Dempsey Cronin Memorial Invitational
2023 — NSDA Campus, US
The Dempsey-Cronin Memorial 2022-23Please find our invitation document here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wFVIew3bTYsIkmKqZ5eGGNuJLHMp6nLP7-DOZjOMENI/edit?usp=sharing
Dear Colleagues:
We cordially invite you and your team to attend The Dempsey-Cronin Invitational, held on the weekend of January 28th-29th, 2023. This tournament will be held on the NSDA Campus platform.
In Memory of Rev. James J. Dempsey and Mr. Marty Cronin
The tournament is named in honor of the late Rev. James J. Dempsey, S.J. and Director Marty Cronin. Father Dempsey was a longtime college coach at many notable institutions and co-founder of the collegiate Northern California Forensic Association. Mr. Marty Cronin was an outstanding teacher and coach for many years who serviced the community and helped create a competitive atmosphere where his students thrived. Cronin was president of the Douglas County Professional Education Association, an officer in the Nevada state high school forensic association and active in state politics. Both Fr. James J. Dempsey and Marty Cronin represented the best of this community. In accordance with their values, we hope to provide an educational and competitive event for your students.
Events and Divisions
This tournament will NOT be offering bids for NIETOC and is NOT designated as a bid tournament for the UK TOC. Our tournament is intended to provide additional opportunities for Middle School, Novice and JV competitors
High School DebateFor high school debate students, we offer the following divisions: Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, and Parliamentary Debate.
SpeechFor high school speech students, we offer synchronous competition in all NSDA Main Speech Events (DI, HI, POI, Info, OO, Duo, Extemp) with the following exceptions: Extemp will be one division that will combine International and Domestic topics. Duo will be Asynchronous. We also offer a division of Declamation (also known as OI), a division of Impromptu Speaking, and a division of Prose and Poetry (to include both Prose & Poetry Interp and Original Prose & Poetry).
Middle School DebateFor middle school debate students, we offer the following divisions: Policy Debate, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, and Congressional Debate.
Speech
For middle school students, we offer divisions of Middle School Spontaneous Argument (SPAR) and Middle School Impromptu.
Middle school students are also welcome to enter any of the high school speech divisions.
Elementary SchoolFor our youngest competitors, we have a division of Elementary Impromptu Speaking and a division of Elementary Spontaneous Argument (SPAR).
Elementary school students are also welcome to enter any of the middle school divisions.
Logistics Location/PlatformThis competition will take place online on the NSDA Campus platform.
All competitors must be linked to a Tabroom.com account associated with their school in order to access their competition rooms.
All rounds will be single-flighted in order to reduce screen time for both competitors and judges.
Time ZoneDue to our school’s location in California, all times for the tournament will be on Pacific time.
Registration, Waitlist, and Limitations RegistrationEntries will be accepted online at http://dempsey.tabroom.com.You can also locate the tournament name from the Tabroom homepage to register. You can also search for the tournament by entering "Dempsey" into the search box. You can find the Dempsey-Cronin Memorial Invitational under the National Circuit (NatCir) for high schools on Tabroom.com.
Waitlist ProcessTeams will clear the waitlist once their entries are covered by judging or by tournament-approved hired judging requests.
TBA entries will not clear the waitlist. Please register names for your entries by the TBA deadline.
If you feel you have teams waitlisted despite these conditions being met, please contact the tournament.
Independent EntriesIndependent entries are welcome at The Dempsey-Cronin Memorial Invitational. All independent entries must have an adult coach or adult parent who can be reached if/when needed by the tournament.
Deadlines and Schedule Dates and DeadlinesOnline registration will accept changes until 6:00 PM on Friday, January 27, 2023. You are able to add or drop up until the day of the tournament; however, drops made after Wednesday, January 25th, 2023 at 6:00 pm will be charged their entry fee.
