Competitors

• Competitors go to their team Squad Room by 8:00 by logging into their Tabroom account (clicking on the tournament will take them to the room’s video link). This verifies presence at the tournament so the coach can confirm the team’s registration with the tournament Tab Room before 8:00.

• Competitors will see their pairing (room assignment) when they are blasted, about 15 minutes before the scheduled round-start. They should proceed immediately to the round to confirm their access and connections are good (and work on resolving problems). 

• The speaker’s and judge’s cameras must be on; everyone but the speaker must mute their mics.

• Speakers are encouraged to time themselves and must arrange with the judge for time signals. Remember that Prep Time increases to 4 minutes in our online tournaments.

How Competitors Get to their NSDA Campus Competition Room on Tournament Day

Judges

• Judges report to their team’s Squad Room at 8:00 by logging into their Tabroom account (clicking on the tournament will take them to the room’s video link). This verifies their presence at the tournament so the coach can confirm the team’s registration with the tournament Tab Room before 8:30. Judges can then click on the Judges Lounge video link to await their ballots.

• Judges access both their online ballot and the NSDA Campus competition room video link by clicking on the Upcoming Ballots button in Tabroom.

• Judges should remain in the Judges Lounge for at least 20 minutes after the start of the round if they are not immediately assigned to a round in case they are needed to replace a missing judge.

• Judge only the quality of the debate itself. Before writing comments or making a decision, please take a moment to reflect on any biases that may impact your decision-making. Please remember that the video quality of a student’s performance may be impacted by lighting, internet, access to equipment, and other family members’ presence in the home. To ensure a more equitable experience for our participants, please be sure your decision-making process and comments are related only to the content and quality of the presentation and arguments.

• If a competitor has a significant technical issue, use your best (and generous) judgment about letting them start over or picking up from some point in their speech. Remember each team has 10 minutes of Tech Time in which to resolve equipment and connection problems — if they go beyond that 10 minutes, Prep Time will be used. If all time is consumed, the Judge must contact Tab Room to determine the round’s disposition.

• Remember that Prep Time increases to 4 minutes per team in our online tournaments.

• Competitors are encouraged to have their own timing devices. Please communicate with the competitors about coordinating the start of time at the start of the round. Let the student’s start of time be the driving force. Judges should still offer time signals if requested.

Accessing Ballots and the Round

Completing an Online Ballot (part 1)

Note that competition rules vary from league to league and tournament to tournament. For instance, in this video, the PF round has a coin flip for sides, which WACFL doesn't do in the preliminary season (WACFLs 1-5); similarly, low-point-wins are not permitted (no worries, though, since the ballot enforces these rules).

Using Online Ballots in Pandemic Times (part 2)