2018 WSDT Invitation

January 20-21, 2018

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE INVITE.  THE WSDT OPERATES DIFFERENTLY THAN MANY OTHER TOURNAMENTS.

Host Information

West Bend East/West will again host the WSDT.  The physical address is 1305 E Decorah Road.  Elevators are available for anyone who requires a reduced barrier environment.  If other accommodations are necessary, please contact either Doris Sexton (dsexton@wsbd-schools.org) or John Knetzger (John.Knetzger@gmail.com).   There are several hotel properties in West Bend.  If you want a recommendation, please ask Doris. As there is often a hockey tournament in West Bend the same weekend, booking hotel rooms early is recommended.  

Divisions

We will offer PF, LD, Novice Policy, and Varsity Policy divisions.  All teams will compete in 6 preliminary rounds.  All teams with 4-2 or better records will advance to the elimination rounds.   An incomplete bracket will lead to the first elimination round being a partial elimination round (top seeds will advance without debating).  See the WDCA standing rules for specific pairing and tie breaking procedures.  Plans are underway to hopefully offer Big Questions Debate as a consolation event during the elimination rounds.  More information will be provided closer to the WSDT.

Registration

Registration will open on November 1st.  Entry registration closes at 6PM on Monday, January 15th, 2017.  Judges must be registered by 6PM on Tuesday, January 17th.  A completed registration includes students, judges, and paradigms for LD and VCX judges.  The registration URL is WSDT.Tabroom.com.  If you have issues registering, contact John Knetzger.  Entries cannot be accepted after the registration deadline.  

Judging Information

Please read this section carefully as there are a number of changes from previous years!

Judges may continue to submit their ballots online.  In order to ballot electronically, judges must have tabroom.com accounts and utilize their own wireless device.  

All LD and VCX judges will be required to have Tabroom.com accounts and have their paradigm posted there.  We will not be using the judge wiki for the 2018 WSDT.   Further, per the standing rules, paradigms must  reflect the division the judge is in. For example, a policy paradigm is not acceptable for judging LD.  Posting a  paradigm for LD and VCX judges is required whether the judge is balloting online or not.

Judges in other divisions are only required to have tabroom.com accounts if they ballot electronically.  Posting a paradigm in PF and NCX is optional.  Directions for posting a paradigm can be found on WDCA.org.  

At the Fall 2016 Meeting, the rules were changed to permit first year judges (2017 HS graduates) in all divisions.  However, those judges need to be marked as first year judges when you register them in PF, LD and Varsity Policy.

Judging obligations may not be reflected accurately in tabroom, but are as follows:

Novice Policy and PF, 1 judge for every 2 teams

LD and Varsity Policy, 1 judge for 1 team, 2 judges for 2 or 3 teams, 3 judges for 4 of 5 teams, etc.

All judges are obligated two full elimination rounds beyond their school’s elimination. A partial elim round does not count toward the two round obligation. Please make your judges aware that their obligation will last longer than normal.

Unaffiliated judges

If you are bringing a judge you believe to be independent, please indicate that to John Knetzger who will determine the judge’s status.

Missing Judge Fees  

A judge missing a round may be fined $35 in the preliminary round, and $50 in the elimination rounds.  A late judge may be fined $15.

Preferencing/Strikes

All judges must be registered and have any required preferences posted by Tuesday, January 17th, at 6:00 PM.  All VCX and LD judges must add their preference to their tabroom.com account profile by that time.

Schools will have the opportunity to preference in LD and VSS and strike up to 4 judges in PF.  NSS will have neither preferences nor strikes.  Preferencing will open at  on Wednesday January 18th, provided all judge paradigms are completed.  Schools who have not registered their judges by the Tuesday deadline may not be permitted to preference/strike judges.  Preferences/strikes must be completed by 3:00 PM on Friday 1/20.  Specific directions will be emailed to coaches when preferencing opens.

Qualified Entries

To be qualified for the WSDT, a debater must have earned two legs by achieving a winning record at 2 tournaments.  Please see the standing rules for all qualification requirements. We are continuing to use wdcastate.appspot.com for keeping track of qualified debaters.  Please direct questions regarding eligibility to John Knetzger

Tentative Schedule

Saturday

Sunday

Schedules will be posted, published online, and text blasted.

Food

Lunch tickets will again be required for your students, judges and coaches for Saturday and Sunday.  Though light refreshments will be provided for adults, lunch requires a prepaid ticket.

Saturday features Olive Garden spaghetti, with or without meatballs, marinara, salad, dessert  and soda/water for $9.

Sunday features a ham, turkey, tuna, or veggie sub, dessert, soda and water from Cousins for $7.

All tickets must be ordered through the concessions tab of your registration.  If you have special food needs, please contact Doris directly (dsexton@wbsd-schools.org).  The deadline is 7PM on Tuesday, January 9th.  Lunch tickets WILL NOT be available for purchase during the tournament.  Exchanges of sub choices will also not be available  

Other items (candy, chips, soda, etc.) will be available for sale throughout the weekend.  As we will keep the tournament moving, leaving campus is not advised. The forfeit time will be enforced.

Mandatory Registration

Two options are available for registration.  Schools may continue to call John Knetzger between 5-7 PM on Friday, January 20th to confirm entries.  If there are no changes, you may also confirm your entries online during the same time period on tabroom.com. Due to lack of interest, in person registration will not be offered.  Schools must also have paid membership dues and have either a check or a PO signed by an administrator for their registration fees to be eligible to compete.

Last minute student drops after the registration window must be texted to John by 7:30 AM on Saturday.

Important rooms

Tab: East Library

Judge’s Longue: East Cafeteria

Student gathering area: West Cafeteria

Awards Ceremony: Silver Lining Arts Center

Sincerely,

John Knetzger Stephanie King Doris Sexton

West Bend Rufus King West Bend

WSDT Director WSDT Operations Director Tournament Host

1/5 Update:

The following people will be assisting the Tournament Committee in the tabroom:

Matt Cekanor, MUHS, WDCA President

Kedrick Stumbris, Appleton East, President-Elect

Miloran Robinson, MUHS, Past-President

Tim Scheffler, James Madison Memorial and Madisoin West, Treasurer

Brian Devine, Janesville Parker, Secretary

David Umstott, Golda Meir and Brookfield Central, Media and Communications Chair

Miranda Erlich, Madison East, Novice Packet Chair, New Coaches Co-chair

Ben Hamburger, La Crosse Central, Judging Standards and Ethic Chair

Steve Sexton, West Bend and Brookfield East emeritus, WDCA Hall of Fame Coach, TPP Member