Judge changes are due at the Drop/Fees Freeze deadline - Wednesday, January 25th, 2023 at 6:00 pm. If you would like to buy out of judging, you must request hired judging (via email or Tabroom) by Wednesday, January 25th at 6:00 PM. Requests made after this deadline may or may not be able to be fulfilled and may be charged a higher rate.
Congress Legislation and Parli Topic Areas 1/14/2023 @ 6:00 PM PDT
Hired Judging Request Deadline 1/25/2023 @ 6:00 PM PDT
TBA Deadline (entries must have names) 1/25/2023 @ 6:00 PM PDT
Drop Deadline - Fees/Obligations Freeze 1/25/2023 @ 6:00 PM PDT
Judge Deadline - Changes Freeze 1/25/2023 @ 6:00 PM PDT
Add Deadline - New Entries Due 1/27/2023 @ 6:00 PM PDT
Entry Name Change / Online Drops Freeze 1/27/2023 @ 6:00 PM PDT
Schedule Saturday - All Lincoln-Douglas / Public Forum / Parliamentary ScheduleRegistration/Check-in for schools entered in Debate will be Saturday, October 8 from 7:00am-8:00am.
Saturday |
||||
Round |
Pairings Released |
Tech Check-in |
Start Time |
Decision Time |
Debate Rd 1 |
7:00 AM |
7:50 AM |
8:00 AM |
9:15 AM |
Debate Rd 2 |
9:15 AM |
9:35 AM |
9:45 AM |
11:00 AM |
Lunch Break |
11:00 AM |
11:30 AM |
||
Debate Rd 3 |
11:30 AM |
11:50 AM |
12:00 PM |
1:15 PM |
Debate Rd 4 |
1:30 PM |
1:50 PM |
2:00 PM |
3:15 PM |
Debate Rd 5 |
3:30 PM |
3:50 PM |
4:00 PM |
5:15 PM |
Debate Elim 1 |
5:30 PM |
5:50 PM |
6:00 PM |
7:30 PM |
Saturday - Middle School Policy Debate Schedule
Registration/Check-in for schools entered in Debate will be Saturday, October 8 from 7:00am-8:00am.
Policy will conclude with round 3. There will be no Policy Debate rounds on Sunday.
Saturday |
||||
Round |
Pairings Released |
Tech Check-in |
Start Time |
Decision Time |
CX Debate Rd 1 |
7:00 AM |
7:50 AM |
8:00 AM |
10:00 AM |
CX Debate Rd 2 |
10:15 AM |
10:35 AM |
10:45 AM |
12:45 PM |
Lunch Break |
12:45 PM |
1:15 PM |
||
CX Debate Rd 3 |
1:15 PM |
1:35 PM |
1:45 PM |
3:45 PM |
Sunday - Speech Prelims and Debate Elims (LD/PF/Parli) Schedule
Registration/Check-in for schools entered in Speech will be Sunday, October 9 from 7:00am-8:00am.
Sunday |
||||
Round |
Pairings Released |
Tech Check-in |
Start Time |
Decision Time |
Speech Rd 1 |
7:00 AM |
7:50 AM |
8:00 AM |
9:15 AM |
Speech Rd 2 |
9:15 AM |
9:20 AM |
9:30 AM |
10:45 AM |
Lunch Break |
10:45 AM |
11:15 AM |
||
Speech Rd 3 |
11:15 AM |
11:20 AM |
11:30 AM |
12:45 PM |
Debate Elim 2 |
12:30 PM |
1:05 PM |
1:15 PM |
2:45 PM |
Speech Finals |
2:15 PM |
2:35 PM |
2:45 PM |
4:00 PM |
Debate Elim 3 |
4:00 PM |
4:20 PM |
4:30 PM |
6:00 PM |
Debate Elim 4 |
6:00 PM |
6:20 PM |
6:30 PM |
8:00 PM |
Sunday - Middle School SPAR and Middle School Impromptu Schedule
Registration/Check-in for schools entered in Speech will be Sunday, October 9 from 7:00am-8:00am.
