Definition of a Novice

Because state rules/customs vary on the question of what "novice" means, the Newman Invitational will use a modification of the Louisiana rule. Our tournament policy is as follows:

A novice is a student in his/her first year of high school debate. This does not mean the first year in that particular type of debate, but the first year in ANY type of debate (PF, LD, Policy, Worlds). For example, someone who competed in Public Forum or Policy debate as a freshman is not a novice in Lincoln-Douglas as a sophomore. A year of eligibility is determined by the number of rounds one has competed in. If one has competed in 10 rounds or fewer during one's previous academic years, one can retain novice eligibility for the current year. A student who competed in middle school can remain a novice in high school, provided that the middle school rounds were in middle school debate divisions. However, if the middle schooler competed in high school divisions, then the "10 round" rule would apply to determine if still eligible for novice competition.