August 11, 2012

Dear Colleague: 

Clarion University would like to invite you to the fourth annual Clarion University Autumn Debate Tournament on September 28-30, 2012. This tournament is sanctioned by the American Debate Association and the Cross Examination Debate Association and adheres to the rules of each organization including sexual harassment policies. The preliminary rounds will be Friday and Saturday with the elimination rounds on Sunday. We will have three divisions of debate, Open, Junior Varsity, and Novice. 

We will be using the Comfort Inn as our tournament hotel, which has agreed to provide a rate of 69.99/night. The Comfort Inn has high-speed internet and provides a hot breakfast. 

There will be an entry fee of 40.00 per person attending the tournament. If fees are an issue, please contact us and we will do our best to help with constraints. 

We look forward to seeing you this fall. And, if you need some incentives to come: 

1. We will offer Open, JV, and Novice divisions with the appropriate number of out-rounds as per ADA rules. 
2. We will be providing lunch on both Saturday and Sunday and will maintain a hospitality room with drinks and snacks during the course of the tournament. 
3. A Saturday evening dinner banquet. 
4. Traveling Trophies – We will be awarding traveling trophies to the champion in each division, in addition to a permanent award for those schools. 
5. The Autumn Leaf Festival – The annual festival begins this weekend and includes a car show and more importantly the availability of uber-healthy carnival food such as an assortment of things that should not be deep fried but are super-tasty. 
6. Northwest PA – The changing of the leaves make for quite the scenery. 

We look forward to seeing you in September. 

Sincerely, 

Jim Lyle 
Director of Debate 
Phone: 814-393-2476 
Fax: 814-393-1623 
Email: jlyle at clarion dot edu 




IMPORTANT INFORMATION 

REGISTRATION 

The entry deadline will be September 26, 2012 at 3:00 pm, but we would like to have at least an expected party count by Friday the 21st to assist with catering. You may email your entry but I would prefer that you use the online entry system (www.tabroom.com). There will be a morning registration from 11:00am to 1:30 pm at the Comfort Inn. Afternoon registration will take place on campus (location TBA) between 2:00 and 3:00 pm. 


HOUSING 

The tournament hotel is the Comfort Inn with a rate of $69.99/night. The contact information for the Comfort Inn is: 129 Dolby St., Clarion, PA 16214, (814) 226-5230. Other hotels in the area have reasonable rooms and rates, and probably can offer a “Clarion University rate” if you ask. If you need to use a different hotel, let Jim Lyle know and I may be able to assist with rates. 

JUDGES 

Each school is responsible for providing a qualified judge for your obligations. One judge will cover up to 2 teams, 2 judges - 4 teams, etc. There is a limited amount available judging available for hire through the tournament at a rate of $100.00 per uncovered team. The number of available judges for hire from the tournament is limited so let me know ASAP if judging is needed and we will do what we can. 


DIVISIONS 

Separate elimination rounds will be held for teams in Open, Junior Varsity and Novice. See ADA rules for definitions regarding division eligibility.


FORMAT 

We will use the 2012-2013 CEDA/NDT/ADA debate topic. We will offer 6 rounds of preliminary competition and clear up to half the field in each division into the elimination rounds. Open/JV/Novice will use the 9-3-6 format with 10 minutes of preparation time. Rounds 1 and 2 will be random; rounds 3-6 will be power-matched. Round 4 will be lag-paired off the first 2 rounds. Hybrids are allowed and may clear to the elimination rounds if they receive approval from the Tournament Director at least one week prior to the start of the tournament. 


AWARDS 

Awards will be given to the top 10 speakers in each division and for teams in each division from the quarterfinals on. We reserve the right to give additional awards. 


FEES 

Entry fees are $40 per person. A person is defined as anyone associated with a program. Fees are due at registration. If you are a small program and have financial constraints, please contact us and we can make arrangements to overcome financial barriers. We reserve the right to charge a fee for dropped persons after the deadline. The late drop fee would be $20/person.


FURTHER INFORMATION 

For further information, contact me at: Jim Lyle, Director of Debate, Department of Communication, Clarion University, 840 Wood St., Clarion, PA,  16214, or through email (jlyle at clarion dot edu) or via phone (814-393-2476).  If we have further information to get to you, we will do so as soon as we can via www.tabroom.comand the CEDA Forums. 

Tournament Schedule 

Friday, September 28
11:00 Registration (at hotel) 
3:30 Round 1 
5:45 Round 2 

Saturday, September 29 
8:30 Round 3 
10:45 Round 4 
Lunch 
2:00 Round 5 
4:30 Round 6 
7:30 Banquet

Sunday, September 30
8:00 1st elim 
Elims Continue 
Lunch available