SUNDAY: WE WILL BE USING A NEW ZOOM MEETING. NOT THE OLD ONE. NOT NSDA CAMPUS. SEE YOU AT 9!

FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS (INCLUDING TOPICS), PLEASE SEE THE GOOGLE DOC. IF IT IS NOT UPDATING AUTOMATICALLY, TRY REFRESHING.

1/17/2021

Updates:

1. The consensus among schools who have responded to the informal survey is that they would like to have open elimination rounds on Sunday, January 31. We have added them, and posted a revised schedule on Tabroom. Saturday will feature five preliminary rounds in all divisions, followed by finals in Novice and JV, and Quarterfinals in Open. Semis and Finals in the Open Division will follow on Sunday morning.

2. The topic committee is Judith Barish, Joel Jacobs, Rodda John, Vidushee Mishra, and Uma Nagarajan-Swenson.

3. Please upload a liability and media release form for each of your competitors. It can be uploaded in tabroom by clicking on the "Entries" tab and then the "Edit Entries" icon (as if you were going to swap out one debater on a team--see this screenshot).

4. We will ship tangible awards (medals) to the top teams and speakers in each division.

12/28/2020

We have added a JV division, in addition to Novice and Open. Coaches may place students in JV as they see fit. Debaters who have broken to elimination rounds in Open/Varsity should not be entered in JV, however.

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Dear Coaches and Competitors,

Berkeley High Speech and Debate is delighted to invite you to our Fifth Annual High School Parliamentary Debate Invitational on Saturday, January 30, 2021.  

Location

We will be hosting the tournament primarily through NSDA campus, with larger elements (judge room, finals) on Zoom. You can, however, take comfort in knowing that Berkeley High School is centrally located in a vibrant city in the San Francisco Bay Area with a world-class university.

Format

This one-day parli tournament (two days in the open division) will offer five single-flighted prelims, breaking to public finals in JV and Novice Divisions, and quartfinals in Open.  (Both members of a novice team must be in their first year competing in any debate event. A coach may, in their discretion, enter a middle school student in novice if the student is in the second year of competition and has not broken to elimination rounds at a tournament.)  

Unless specifically noted, we will follow National Parliamentary Debate League Online Rules. Partner prep only will be allowed.

This tournament has been autoapproved for NPDL points (one bonus point!).

Registration

Register on Tabroom.  No school fee.  The entry fee is $45/team for Novice and $50/team for Open.  Adds and drops should be made by January 24, 2021 at 5 pm; after that, drops are non-refundable. There will be a nuisance fee of $25 for changes (other than names) after that date, and for any changes within 24 hours of the tournament. Payment must be received by January 25.

Paypal to rich@olgica.com or mail to

Berkeley High Speech and Debate c/o Rich Simon 2111 Grant St Berkeley, CA 94703

Do not mail checks to Berkeley High School: they will lose your money. Please follow payment procedures on the invoice. 

Fee waivers are available based on need.

All competitors and judges must have linked tabroom.com accounts.

Judges

One judge covers two teams.  The fee is $75 per uncovered entry.    

All judges must have Tabroom accounts including mobile phone numbers.

Independent and Hybrid Entries

All entries should be registered under the name of the school they attend, if possible. Hybrids should be registered under both schools. Exceptions will require written permission from the head coach of any affected school. No independent entries are permitted from a school that is entering teams under the school’s name, absent unusual circumstances, which should be discussed with the tournament director beforehand. 

For independent entries, clubs, and hybrid teams, the burden of avoiding judging conflicts will be on the judges and competitors involved. Judges must note all conflicts in Tabroom. A common club affiliation (e.g., the judge is a coach, or parent of a student, in the same club program as one or more debaters in a round) is a conflict. The burden is on the judge and affiliated team to notify the tournament of any conflict before and during the tournament. Failure to do so will result in a forfeit for the affiliated team.

Equity

There will be an equity officer at the tournament. Procedures for reporting discrimination or harassment will be announced beforehand.

Any concerns about any aspect of the tournament can also be directed to the tournament director, before, during, or after the tournament.

Misc. Information

Topics, schedule updates, and other announcements during the tournament will be made through this Google Doc: 

Please check regularly, as the schedule may change as the day progresses.

Feel free to email us at bhsdeb8@gmail.com with questions and comments.

Thank you,

Judith Barish, Tournament Director 

Joel Jacobs, Tab Director

 and Berkeley High Speech and Debate

http://berkeleyhs.tabroom.com