that the NSDA uses to determine the maximum number of qualifiers a District may send to NSDA Nationals.  If a student qualifies for NSDA Nationals and can not attend, they may decline their bid and it will pass to the next student in the standings. 

LAST CALL FOR CONGRESS BILLS:  The bill packet is being compiled and will be published on or close to Wednesday February 12^th.  Bills will continue to be accepted until the end of the day on Monday the 10^th.  Bills may be sent to cdonovan@loyolablakefield.org. 

SCHOOLS WITH PAID DUES:  The following schools are currently marked as paid members by the NSDA.  If you do not see your school name on this list, please contact NSDA right away to update your status.  Only current member schools will be able to register for the District Tournament:  Albert Einstein, Arundel, Bethesda Chevy Chase, Cab Calloway School of the Arts, Calvert Hall, Catonsville, Centennial, Charter School of Wilmington, Clarksburg, Georgetown Day, Gilman, Howard, James Hubert Blake, John Carroll, Loyola Blakefield, Marriotts Ridge, Montgomery Blair, National Cathedral, Northwood, Notre Dame Prep, Odyssey Charter, Oxon Hill, Reservoir, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, St. James, Sherwood, Springbrook, St. Mary’s, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, Thomas S Wooton, Tower Hill, Towson, Washington International, Wilde Lake, Winston Churchill, Woodrow Wilson.

REGISTRATION FEES DUE AT THE TOURNAMENT:  All registration fees MUST be paid at registration the morning of February 22nd.  Any outstanding balance that your school has with NSDA also needs to be paid at this time.  Checks should be made payable to “Chesapeake NSDA District”.  The NSDA leaves no room for late payments … please plan ahead!  If your school does not have a check prepared in advance, you will need to write a personal check and get reimbursed by your school.  We can not include any unpaid schools on schematics or the NSDA will disqualify our results!

JUDGE REGISTRATION:  Since this tournament is the qualifier for the NSDA National Tournament, our students expect and deserve to be judged by folks with prior experience.  ALL judges who attend the tournament must be properly trained and have prior experience.  Please DO NOT register brand new judges, or you risk being asked to replace them or pay a hired judge fee.  Hired judges may be purchased at the cost of $100, subject to availability.  Entries not covered by judges will automatically be billed for hired judges when registration closes on 2/19 at 8:00 PM.  No judges are available for hire on the morning of the tournament.  If you have uncovered entries at registration, you may be required to drop entries  All judges are obligated for the duration of their respective events.  Early departures prolong the day for everyone, and are subject to a nuisance fee unless the judge is replaced.  If one of your judges can’t stay the entire day, please register an additional judge to fill in the gap (i.e. judge one works from 8:00-2:00 and judge two works from 2:00-finish).  Please make note of this when registering online.

ADDITIONAL FUTURE COMPETITION OPPORTUNITIES:  The District Big Questions debate tournament will be on Sunday 2/23 at Loyola Blakefield.  The invitation can be found by clicking on the “Big Questions Invitation” tab on the District website, http://chesapeake.tabroom.com.  The State of Maryland Speech and Debate Association Championship will take place on Saturday 3/28 at Loyola Blakefield, and is open to all schools in DC, Maryland, and Delaware.  The invitation can be found here:  http://smdsda.tabroom.com.   The Regan Great Communicator Debate Series Mid-Atlantic Qualifier will take place on Saturday 4/4 at Loyola Blakefield.  The invitation can be found here:  http://reaganloyola.tabroom.com. 

We look forward to some great competition and hope to see you and your team at Districts on the 22nd! 

Sincerely,

Charles Donovan, on behalf of the district committee

Tom Durkin

Teresa Needer

Steven Sprouse

Peter Susko