Sunday |
||||
Round |
Pairings Released |
Tech Check-in |
Start Time |
Decision Time |
MS Impromptu Rd 1 |
7:00 AM |
7:50 AM |
8:00 AM |
9:15 AM |
MS Impromptu Rd 2 |
9:15 AM |
9:20 AM |
9:30 AM |
10:45 AM |
Lunch Break |
10:45 AM |
11:15 AM |
||
MS Impromptu Rd 3 |
11:15 AM |
11:20 AM |
11:30 AM |
12:45 PM |
MS Spar Rd 1 |
12:45 PM |
12:50 PM |
1:00 PM |
2:15 PM |
MS Impromptu Finals |
2:15 PM |
2:35 PM |
2:45 PM |
4:00 PM |
MS SPAR Rd 2 |
3:45 PM |
3:50 PM |
4:00 PM |
5:00 PM |
MS SPAR Rd 3 |
5:00 PM |
5:05 PM |
5:15 PM |
6:15 PM |
MS SPAR Finals |
6:15 PM |
6:20 PM |
6:30 PM |
7:45 PM |
Sunday - Middle School Congressional Debate Schedule
Registration/Check-in for schools entered in Congressional Debate will be Sunday, October 9 from 7:00am-8:00am.
Sunday |
||||
Round |
Pairings Released |
Tech Check-in |
Start Time |
Decision Time |
Congress Rd 1 |
7:30 AM |
7:50 AM |
8:00 AM |
9:15 AM |
Congress Rd 2 |
9:15 AM |
9:20 AM |
9:30 AM |
10:45 AM |
Lunch Break |
10:45 AM |
11:15 AM |
||
Congress Rd 3 |
11:15 AM |
11:20 AM |
11:30 AM |
12:45 PM |
Snack Break |
12:45 PM |
1:00 PM |
||
Congress Finals |
1:00 PM |
1:05 PM |
1:15 PM |
2:30 PM |
Awards |
3:30 PM |
Saturday - Elementary SPAR and Elementary Impromptu Schedule
Registration/Check-in for schools entered in Speech will be Saturday, October 8 from 7:00am-8:00am.
Saturday |
||||
Round |
Pairings Released |
Tech Check-in |
Start Time |
Decision Time |
E SPAR Rd 1 |
7:30 AM |
7:50 AM |
8:00 AM |
9:00 AM |
E SPAR Rd 2 |
9:00 AM |
9:05 AM |
9:15 AM |
10:15 AM |
E SPAR Rd 3 |
10:15 AM |
10:20 AM |
10:30 AM |
11:30 AM |
Lunch Break |
11:30 AM |
12:00 PM |
||
E Impromptu Rd 1 |
12:00 PM |
12:05 PM |
12:15 PM |
1:15 PM |
E Impromptu Rd 2 |
1:30 PM |
1:35 PM |
1:45 PM |
2:45 PM |
E Impromptu Rd 3 |
3:00 PM |
3:05 PM |
3:15 PM |
4:15 PM |
E SPAR Finals |
4:15 PM |
4:20 PM |
4:30 PM |
5:45 PM |
Impromptu Finals |
5:45 PM |
5:50 PM |
6:00 PM |
7:15 PM |
We have set entry fees at what we feel is a reasonable rate. If you feel cost is a barrier to your team’s ability to participate, or if your school is a member of an Urban Debate League (UDL), please email us at mjaich@mac.com and CC cori.blackwood95@gmail.com. Discounts and waivers will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The Dempsey-Cronin Memorial Invitational is committed to equity of access for all competitors and schools.
