Hello,

It is our pleasure toofficially announcethat this year’s Georgetown Debate Tournament is now posted on Tabroom and open for registration. This year’s tournament will be held fromJanuary 3-5, 2026.It will beonline for this year only,but we would like to share a few words about why and what to expect.

In the current moment, debate teams throughout the country are struggling with budgetary uncertaintyand, in many cases, reductions. This spring, the NDT Committee discussed the need to come together as a community, to find ways tomaximize the number of teams able to travel, while also minimizing the number of rounds at in-person tournaments that wind up being online. To that end, it was proposed that one major each year—on a rotational basis—be shifted online, so that programs could coordinate and plan around traveling in-person tomany of the same places at the same times.

None of us are eager for more online debates, but equity and access dictate that we must find ways to incorporate them. Webelieve it is better for them to becentralized atspecific majorsto the maximum possible extent. “Hybrid season, not hybrid tournaments.”

Despite that consensus, there has been a collective action problem—no major announced thus far has stepped up to bite the bullet. So we will.For this year only,the Georgetown tournament will be heldonline. It is our understandingand hope that if this coordinated experiment is successful, next year adifferentmajor will be held online and ours willreturn in-person. We are all in this together, and this responsibility must be shared.

The tournament page may be found here: http://georgetown.tabroom.com A complete tournament invite, including official rules, will be posted closer to time.*

*As an aside, we are also considering experimenting slightly with elim bracket structure—in the spirit of Ross Smith’s emphasis on innovation (which we have to thank for today’s speech times!), and the fun, distinctive character created by each tournament’s unique quirks (gotta love Harvard clearing to Octas); I’ve always been a fan, and initial straw-polling has been positive. But TBD, and more on this later.

Sincerely,
Brandon Kelley
Director of Debate, Georgetown University