Puget Sound District Qualifier

for the 2022 National Tournament

* Update on 2/21.... The docket for Congress will be:

H, N, B, D, G, F, E, C, O, K, A, J, L

For Super Congress, it will be:

BB, DD, FF, EE, CC, AA

Puget Sound NSDA District

National Qualifying Tournaments

Big Questions… February 25, 2022

Congress… February 26, 2022

Debate and Speech Events… March 3-4, 2022

As we approach the end of the main competitive season, it's time to turn our collective dreams toward Nationals!   Every year, our teams from WA state show remarkable improvement at the prestigious NSDA National Championships.  I expect to see the same amazing results this season.

First, we do not know if Nationals will be in-person, virtual, or a hybrid tournament yet.  I have heard that we can expect a final decision on March 1.   Regardless, I hope that we can all work together this season to create a memorable experience for our Puget Sound NSDA students. Now, for the details of our qualifying tournaments:

* We will be having a Big Questions Qualifying Tournament this season!  In order for this to happen, we need at least 10 students from 4 schools-- and I have commitments from folks to make that happen.  In addition, this season, the NSDA will pay our district $1500 to host this event.  I would like to propose that we use some of those funds to purchase Team Puget Sound NSDA t-shirts for the qualifying students.  We will have this event on-line, in Cascade Commons, on Friday, 2/25, beginning at 3:00pm.

* Our Congressional Qualifying Tournament will be on Saturday, 2/26.   Unfortunately, we won't be competing from the State Legislature in Olympia as is the Puget Sound NSDA tradition-- but we will be welcoming back the congressional aides to serve as impartial judges for the event.  Additionally, we have found neutral parliamentarians to serve this year.

For this event, I am hoping that everyone will encourage as many students to compete as your team is allowed to enter for the good of the community (you can find this number on your NSDA account page.)  The more debaters we have entered, the more debaters we can send!  The goal is to reach 8 students from 8 different schools in the Senate, and 30 students from  8 schools in the House.  That would let us send a total of 6 debaters from the Puget Sound to Nationals!

* Our Qualifying Tournament for all other debate and speech events will be on Friday and Saturday, March 4-5, on Cascadecommons.org.   All events will be synchronous, but students are allowed to provide a video recording to be used if there are technical difficulties (the student should still be present at the time of the round.)  

Right now, at our district level, we get two entries to Nationals in each event.  If we can get to 30 entries in any event, we can send 3 of our students to Nationals. Now, that might be impossible in Duo this season-- but we might be able to hit that number in Oratory or one of the Extemps or Info if we all bring as many entries as we can!

* While we will use our district funds to provide extra judging for this event, we ask everyone to try to provide as many qualified, neutral judges as possible to provide the most efficient and equitable experience for all.  

* This year, we have decreased entry fees as much as we can to hopefully allow teams to bring as many entries as they can!   Younger members benefit from the experience of their first ‘Nat Quals’ by learning what they need to do in future years to succeed in the competition. 

* For our auditing procedure this year, we will be sending results and ballots to coaches after the final ballot for the round has been recorded.  Coaches will be made aware of the results for each round through an email from tabroom.com.  The information will be available for 30 minutes.   If a coach has a concern about a result, they may notify the tournament staff by the end of the 30 minute window.  This will allow enough time for tournament staff to find a solution before matching for the next round.  We hope that this procedure will lead to a transparent and educational experience for all involved.

* Finally, in the next couple of weeks, you will also receive more information about how students can apply for this season's Puget Sound NSDA Worlds School Debate Team! We were in double octos last year and were 17th the year before-- I am certain we will have another successful season!

Thank you for reaching the end of this email!   Please know that I recognize that the past two seasons have been taxing, we are all at the maintaining our programs through sheer force of will.  Yet, I continue to be amazed by the talent and passion of our students-- and that's because of you.   Well done, coach!

Yours,

Kelley Kirkpatrick- Mount Vernon HS; Puget Sound NSDA Chair

Prabhat Aluri- Interlake HS, Board Member

Derek Hanson- Edmonds-Woodway HS, Jackson HS, Snohomish HS, and Glacier Peak HS; Board Member

Steve Helman- Kamiak HS; Board Member

Josh Jablon- Sammamish HS, King’s HS; Board Member

SCHEDULES

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PVML6xE0W0J6Ny7DsORS4scmOWXpzYzdyS1JQhsy-V0/edit?usp=sharing

* Big Questions… Friday, February 25

2:30pm- Registration

3pm- Round 1

3:45pm- Round 2

4:30pm- Round 3

5:15pm- Round 4

6:00pm- Semifinals

7:00pm- Finals

(If extra rounds are needed based on entry numbers, we will continue the event on Saturday, February 26 with a round before and after the Congress event.)

* Congress… Saturday, February 26

8am- Registration

8am- BQ Round 5 (If needed.)

9-11:30am- Session 1 House, Session 1 Senate

12-2:30pm- Session 2 House, Session 2 Senate

3:00-6:00pm- Super Congress House, Session 3 Senate

7pm- Awards

7:30pm- BQ Round 6 (If needed.)

