Vanderbilt 2015 Invitation

Dear Colleagues,

The Vanderbilt Debate Squad and the Department of Communication Studies invite you and your teams to the Vanderbilt Invitational Tournament to be held the weekend of October 16-18, 2015. All schools are welcome.

Neil Butt will be running the tab room.  The tournament will consist of three CEDA/ADA divisions: Open, JV and Novice, and we will collapse divisions only if low numbers make separate divisions impossible. We will use the CEDA/ADA definitions for all divisions. In each division, there will be six preliminary rounds of debate competition on the 2015-2016 CEDA resolution. The appropriate number of elimination rounds will follow, and the tournament will follow CEDA and ADA rules.

Each school should fully cover its own judging commitment.  Please use the Hired Judge Exchange on Tabroom.com.  If you have any problems, contact us.   

We will provide dinner on Friday, breakfast and lunch on Saturday, and breakfast on Sunday. Snacks will be provided throughout the tournament.

All judges are obligated through the later of the following:  a) the end of the first full elimination round or b) through one round after their teams (including teams for whom they are hired judges) are eliminated. Judges will be required to submit decisions no later than 2 hours 30 minutes from the start of prelim rounds and no later than 2 hours 45 minutes for elimination rounds.

If you are a new program, please let us know as soon as you decide to enter the tournament.  We will be happy to waive the entry fees for new programs and offer additional help to the extent possible.  Should anyone need airport transportation or any other help, please let us know and we will try to be of assistance.

Please make initial hotel reservations as soon as possible.  Nashville is experiencing a significant hotel shortage, and you may have much difficulty booking rooms if you delay.

We look forward to seeing you all in October.

Sincerely,

M. L. Sandoz                                        Neil Butt

Director of Forensics                             Director of Debate 

(615-) 322-8669                                      (615) 322-3784 Office

(615) 500-6184 Cell                                (540) 290-5827 Cell

(615) 343-7918 Fax                                neil.s.butt@vanderbilt.edu

ML.Sandoz@vanderbilt.edu

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

We will be using the Tabroom.com system for entries and for tabulation.  In the event that there are insurmountable problems with the web-based system, we will run the tournament on TRPC, which will preclude certain online functions and modify the judge preference system (as outlined below).

ENTRIES: Please enter through Tabroom.com.  Schools may enter any number of teams in any division. CEDA/ADA definitions for all divisions will be used. This is a sanctioned CEDA & ADA tournament.

JUDGES: Schools must provide a qualified judge for every two teams or fraction thereof entered. There will be only a small number of judges available for hire. If you can provide qualified judges for hire, please add their names to the Hired Judge Exchange on Tabroom.com (and email neil.s.butt@vanderbilt.edu, so that he can make sure you show up on the list). All judges are obligated 1 round after their teams (or teams from the school that hired them) are eliminated.

AWARDS: All teams reaching elimination rounds will receive awards. Half the teams in each division will break to elimination rounds through octo-finals as allowed by ADA rules.  We will not break brackets for elimination rounds. In addition, Speaker Awards will be given to the top 10 speakers in each division.

FORMAT: Six preliminary rounds and the appropriate number of elimination rounds will be offered in each division. The 2015-2016 CEDA resolution will be used with the 9-3-6 minute format. Preparation time will be limited to 10 minutes. Rounds I and II will be randomly paired. Round III will be paired high/high based on cumulative records. Rounds IV through VI will be paired high/low within brackets and side constraints. We will use a 30-point system with increments of tenths of points for speaker points.

JUDGING: We strongly encourage all judges to post their judging philosophies on-line. Judges will be assigned using ordinal MPJ. If we are forced to switch to TRPC, we will manually convert all prefs into categories (A, B, C, etc.) and proceed. We reserve the right to adjust the judging commitments for schools that have un-assignable judges or judges lacking posted philosophies.

FORFEIT RULE: A 15-minute forfeit rule will be strictly enforced.

CEDA STATEMENT ON DISCRIMINATION and HARASSMENT:  This tournament abides by the CEDA Statement on Sexual Discrimination and encourages an inclusive atmosphere for all those participating. Insofar as possible, the procedures in the CEDA Statement on Sexual Discrimination will be followed for all discrimination and harassment complaints.

FEES: Entry fees of $50 per person (including judges, coaches, and spectators) will be collected at registration. All changes/drops at registration will result in a $15 fee.

HYBRID POLICY:  Hybrid teams will be allowed to compete in both preliminary and elimination rounds.

DEADLINES: All teams must be entered through tabroom.com by 5:00 p.m. (CDT) on Tuesday, October 13, 2015. E-mail changes no later than 1:00 p.m. Thursday, October 15, 2015.

AIRPORT SHUTTLE: Airport Express (615) 275-1180.

LODGING:  Three hotels have reserved blocks of rooms for the tournament.  Please note the deadlines for each hotel.  If you are looking for a small number of rooms, you may be able to find closer and/or less expensive rooms through hotels.com or similar sites.  If you have questions, please do not hesitate to email me:  ml.sandoz@vanderbilt.edu.

1)         Holiday Inn Express Nashville West.  5612 Lenox Avenue, Nashville, TN 37209

Phone:  (615) 353-0700

Block Code:  VDG         Rate:  $149

            Rate Deadline:  9/16/2015

2)         Holiday Inn Express Brentwood South - Cool Springs.  8097 Moores Ln, Brentwood, TN 37027

            Phone:  (615) 309-8860

            Block Code:  VB4         Rate:  $149

            Rate Deadline:  9/16/2015         

3)         Four Points by Sheraton Nashville Airport.  800 Royal Pkwy, Nashville, TN 37214

            Phone:  (615) 884-9777

            Block Code:      Vanderbilt Debate         Rate:  $169

            Rate Deadline:  9/16/2015          Reservation Link: Four Points Link

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Report time/stop coaching time is 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

Oral critiques should be concluded no later than 15 minutes after the announced decision time.

Friday, October 16, 2015

12:30-2:00         Registration – EDGH 225*

2:30      Rounds 1 and 2 Pairings Released

3:30      Round 1

6:00      Decision time for Round 1

6:00      Dinner

7:00      Round 2

9:30      Decision time for Round 2

*The Department of Communication Studies is now in EDGH located at in the First Amendment Center at the corner of Edgehill and 18^th Avenue South.  The GPS address to use is 1801 Edgehill.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

7:00      Rounds 3 and 4 Pairings Released

8:00      Round 3

10:30    Decision time for Round 3

11:00    Round 4

1:30      Decision time for Round 4

1:30      Lunch

2:00      Pairings released for Round 5

2:30      Round 5

5:00      Decision time for Round 5

5:30      Pairings released for Round 6

6:00      Round 6

8:30      Decision time for Round 6

Sunday, October 18, 2015

7:00      Pairings released for Octafinal round

8:00      Octafinal round

11:30 (approx.) Awards ceremony

Remaining Elimination Rounds