Useful PDFs: 

Instructions for Online Balloting

HW Campus Map

Dates & Location

The VBT will be held on January 3, 4 & 5 at the Harvard-Westlake School in Studio City, CA. Please note that we will be using the Upper School Campus, not the Middle School Campus in Bel Air.

Rounds will begin on the morning of the 3rd and conclude by 5:00pm on the 5th. Please do not tell your judges that they can leave before the tournament is scheduled to conclude. We will have 6 prelim rounds in Varsity LD. In Novice we will shoot for 6, but that may depend on the number of entries.

Schedule

Friday

9:30am: Registration

10:30am: Varsity Round 1

1:00pm: Varsity Round 2

3:00pm: Novice Round 1

4:00pm: Varsity  Round 3

6:00pm: Novice Round 2

Saturday

8:00am: Varsity Round 4

10:00am: Novice Round 3

11:30pm: Varsity Round 5

1:30pm: Novice Round 4

2:30pm: Varsity Round 6

6:00pm: Novice Round 5

5:00pm: Varsity Triples / Novice Round 6

6:30pm: Varsity Doubles / Novice Octas

Sunday

10:00am: V Octas /N Quarters

12:00pm: V Quarters /N Semis

1:00pm: V Semis /N Finals

2:30pm: Varsity Finals

Hotel

The tournament hotel will be the Courtyard Marriott Sherman Oaks. We encourage everyone to stay at this hotel as it is convenient to Harvard-Westlake as well as both LAX and BUR airports. We have secured a rate of $99/night. 

** If you have a bus, please contact the hotel directly to secure a spot for your bus. Space is limited. **

The block is scheduled to close on 12/11.

Click here to book the group rate.

Tournament of Champions

The VBT is an Octafinal qualifier to the TOC.

Entry Fees/Limits

The fee for the tournament is $100 for each Varsity LD entry and $25 for each Novice LD entry. To begin, we'll have an entry limit of 5 debaters in each division per school.

Independent Entries

Debaters must compete under their school name & have an adult on campus who is explicitly authorized to act in loco parentis. Both of these conditions are required to be eligible to compete. 

Judge Requirements

In Varsity LD you are reqired to bring 1 judge for every 3 debaters. In Novice LD you must bring 1 judge for every 2 debaters. A half-commitment is 4 double-flighted rounds (or 8 flights). In Varsity, 1 judge covering two debater will have a full-time commitment. *Note: we will schedule the tournament as to single-flight novice at times when Varsity debaters, even those competing in the tournament, will be able to judge. You can enter your Varsity Debaters as judges, if you'd like. Please limit this to Juniors and Seniors with at least 2 years of LD experience. 

In each division, a fee of $250 will be charged per uncovered entry. Missing a prelim round will incur a $50 fine per flight. Missing an elim round will incur a $100 fine per flight.

Entourage Rule: Anyone in a school entourage (coaches, hired judges, assistant coaches) are required to make themselves available for at least 2 rounds. Please email Mike Bietz if one of the judges in your group is fulfilling this entourage role.

Paperless Posting and Ballot Entry

Postings will be sent via text message or email to debaters and judges. Judges will also need to create an account (or link their account if they already have one) to this tournament on Tabroom.com. Please inform your judges that it is an expectation that tournament protocol is followed with regard to checking-in to rounds and submitting ballots. 

Although the system may not be absolutely flawless, the only way it will improve is if people continue to use it. Thank you for your compliance.

Food

We will also have a $25 fee for each student and a $10 fee for each judge as food costs. We will not sell concessions, but will just have an area where food and drinks will be provided throughout the tournament. This is easier than selling concessions. 

Deadlines

The deadline to enter the tournament is December 13. At that point we will begin allowing people off of the waiting list. If you'd like to register after the deadline, please contact Mike Bietz - mbietz@hw.com.

The deadline in which we must have judges is also December 13. After that point you will have assessed fees for any missing judge.

We do not have an additional drop fee, but the lowest fees you will pay is what is on your registration on December 13. After that, you can only accrue more charges (for missing/changing judges, etc).

Since we will be using a judge preferencing system, judge names in VLD must be entered by the deadline. Any name changes after that point will be assessed a fee. 

Payments

Payments should be made to Victory Briefs. Payment is due by December 17. Checks should be mailed to 925 N Norman Place, Los Angeles CA 90049.