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Coaches,

You are cordially invited to the Mary Beth McCarthy JV Debate Invitational at Hayden Catholic High School on December 6, 2025

Topic: Something something, the Arctic.

Division: JV. We define a JV debater as a competitor in their 1st or 2nd year. However if you have students whose skills or experience would otherwise define them as JV that would also be acceptable. If you’re unsure send me an email and I’ll mull it over.

Format: 8-3-5 with 8 minutes of prep.

Mavericks: No.

AI: Don't.

Problems: Tournament management reserves the right to manage difficulties in a way that seems fair to us. If the problem can probably be solved by talking to the opposite team's coach and you two just shaking hands and moving on then that would be awesome. But I also understand if you straight up have to grieve someone. All I'm asking is for you to try and problem solve a little first.

Entries: Entries will be accepted via Tabroom. We are able to accommodate 40 teams. I will prioritize Flint Hills folks first, and then everyone else. Everyone gets at least 3 entries, although in the past I’ve accommodated quite a few more. So don’t go crazy, but we should be able to get you the entries you desire.

WiFi: We have an open guest network. It’s brand new, freshly installed over the summer. So far I have heard virtually zero complaints from my own students, and from my perspective it’s been rather reliable.

Judging: We have less than 10 kids on the team this year. But I think we’re going to be ok. I have contacted kids in my alumni network and many have them signed up to judge. You or your assistant may be called upon to judge a round or two.Generally speaking my judge pool is rather lay with the occasional program alumni tossed in there. The majority will be parents and whoever else I rustle up on Facebook.

Schedule: Debaters will participate in 4 rounds of competition. This is different from tournaments you’ve had all year. Our tournament is trying to avoid overlap with a hall of fame banquet awards ceremony on that evening. The tournament schedule will be pre-set during round one and power matched for the remaining rounds.

7:30 AM-Registration Begins

8:00 AM -Round 1

9:30 AM -Round 2

11:00 AM -Round 3

1:00 PM Round 4

Awards: Medals will be given to the top six teams in the tournament and sweepstakes plaques will be issued to the top three schools with the best three-team record. The final rankings will be determined by win/loss record, speaker ranks, opposition record and opposition speaker ranks, in that order. It’s on my list and I should remember to get medals. In fact as of this writing I’m definitely going to remember to order them.

Lunch: You have a small 30 minute timeframe. There are close restaurants, but tbh, I would just tell your kids to pack a lunch. We will mercifully be done by 3 pm at the latest.

In case of problems or need of assistance, feel free to contact me, John Samqua, by email: samquaj@haydencatholic.net

We hope that you will be able to compete in our tournament!