Entry Information

Entries: All entries dropped after 6:00 pm on Monday, October 24th will lose their original entry fee. A nuisance fee will be charged in addition to the original entry fee for drops after 6:00 pm on Wednesday, October 26th. 

Judges:

PF/LD – One judge for every 2 entries, or portion thereof.

World Schools/CX – One judge for every 2 entries, or portion thereof.   YOU MUST PROVIDE AT LEAST ONE JUDGE. Total buyout will not be permitted.

Congressional Debate – One judge for every 8 entries, or portion thereof.

Speech Events – One judge for every 6 entries, or portion thereof.

*All judges/hire requests must be entered on the website by Monday, October 24th at 5:00pm or you will be assessed missing judge fees. We need to get an accurate idea of how many judges to hire. Provided judges are always preferred to fees. Schools of judges who are scheduled to judge rounds and do not pick up ballots will be assessed a fee of $50 for every missed round. Committing to a judge and then not providing that judge will result in a missing judge fee assessed on the day of the tournament.

Debate Event Topics:

Cross-Examination Debate – NFHS Topic 

Lincoln-Douglas Debate – Septempber/October NSDA Topic

Public Forum Debate – September/October NSDA Topic

World Schools Debate -

Round 1: Motion 5. This House supports a cashless economy.

Round 2: Motion 7. This House believes that the environmental rights of future generations supersede the economic interests of current generations.

Round 3: Impromptu

Semis: Motion 4. This House supports the right of teachers to unionize.

Finals: Impromptu

Congressional Debate – The current TFA docket will be used. 

Prelims - Items 11-15

Finals - Items 16-20

Fees:

Missing Judge (IE/Debate) - $150

Individual Event, Duo/Duet Entry, Extemp, Congress - $20

LD, PF - $30

WSD, CX Entry - $40

Payment of Fees: Schools should mail a check payable to McKinney High School Debate Boosters to cover all fees. We would appreciate if you can have a Purchase Order or proof of payment (emails with business offices would suffice) by the start of the tournament. If you are unable to do this, we understand, but will require that all accounts be paid in full within 30 days after the tournament. All delinquent accounts are subject to a $100 fee after 30 days.

Sections and Cross Entering:

Section A: Dramatic Interpretation, Informative Speaking, Poetry, Duet Interpretation

Students may enter 2 events in this section. Students entered in section A may also enter Sections B OR C.

Section B: Humorous Interpretation, Original Oratory, Program of Oral Interpretation, Prose, Duo Interpretation

Students may enter 2 events in this section. Students entered in section B may also enter Sections A OR D.

Section C: Domestic Extemp, International Extemp, and Novice Extemp

Students may enter 1 event in this section. Students entered in section C may also enter Sections A OR D.

Section D: LD, PF, and Congressional Debate

Students may enter 1 event in this section. Students entered in section D may also enter Sections B OR  C.

Section E: CX and World Schools Debate

Students may enter 1 event in this section. Student entered in this section may NOT enter any other events in any other section.

**Students who cross enter do so at their own risk. It is their responsibility to make it to their rounds on time. Judges will be informed of cross entry on the ballot but if a student fails to appear within 15 minutes of the final speaker, they may "no show" the student.

Novice Event Notice: Novice divisions will be collapsed without sufficient entry. We will make the final call regarding novice divisions by the end of the day on the Monday before the tournament. Novice is defined as any first-year competitor. Competing in an event for a first time does not necessarily make a competitor a novice. Trying to manipulate this rule has an extreme negative impact on our activity. Please double-check your entry to make sure that your students are entered in the appropriate division.

Student Behavior: All competitors and judges are held to the rules and regulations of the Texas Forensic Association. An adult school representative must be in attendance.  Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in forfeiting the school from competition.

Other Notes:

We will make every effort as a tournament to run on schedule and will attempt to accelerate when possible. We ask for your patience and cooperation in the event that this is not possible.

We believe that oral critiques and disclosure are valuable teaching tools in debate.  However, an oral critique does not replace a well-written ballot, as that is helpful communication at this time of the year between the judge and coach.

Panels will be provided for all TFA events starting in semifinals.

We will NOT break brackets in debate.

The third round of debate will be power-matched (hi-low).

In IEs with 24 or less total entries, we will have 2 preliminary rounds followed by a final round. Please note, this can cause a final with more than 6 students.

Please pay attention to the TFA Constitution as it will govern this tournament.