School Fee - $50 (Charged to all institutions that register)
Congressional Entry - $20
Congressional Judging - $125 per judge
Policy Debate Entry - $40
Policy Debate Judging - $125 per judge
Lincoln-Douglas Entry - $40
Public Forum Entry - $40
Parliamentary Entry - $40
Debate Judging - $125 per uncovered entry
Speech Entry - $20
Speech Judging - $125 per judge
Judging Requests After Deadline - Additional $25 per judge/uncovered entry
Missed Ballot Fee - $30 per missed ballot
Payment InformationPlease make arrangements for payment once your entries have cleared the waitlist. Checks can be made payable to "SC Debate Union". Please mail to:
SC Debate Union
Attn: Melan Jaich
196 Venado Avenue
Thousand Oaks, CA 9120
If your school is unable to pay via check at this time, or a check would involve a long delay, please contact the tournament for alternate payment options (PayPal, Credit Card, etc.) at mjaich@mac.com and CC cori.blackwood95@gmail.com.
Double Entry Limitations Student Double EntryCongressional Debate will be treated as a Speech event for the purposes of Double Entry.
Students are able to enter in one Debate event and up to 2 Speech events with the following exceptions:
Students who enter in Congressional Debate cannot enter a speech event, but may still register for another Debate event.
Students who enter Extemp can only do Extemp during the Speech pattern, but may still register for a Debate event.
Middle school students who register for Debate and two Speech events can additionally register for Middle School SPAR provided they do not advance in Debate.
Elementary school students can double enter in Elementary SPAR and Elementary Impromptu.
Judging Information Judging Coverage RatiosEach Judge covers up to 2 entries in Debate.
Each Judge covers up to 5 entries in Speech.
Each Judge covers up to 6 entries in Congress.
Each school entering in Congressional Debate will also be asked to provide one additional judge to serve as a Parliamentarian/PO. (Please See Congress Event-Specific Information)
Judge Qualifications and ExpectationsAll judges are required to have a linked Tabroom account. This is to ensure they have access to both their ballots and the competition rooms on the NSDA Campus platform.
Judges covering high school competitors must be over the age of 18 and have graduated from high school.
Judges for Middle School events may be current high school juniors or seniors with significant forensics experience.
Judges should have significant experience with digital forensics competitions. Schools are responsible for preparing their judges in the use of Tabroom.com and for what to expect in a digital forensics competition. As a result, there will be no day-of-tournament judge training. Rather we encourage the use of the following resources ahead of the tournament to become prepared:
We encourage all judges to review the NSDA Cultural Competency resources (www.speechanddebate.org/judge-training/) and take the course. If you have newer judges, we strongly recommend the Adjudicating Speech and Debate course available via the NSDA (www.speechanddebate.org/judge-training/).
Finally, we expect all judges to act in a manner that is inclusive, equitable, and offers constructive criticism to the competitors, regardless of their background or experience.
Elimination Round ObligationsAll Debate judges are committed to judge one round beyond when the last student from that school/institution is eliminated from competition in that division.
This means that if you have 3 PF judges and one of your PF entries advances to the Quarterfinal round, ALL 3 judges are committed to judge the Semifinal round.
All judges are obligated through the first complete elimination round.
For example, if the tournament runs a partial octofinal debate all judges are obligated through the quarterfinal elimination round.
All Speech judges are committed to the Final round, and all Congress judges are committed through the Final round.
Partial Judge Shifts and Availability
The tournament’s intention is that judges are available for a minimum of a full day.
You can adjust the day availability of your judge by first entering your judge, and then clicking on “All Rounds” under your judge’s “Availability” section.
If you have judges with partial availability please be sure to have another judge that can fill in for the other day. We can also accommodate partial day judge shifts if requested in advance. Please email these requests to cori.blackwood95@gmail.com.
Missed rounds will incur fees as we have to replace those judges with hired judges or school judges beyond their commitment. Missed round fees will be $30 per ballot.
Judge Double EntryJudges can cover the Debate pattern, and may also be entered to cover Speech OR Congress events.
If you wish to double-enter a judge, you can do so by dropping them and registering them first as a Speech judge. Then they can be added to cover a Debate category. The order in which the judge is entered matters to Tabroom.com.
Please do not register judges in both Speech and Congress as the rounds occur at the same times.
