Chesapeake District Qualifier

for the 2019 National Tournament

Chesapeake District Newsletter #4 (2/10)

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION / CHESAPEAKE DISTRICT NEWSLETTER #4

2/10/2019

Dear colleagues,

The countdown is on!  We are now officially two weeks away from the Chesapeake District Tournament, which will take place on Sunday February 24^th at Loyola Blakefield High School in Towson.  Registration is now OPEN and will close on Thursday 2/21 at 8:00 PM.  The District is the qualifying tournament for the National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament in Dallas in June, the largest academic competition in the country.  We hope that you and your students are able to join us.

The tournament web site, http://chesapeake.tabroom.com, is the registration site, and contains important information about the schedule and procedures for the day.   Please read it carefully!  For information on how to register, eligibility, and entering NSDA points on the website, refer to District Newsletter #3, which was sent two weeks ago, and is also posted on the tournament web site.

AWARDS NOMINATIONS DUE SUNDAY 2/17:  Nominations are now being received for Student of the Year, Administrator of the Year, Communicator of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Coach of the Year, and New Coach of the Year.  These awards will be presented at the District Tournament.  All nominations are due by Sunday 2/17.  For more details and to submit nominations, visit https://www.tabroom.com/index/tourn/index.mhtml?webpage_id=6143&tourn_id=9815

LAST CALL FOR CONGRESS BILLS:  The bill packet is being compiled and will be published on or close to Wednesday February 13^th.  The bill deadline is the end of the day today, Sunday 2/10.  Bills may be sent to cdonovan@loyolablakefield.org. 

SCHOOLS WITH PAID DUES:  The following schools are currently marked as paid members by the NSDA.  If you do not see your school name on this list, please contact NSDA right away to update your status.  Only current member schools will be able to register for the District Tournament:  Aberdeen, Albert Einstein, Archmere Academy, Arundel, Bethesda Chevy Chase, Calvert Hall, Carver Vocational Tech, Catonsville, Charter School of Wilmington, Clarksburg, Emerson Preparatory, Howard, James Hubert Blake, James M Bennett, John Carroll, Loyola Blakefield, Marriotts Ridge, Montgomery Blair, Northwood, Notre Dame Prep, Poolesville, Reservoir, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, St. James, Sherwood, Springbrook, St. Mary’s, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, Tall Oaks Classical School, Gunston School, Thomas S Wooton, Towson, Walt Whitman, Walter Johnson, Wilde Lake, Winston Churchill, Woodrow Wilson.

REGISTRATION FEES DUE AT THE TOURNAMENT:  All registration fees MUST be paid at registration the morning of February 24th.  Any outstanding balance that your school has with NSDA also needs to be paid at this time.  Checks should be made payable to “Chesapeake NSDA District”.  The NSDA leaves no room for late payments … please plan ahead!  If your school does not have a check prepared in advance, you will need to write a personal check and get reimbursed by your school.  We can not include any unpaid schools on schematics or the NSDA will disqualify our results!

JUDGE REGISTRATION:  Since this tournament is the qualifier for the NSDA National Tournament, our students expect and deserve to be judged by experienced people.  The district committee must insist that ALL judges who attend the tournament are properly trained and have experience with their assigned event.  Please DO NOT register new judges, or you risk being asked to replace them or pay a hired judge fee.  Hired judges may be purchased at the cost of $100, subject to availability.  Entries not covered by judges will automatically be billed for hired judges when registration closes on 2/21 at 8:00 PM.  No judges are available for hire on the morning of the tournament.  If you have uncovered entries at registration, you may be required to drop entries  All judges are obligated for the duration of their respective events.  Early departures prolong the day for everyone, and are subject to a nuisance fee unless the judge is replaced.  If one of your judges can’t stay the entire day, please register an additional judge to fill in the gap (i.e. judge one works from 8:00-2:00 and judge two works from 2:00-finish).  Please make note of this when registering online.

CAN A STUDENT OR SCHOOL ATTEND DISTRICTS EVEN IF THEY CAN’T ATTEND NSDA NATIONALS?   YES!  Everyone is encouraged to attend the District Tournament.  It is meant to celebrate forensics across the district, names district champions in the varying events, and offers an opportunity to compete against students and schools you might not typically see.  The number of qualifiers Chesapeake sends to NSDA Nationals in each event is directly related to the number of students participating, and year-by-year participation at the District Tournament is also one metric that the NSDA uses to determine the maximum number of qualifiers a District may send to NSDA Nationals.  If a student qualifies for NSDA Nationals and can not attend, they may decline their bid and it will pass to the next student in the standings. 

ADDITIONAL FUTURE COMPETITION OPPORTUNITIES:  The District Big Questions debate tournament will be on Saturday 3/16 at Loyola Blakefield.  The invitation can be found by clicking on the “Big Questions Invitation” tab on the District website, http://chesapeake.tabroom.com.  The State of Maryland Speech and Debate Association Championship will take place on Saturday 4/6 at Loyola Blakefield, and is open to all schools in DC, Maryland, and Delaware.  The invitation can be found here:  http://smdsda.tabroom.com.   The Regan Great Communicator Debate Series Mid-Atlantic Qualifier will take place on Saturday 4/13 at Loyola Blakefield.  The invitation can be found here:  http://reaganloyola.tabroom.com. 

We look forward to some great competition and hope to see you and your team on the 24th! 

Sincerely,

Charles Donovan, on behalf of the district committee

Monty Crawford

Gavin Mease

Steven Sprouse