JW Patterson Invitational
2018 — Oklahoma City, OK/US
Events, Judging, and Payment Info
**You may mail checks ahead of time or stop by in person registration at the tournament hotel Friday to drop off your payment and pick up meal tickets***
Judge Requirements: All judges in varsity policy and LD debate must have a judge philosophy on tabroom. Both divisions will be using a preference system so it is very important that judges entered in those events have philosophies listed. This is a requirement for participation, not a request.
Public Forum Debate, Entry Fee $50 per team
PF will use the 2018 September/October topic:
Resolved: The United States should accede to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea without reservations.
PF will use the standard times and each team will have 2 minutes of prep time per round.
PF Judging: 1 judge covers 4 entries, the fee for each missing judge is $100
Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Entry Fee $50 per debater
LD will use the 2018 September/October topic:
Resolved: In the United States, reporters ought to have the right to protect the identity of confidential sources.
LD will use the standard 6-3-7-3-4-6-3 speech times with 4 minutes of prep time.
LD Judging: 1 judge covers 4 entries, the fee for each missing judge is $175
Varsity Policy Debate, Entry Fee $100 per team
All policy debate events will use the 2018-19 topic:
Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially reduce its restrictions on legal immigration to the United States.
Varsity and Novice Policy will use the standard 8-3-5 format with 8 minutes of prep time.
Varsity Policy Judging: 1 judge covers 2 entries, the fee for each missing judge is $175
We will accept four entries from each school, entries after that will be waitlisted. I anticipate being able to allow many teams from the waitlist in the tournament and will start that process 1 week after registration opens (to give all schools a chance to enter).
Novice Policy Debate, Entry Fee $50 per team
Novice Policy Judging: 1 judge covers 2 entries, the fee for each missing judge is $100
Who is eligible for novice debate?
At the JW Patterson Invitational Debates a policy team may enter the novice division if they meet one of the following criteria:
1. It is the first full year of debate competition for both debaters.
2. Both debaters are still in middle school. They have not entered 9th grade.
*Note: For a year of debate competition to count towards the novice quota the debater should have competed in at least 3 tournaments.
Clarification?
1. If my team 9th-grade debater competed in middle school debate and attended at least 3 debate tournaments they have to compete in the varsity division? Yes, we do not consider this team a novice.
2. If I have 8th-grade students who debated all 7th-grade year and attend 3 or more tournaments do they have to compete in varsity? No, they are currently in middle school so they may stay in the novice division.
3. If my 9th-grade debater debated in middle school but only attended two tournaments do they have to debate in varsity? No, they did not meet the 3 tournament threshold to qualify for a year of novice debate so they may stay in the novice division.
4. If my 9th-grade debater attended 1 tournament in 7th grade and 2 tournaments in 8th grade do they have to compete in the varsity division? Yes, they have competed in 3 total tournaments during middle school so that counts as a full year of competition.
5. Does attending a tournament in LD or Public Forum count towards my novice policy experience? Yes, debate is debate. While the events are different they share many of the same skill sets: flowing, line-by-line argumentation, calculating impacts, etc.
**Due to teams from multiple states attending there will be no "novice packet" enforcement at this tournament.**