If you have a unique situation and wish to request a judge to cover one entry in each of two conflicting groups, please contact the tournament.
Accommodations can often be made if requested in advance and will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Hired Judging Hired Judging ProcessSchool’s that wish to buy out their judging requirement can do so at a rate of $125 per entry in Debate events, or $125 per judge in Speech / Policy / Congress events. This fee covers the cost of hiring a judge to fill that role for the weekend.
If you need tournament hired judging, please notify the tournament so that we can begin the process of retaining a judge for the weekend. You can do so either by using the hire request feature on Tabroom.com or by emailing cori.blackwood95@gmail.com.
Missing judges are not an indication of a hired judging request and will be charged at a higher rate of $150. This is the default rate on Tabroom when no hire request is made and no judge is entered. Tabroom will reflect the correct rate for hired judging after hired judging requests are made and approved.
Hired Judging DeadlineThe deadline to request hired judging from the tournament is Wednesday, September 25th at 6:00 PM PDT. Requests made after the deadline do not have a guarantee of being filled and will be charged a higher rate of $150.
Judges Wishing to be HiredIf you wish to be a hired judge for the Dempsey-Cronin Memorial Invitational, please fill out the Google Form: (https://forms.gle/uBo2SXtR4K671GFX7).
We will be requiring every judge we hire to complete the NFHS Protecting Students from Abuse training course prior to the tournament: (https://nfhslearn.com/courses/protecting-students-from-abuse). Please email the completed certificate to Cori Blackwood (cori.blackwood95@gmail.com).
We also strongly recommend the NSDA Cultural Competency Course. You can access each of these courses via the NSDA Judge Training Webpage: (www.speechanddebate.org/judge-training/).
Event Specific Information Public Forum: TopicsWe offer the January NSDA topics in Public Forum debate for both Middle School and High School students.
Please pay close attention to the name of the division you have selected when registering your entries.
Coinflip ProcessTeams will flip for sides and for speaking order in all rounds. Coinflips will be conducted online via Tabroom.com. Flips will become live one minute after pairing release, and the winning team will have five minutes to choose a side or speaking order. If the time elapses, either team may choose.
Evidence ExpectationsIn Public Forum, evidence must be made available to view upon request from either an opponent or judge.
Lincoln-Douglas: TopicsFor middle school students and high school students, we offer January/February NSDA topics in Lincoln-Douglas debate.
We do not offer the NSDA Novice Topic in any division.
Please pay close attention to the name of the division you have selected when registering your entries.
Coinflip ProcessTeams will flip for sides in elimination rounds. Coinflips will be conducted online via Tabroom.com. Flips will become live one minute after pairing release, and the winning entry will have five minutes to choose a side. If the time elapses, either entry may choose.
Evidence ExpectationsIn Lincoln-Douglas, evidence must be made available to view upon request from either an opponent or judge.
Argument RestrictionsThe tournament does not take a position on what types of arguments can be advanced by debaters on either side.
Parliamentary: Topic and Prep TimeThe Parliamentary topic for each round will be announced 20 minutes before the round start time. Teams may prep using any resources at their disposal. The tournament will not provide a prep room, rather, teams are encouraged to use their NSDA Campus Squad Room to prepare for their debates.
Topic AreasParliamentary Topic Areas will be released three weeks prior to the tournament.
Tentative Parli Topic AreasTBA
Congressional Debate: LegislationLegislation can be submitted until three weeks prior to the tournament. The deadline for submitting legislation is 11:55 PM on January 14th, 2023.
On January 15th, 2023, we will post Congressional Legislation to the tournament website.
FormatThere will be three prelim rounds and one final round. Legislation will be used in the order of the docket with one bill to be used in the final round.
Speeches will be three minutes in length, followed by a two minute cross examination from the floor. Speaking order and question precedence will be determined by the Presiding Officer.
Cross Examination will proceed as follows: Each questioner will have 30 seconds to ask questions once recognized by the presiding officer. This is intended to allow for follow-up questions.
