Marlborough Middle School Championship Warm Up

2021 — NSDA Campus, CA/US

Hello,

Welcome to the Marlborough Middle School Championship Warm-Up. The goal of this tournament is to provide a competitive opportunity for Middle School tournaments preparing for state or national competitions.

 

Divisions

The middle school divisions are for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who don't normally compete in high school tournaments.

If you have questions about eligibility, don't hesitate to ask.

 

LD & PF Schedule (Single-Flighted)

8:30    Round 1

10:00  Round 2

11:30   Round 3

1:30    Round 4

2:30    Awards

 

Policy Schedule

8:30    Round 1

11:00  Round 2

1:30    Round 3

3:30    Awards

 

Topics

In LD, we will be using the January/February topic: Resolved: States ought to ban lethal autonomous weapons.

In PF, we will be using the the April topic: Resolved: The benefits of the International Monetary Fund outweigh the harms.

 

Debate Style

The students and judges participating in our tournament will generally be from schools that practice a progressive, technical style of debate. In Lincoln-Douglas, this will include policy crossover arguments like plans, counterplans, and disadvantages. If you prefer that your students learn a more traditional, rhetorically-oriented style, attending our tournament may not be the best choice for your team. 

 
Judges
We welcome Varsity debaters as judges for the tournament. The expectation is that any parent volunteer judges will be trained by their school's coach prior to judging at the tournament. Untrained parent volunteers do not cover a school's judging obligation.
 
Judges are expected to provide constructive and encouraging oral feedback in every debate, and to disclose the winner of each debate.
 
Judges are expected to make every debate welcoming and be mindful of the age of student competitors. Judges may not use profanity, may not comment on students' appearance, and should give every student positive feedback alongside suggestions for improvement. Inappropriate comments or actions toward students will result in judges being dismissed from the tournament.