* Debate and Speech… Friday and Saturday, March 4-5

Friday, March 4

3pm- Registration

4-5pm- LD & PF Round 1

5:15-6:15pm- LD & PF Round 2

6:30- 7:30pm- LD & PF Round 3

7:45-8:45pm- LD & PF Round 4

(These rounds will run as quickly as possible.  Please be prepared for schedule updates as needed.)

Saturday, March 5

8am- Extemp Prep

8:30-9:30am- Speech Round 1

9:30-11:30am- LD & PF Round 5

11:15am- Extemp Draw

11:30-12:30pm- Speech Round 2

12:30-1:30pm- LD & PF Elim. Round 1

1:15pm- Extemp Draw

1:30-2:30pm- Speech Round 3

2:30-3:30pm- LD & PF Elim. Round 2

3:15pm- Extemp Draw

3:30-4:30pm- Speech Semifinals or Finals (This will depend on entry numbers.)

4:30-5:30pm- LD & PF Elim. Round 3 (Only if needed.)

5:15pm- Extemp Draw

5:30-6:30pm- Speech Finals  (This will depend on entry numbers.)

6:30pm-7:30pm- LD & PF Elim. Round 4

8:00pm- Awards & Recognition

AUDITING PROCEDURES

To ensure that the tournament is as transparent as possible, we will be adopting the following auditing procedures based on recommended NSDA guidelines:

1. After the last ballot is recorded for each round, tournament staff will release results and ballots to coaches for auditing purposes.

2. Coaches will be notified that results are available by email from tabroom.com.

3. Any concerns should be reported to tournament staff within the 30 minutes window.  This will allow sufficient time to solve the issue while still matching the next round, allowing the tournament to stay on schedule.

FEES

In order to promote greater participation in the district tournament this year, we will be reducing entry fees compared with previous years. We will be using a portion of entry fees to hire outside judging.

LD & PF & BQ & Policy…. $30

Speech Events… $20

Congress… Free!

School Fee… $50

Hired Judge… $100/per day (if available)

JUDGING

Please bring exceptionally qualified judges for this tournament.  Ideally, judges will have experienced at least three tournaments prior to this event.  Though we appreciate new volunteers who are learning to judge, this is not the tournament for that practice.  If you need help finding judges, please contact the board for assistance; we will do our best to help you find superb judges that are available to be hired.

It is recommended that judges take this training from the NSDA before the tournament begins.

https://www.speechanddebate.org/judge-training/ 

All judges should expect to be available for all elimination rounds for the event they are judging.  Elimination rounds require three judges per panel; we can only do this when everyone is available for these critical rounds.

If you are a school with more than 10 entries, please bring at least two unaffiliated judges to fulfill your judging requirements.  This assures that the judges you provide can be used to keep the tournament as efficient and effective as possible.

LD & PF & Policy & BQ… 1 judge for every 2 entries

Speech Events… 1 judge for every 4 entries

Congress… Parliamentarians will be hired from neutral 

schools; scorers will be Congressional Aides

from Olympia

General Information

* Important entry due dates:

Big Questions- Saturday, February 19

Congress- Saturday, February 19

Speech & Debate-  Saturday, February 26

World's School Applications-Saturday, February 26

Award Nominations- Sunday, February 27

* For Speech and Debate, you may enter two events– either two speech events or one speech event and one debate event.  You may not enter two debate events!  

* Congress and Big Questions DO NOT count against a student for entries!   Students may enter both of these events and still compete in Speech and Debate events.

* Students may only enter one form of Extemporaneous Speaking.  They must choose between International and Domestic.

* Excluding Congress, each school may enter a maximum of 4 students in each event.

* Students may only enter one event with a partner.  If they qualify in the event with a partner, that becomes their first choice event!

* At least seven days before the tournament, students must be a paid member of the NSDA with a minimum of 25 points

*  Coaches and students are encouraged to nominate community members for the following awards and recognition.  A nomination form will be sent out mid-month:

Coach of the Year

Assistant Coach of the Year

New Coach of the Year

Student of the Year

Administrator of the Year

Alumni of the Year

Volunteer of the Year

* Coaches Derek Hanson and Kelley Kirkpatrick invite all coaches to nominate students for the World School team this season.  A nomination form will be sent mid- February.

* Cascadecommons.org will be used for all events.  This saves our district financially and allows students to watch final rounds. Interlake Coach and Board Member Prabhat Aluri will send out information for schools who are new to this platform. For those who have previously used the system, you may use the “Late Additions” function to add any new users for this tournament.  If you have no new users, then you are all ready to go!

* Please pay by check for this tournament.  Checks should be made out to:

Puget Sound NSDA District

℅ Derek Hanson

610 Front Street, Apt. 310

Mukilteo, WA 98275

* Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns as early as possible.  Contact Chair Kelley Kirkpatrick at kkirkpatrick@mvsd320.org.