Congress

We are excited to announce that students earning a Top 6 placement will earn a bid to the Tournament of Champions. As a result, we have made some changes to this year's tournament. Please read the information below carefully.

Competitive Sessions: The novice division will feature three (3) sessions, each consisting of two (2) hours of debate as well as a semi-final and final round. The Varsity/Open division will feature three (3) sessions, each consisting of two (2) hours of floor debate and a final round. If there are more than 120 entrants, the tournament reserves the right to reduce the number of prelim rounds in order to add a semi-final. Student Congress will be offered on Saturday and Sunday. All sessions will conflict with Debate events, so students entered in Student Congress may not enter LD or Policy Debate.

Legislation Requirements: *New* This year, the tournament will use a legislative packet developed by the tournament staff. Schools will not need to submit legislation for this year's tournament. The legislative packet is currently posted as of 9/6/2018. You may download the dockets from the main tournament page.

Procedure: A number of our traditional rules have changed. Please refer to the Congress Information Packet, which is downloadable from the main tournament page. 

Judging Commitment: All schools entering students in Student Congress must provide at least one critic who is capable and willing to act as a Parliamentarian and/or chair.

Presiding Officer Contest:

Students who wish to compete in the Presiding Officer Competition should register in the PO division. PO competitors will rotate between Novice Chambers in Preliminary Rounds, and the top 4 POs will advance to elimination rounds on Sunday.

Students who which to preside in the open division should register as a Congress entry in the Open Division, and prepare to compete as an Open Congress entry throughout the tournament.

Presiding Officers for the Open Division:

There is one (1) elected Presiding Officer in each session. No legislator may serve in that office for more than one session if there are other willing candidates within the chamber. Presiding Officer nominations will be taken from the floor. The Parliamentarian will use a secret ballot to conducts election. A majority vote is required to elect a candidate. The chamber’s best presiding officer as determined by the Parliamentarian and Scorers is guaranteed to advance to the next round of competition.