Damus Hollywood Invitational

2021 — NSDA Campus, CA/US

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Varsity 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.

Varsity debaters should include your finest competitors. In Varsity, there will 6 preliminary rounds and all 4-2’s up to a full Doubles will break to elimination rounds. There will not be a finals debate, but the winners of the semifinals will be named Co-Champions this year. This will be done in an effort to reduce student time online. There will be a brief awards ceremony announcing the Top 10 speakers as well as the recipients of the Chuck Ballingall Coaching Award and the John Dimitri Student Character Award.

In the JV division, any competitor in their second year of high school competition is eligible. Middle school experience will not count toward this total so a student may have competed in middle school for 3 years, but if it is only their second year of competition as a high school student, then they are still eligible for the JV division. The JV division will have 6 preliminary rounds, then will break to finals. A brief awards ceremony will recognize the top 5 teams and top 5 speakers overall after preliminary rounds.

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 3 preliminary debates on Saturday and then a brief awards ceremony will be held immediately following Round 3, 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 80 varsity, 32 JV and unlimited novice teams.

The policy topic for the 2021 Damus Hollywood Invitational is as follows:

Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its protection of water resources in the United States.

Varsity Judging Requirements for Policy Debate

There will be mutual preference judging in varsity policy. Only experienced policy judges may judge in the varsity division. "Experienced" is defined as at least a high school graduate who has competitive or coaching policy debate experience. Competitive college debate experience or a long history of coaching policy debate is most preferred. Inability to provide experienced judges may limit a team's entry and/or require a team to hire judges to fulfill their obligation. All varsity judges are required to post their judge philosophies on tabroom by October 29th at 5pm (PT). We would like every school that wants to participate to do so; however, we require the best possible judging to ensure students have a positive competitive experience. If a school does not have experienced judges to fulfill their commitments, please contact Christina Phillips at Phillips@ndhs.org.

While there is no entourage rule, there is an expectation that schools make efforts to put their best judges and coaches in to judge at least 2 rounds.

Obligations:

• Each team = 3 rounds (e.g., 2 VCX teams = 6 rounds and requires at least 1 judge to cover; 3 VCX teams = 9 rounds and requires at least 2 judges to cover)

In regards to elimination rounds, all judges are obligated to judge the first full elimination round and/or one round beyond their school's best competitive finish. Whichever requirement is later will apply. For example, if your school has a competitor in the octofinals, then your school's judges are all obligated through the quarterfinals. This rule is necessary to ensure the best possible judging for the tournament.

JV Judging Requirements for Policy Debate

Only qualified adults are eligible to judge in the JV division. Coaches/Directors are responsible for ensuring that any judges are knowledgeable enough to fairly assess a JV debate round.

Obligations:

• Each team = 3 rounds (e.g., 2 JVCX teams = 6 rounds and requires at least 1 judge to cover; 3 JVCX teams = 9 rounds and requires at least 2 judges to cover)

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 and give quality feedback.

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, 2021, at 5pm (PT) to hire judging.