Welcome to the Not Quite Novice Season Finale Invitational!

This tournament features only novice debaters who have been debating for less than a year in high school or more than a year in middle school. This means your first tournament of this school year you competed in novice and you did not win an elimination round in varsity previous to this tournament. All novices are guaranteed 5 preliminary rounds. There will be semifinals and finals for debaters who qualify. All debaters are expected to “arrive” bright and early no later than 8:30 am for topic announcements. Finals are scheduled to end at 8 pm.

UPDATE! Zoom Link for tournament: https://bishopodowd.zoom.us/j/4433827616?pwd=N0tTbXFiMlVZSUVOcTZKWVhlSzFFUT09

A judge is eligible if they meet one of the 3 requirements below:

1. Is a current college debater, current high school debate coach, or has multiple years of debate experience in the last 5 years.

2. A person who has graduated high school and has judged at least 5 rounds in the past year.

3. Is a high school debater who is at least a sophomore and has debated in at least 25 debate rounds.

All judges are encouraged to create a paradigm.

A small amount of hired debaters are available, but those who need them must contact zach.moss@gmail.com as soon as possible.

Entry Fee:

The cost of competing is 50 dollars per team, no school fee attached. Schools must pay a 75 dollars per uncovered entry per partnership. This tournament is meant to be as accessible as possible. Those who cannot afford the fee may get a fee waiver if they contact the tournament director. There will be an equity officer who will be in charge of ensuring equity in all rounds.

Any drops after April 21st, 2020 will be charged the full entry fee.

Schools have to options for payment:

1. Send check to Bishop O’Dowd High School: 9500 Stearns Ave, Oakland, CA 94605

2. Paypal Zach Moss (Tabroom Director): zach.moss@gmail.com

If paying through mail, you must send the check previous to the day of the tournament and send notification to the tournament director.

Topic Committee: 

1. Paulina Harding (Bishop O’Dowd)

2. Virginia Kerr (Nueva)

3. Riley Shahar

4. The Rest TBD

Rules:

1. Prep: There are 20 minutes of prep time. Students may use any electronic materials, printed materials, or phones. You may not use pre-prepped materials for 20 minutes.

2. Times: Speeches are 7-8-8-8-4-5 minutes.

3. No new points are permitted in rebuttal speeches. Point of orders will pause time and are permitted.

4. Group and coach prep are permitted.

A Brief History of Bishop O’Dowd High School:

Bishop O’Dowd High School, a pillar in the Oakland Diocese, was founded in 1951 in honor of Bishop James T. O’Dowd, the former Superintendent of Schools of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. At the time, Bishop O’Dowd was creating plans for a Catholic high school in the East Bay. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Bishop T. O’Dowd died when his parked car was hit by a train. In honor of Bishop James T. O'Dowd, who dedicated his life to improving education opportunities for Bay Area students, we are going to donate all proceeds to the Bay Area Urban Debate League.