Schools that have entries in 9 or more of the 11 speech events must pay to hire judging. This long-standing rule ensures that we can hire judges who are able to judge those schools and that the tournament can function.

 

Schools should cover their judging obligations, with the exception of the Luxury Tax policy indicated above. In debate, a limited number of hired judges may be available, but you must request to hire judges and requests must be approved by the committee. The availability of hired judges is not guaranteed. Please plan, as much as possible, to provide qualified judges in each event. The cost to hire a judge is $50 per round in debate events, $25 per uncovered entry in Congress and speech events. This may seem high but it covers the cost to hire the judge, plus the cost of travel and housing expenses for the judge.