Dear Colleagues,

The Durham Academy Speech & Debate team cordially invites you to attend the 11th Annual Cavalier Invitational on January 17th through 19th of 2025.

We will try to offer you and your students not only an outstanding academic competition, but also a pleasant tournament experience. Rest assured the 11th edition of the Cavalier Invitational will be the best installment yet.

Please note the tournament schedule:

• The 11th Annual Cavalier Invitational will be an in-person tournament.

• We will continue to host a World Schools Debate division that is open to school-based and hybrid (by school) teams.

• For this year, the tournament runs Friday through Sunday. Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, and World Schools will be Friday through Sunday. Speech & Congress will be Saturday & Sunday.

• The tournament offers six preliminary rounds in Lincoln Douglas and Public Forum, five in World Schools Debate and four preliminary rounds in all speech events. In debate, we will strive to break all winning records. In speech, we will advance the greatest number of students reasonable.

• Continuation of Novice divisions in Lincoln-Douglas Debate & Public Forum Debate.

• Designated as a University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions qualifying tournaments at the following levels: Public Forum Debate – Quarterfinals, Lincoln Douglas Debate – Semifinals, Congressional Debate – All Students in Finals, Speech Events – varies based on the number of entries

Please read the invitation carefully in that it contains new and important information that will affect all of those attending the tournament.

A common theme of this invitation, based on the language and implicit assumptions therein, is that you are a guest of Durham Academy and its coaching staff and, by attending the tournament, you are agreeing to adhere to our guidelines as a condition of participation in the Cavalier Invitational.

We look forward to welcoming you to our beautiful campus!

Crawford Leavoy, Director of Speech and Debate

Rachel Mauchline, Assistant Director of Speech and Debate

Justin Spitzer, Student Director of the Cavalier Invitational