Damus Hollywood Invitational
2020 — NSDA Campus, CA/US
Novice Policy
Event Description:
Varsity, JV and novice policy debate will be switch-side, cross-examination style, with an 8-3-5 format and 8 minutes of prep time per team.
In the novice division, only debaters in their first year of competition may enter, meaning students in the novice division should NOT have prior year’s debate competition experience in any event in high school OR middle school. Please email Christina Phillips (Phillips@ndhs.org) if you need clarification when entering teams. The novice policy division will have 4 preliminary debates on Saturday and then a brief awards ceremony will be held immediately following Round 4, recognizing at least the Top 5 teams and the top 5 speakers in novice policy.
Initial Entry Limits:
· 4 Varsity
· 2 JV
· Unlimited Novice
We will accept approximately 92 varsity, 32 JV and unlimited novice teams.
The policy topic for the 2020 Damus Hollywood Invitational is as follows:
Resolved: The United States federal government should enact substantial criminal justice reform in the United States in one or more of the following: forensic science, policing, sentencing.
Novice Judging Requirements for Policy Debate
Adults as well as high school students who are 3rd or 4th year varsity debaters are eligible to judge in the novice division. Coaches/Directors are responsible for ensuring that any varsity debaters are knowledgeable and responsible enough to fairly assess a novice debate round.
Obligations:
- Each team = 2 rounds (e.g., 2 NCX teams = 4 rounds and requires at least 1 judge to cover; 3 NCX teams = 6 rounds and requires at least 2 judges to cover)
There are no elimination rounds in Novice Policy, but there will be awards given to the top 5 teams and top 5 speakers, including an iPad for the top speaker.
Novice Evidence Restrictions for Policy Debate
Novice Policy will be limited to reading NDCA Novice Policy Packet evidence. Please email questions if you are unclear on this policy.
Penalty for Missing Rounds
Please note there is a $50 per round penalty for any judges that miss their rounds. Please advise your judging staff that the team will be charged if they do not attend their debate rounds. We prefer not to charge any teams for missing debate rounds and this nuisance fee is only assessed to discourage judges from missing debates to ensure a high quality experience for all competitors.
Hired Judging for Policy Debate
There will be a limited number of LD and policy judges available for hire. Note that once you hire a judge, you are responsible to pay for that request EVEN IF you find you do not need it as the tournament approaches. This rule applies even in the event your school decides not to attend the tournament at all; your school will still be responsible for any judge hire and relevant drop fees. You must email Christina Phillips at Phillips@ndhs.org by October 15, 2020, at 5pm (PT) to hire judging.