Eligibility

Any first year participant in Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, or Public Forum debater is eligible to compete in the novice divisions.  Any second year participant in LD or Policy is eligible to compete in the JV divisions. Any first or second year debater is allowed to debate in Congress.

***New this year: Congress is a combined Novice and JV (first and second year) event. This is due to coaches' requests.***

A first year debater is defined as a debater in their first year of high school competition.  They cannot have debated at any previous high school tournament prior to the 2016-2017 school year. 

A second year debater is defined as a debater in their second year of high school competition.  They cannot have debated at any previous high school tournament prior to the 2015-2016 school year.

A student who has competed at junior high tournaments only is still eligible for the novice divisions at this tournament. 

If a student has high school debate experience in a previous year in one debate event, they are ineligible for the novice divisions in all debate events. For example, do not enter a sophomore who did policy debate last year in the novice LD division. Even though they are in their first year of LD, they are not considered a novice according to our eligibility standards.

We feel comfortable using an honor system but please be sure to contact us regarding questions or borderline calls. We will strictly enforce these standards and disqualify anyone we find out does not meet them so please ask if you are unsure if a student is eligible.

Note: Due to limited classroom space, there are no JV divisions for PF and Congress.  Please do not enter second year debaters in these events.  

Maverick entries will be allowed in policy and public forum but will not be eligible to break to elimination rounds.