Presiding Officers / ParliamentariansEach school will be asked to provide one Presiding Officer/Parliamentarian to conduct Congressional Debate rounds. This is in addition to the judging requirement of one judge per 6 entries.
Presiding Officers can be current high school competitors with significant Congressional Debate experience.
You can register your PO/Parliamentarian on Tabroom.com as a Congress judge, and check the “Qualified Parliamentarian” box when entering them.
Schools who have difficulty locating a qualified Parliamentary/Presiding Officer can buy out of this obligation for the same rate as one hired judge for Congressional Debate.
Extemp:Extemp prep will start 30 minutes before the extemp round begins.
Impromptu: Topic DistributionImpromptu topics will be emailed to judges 15 minutes before a round is scheduled to begin.
Spontaneous Argument (SPAR): Side AssignmentsSpar will be paneled similar to a Speech event with sections of 6 competitors per room.
Odd numbered competitors will be Pro and Even numbered competitors will be Con.
Topic / Resolution ProcessJudges will receive topics via email 15 minutes before a round is scheduled to begin. Each competitor will debate one other competitor about one topic. Each pair will be given 3 topics/resolutions by the judge.
The Pro will strike one resolution and then the Con will strike one of the two remaining topics, leaving the pair with one final topic for debate.
Vocabulary and DefinitionsPlease keep in mind that our competitors are young. Judges may provide definitions of words in the topics.
Format and ProcedureAfter topic selection, a pair of competitors will have two minutes to prepare their arguments before speaking will commence.
The Pro speaker will give a two-minute constructive speech in favor of the resolution; immediately after that speech, the Con speaker will give a two-minute constructive speech.
Following the constructives, there will be a four-minute open crossfire.
The debaters should question each other, and should be prepared to take at least a few questions from the audience of other competitors. The competitors should ask these questions (i.e. not the judge). Any other SPAR competitors listed to speak in that round are permitted to ask crossfire questions (judges and other spectators are not permitted to ask questions).
Two rebuttal speeches of the Pro followed by the Con complete the round.
There is no preparation time during the debate.
Time LimitsPrep Time 2 minutes
Pro Constructive 2 minutes
Con Constructive 2 minutes
Open Crossfire 4 minutes
Pro Rebuttal 2 minutes
Con Rebuttal 2 minutes
Scoring / RankingAt the end of the debate, judges will rank the speakers from 1 to 6.
SPAR competitors should be judged on the basis of overall wit, persuasion and quality argument construction.
Procedure for Imbalanced SectionsIf there are an odd number of competitors (5), Competitor 1 will debate again on the opposite side against Competitor 5. Please disregard the second performance from Competitor 1 in selecting your rankings, but please include comments and feedback for the second debate.
Example 6 person round:Competitor 1 will debate Competitor 2. Competitor 1 will be Pro
Competitor 3 will debate Competitor 4. Competitor 3 will be Pro
Competitor 5 will debate Competitor 6. Competitor 5 will be Pro
Example 5 person round:Competitor 1 will debate Competitor 2. Competitor 1 will be Pro
Competitor 3 will debate Competitor 4. Competitor 3 will be Pro
Competitor 5 will debate Competitor 1. Competitor 5 will be Pro
Observer Policy Coach ViewingWe will permit one coach from each school to be added to the backend of the tournament with limited access so they can enter and observe competition rounds.
We feel this will help you locate your students more efficiently and would help teams to troubleshoot potential tech issues.
This is a privilege. Under no circumstances is a coach to watch a round their competitor is not competing in. It can be revoked if we find out this has been violated.
Equity and DisputesIf, at any time during the tournament, there is a concern regarding equity or a dispute regarding a tournament procedure, we are requiring the individuals to fill out a google form so they can be contacted by the Ombudsperson and Equity Officer. The equity form will be located on our tournament tabroom page. The decisions of the Equity Officer / Ombudsperson are final.