Tournament Info

Ruth and Jere McGaffey Swing Notes

We look forward to hosting everyone this weekend for the inaugural Ruth and Jere McGaffey Swing tournaments and Cornhusker Classic Round Robin Invitational! Weather looks to be absolutely glorious for late February with highs in the 60s on both days!

Tournament will be hosted in three buildings on campus – all located near each other and near parking

1)      Registration will be 7:00-8:00am on Saturday – First floor hallway of Burnett Hall (Bldg #32)

2)      Judges lounge – Burnett 124

3)      Student work/hangout area – Burnett 115

4)      Open debates will be in Oldfather Hall (Bldg #31)

5)      JV/Novice debates will be in Avery Hall (Bldg #29)

6)      Tab will be in Avery 106

Parking - You can park in any UNL lot or UNL metered space on Saturday. However, if you park in a city lot or metered space you will have to pay.   In my opinion the best place to park is in the parking loop in front of Memorial Stadium located at 14th and Vine Street.  This parking lot is the closest to Burnett.

Food – Because most of our fees are going to hired judging and carbon offsets, provided food will be limited.  Breakfast will be selection of granola bars, fruit, and coffee.  Saturday the Union will be open, but since we have a remodel going on only Subway, Valentinos Pizza, and Imperial Palace Chinese food are open.  The convenience store in the bottom level will also be open.  On Sunday, only Subway is open starting at noon.  However, there are many fast food and fast casual restaurants located close to campus including Jimmy Johns, Panera, Noodles & Co, Wendy’s etc… There are also a TON of delivery options for lunch and great places to eat downtown for dinner including some of the best Sushi, Indian, Bar-B-Q, and Mediterranean food in town. If you have any questions, just ask!

Coffee – We know that coffee is the lifeblood of any debate tournament – there are two coffee options on campus during the tournament, and several options nearby in downtown Lincoln (Coffee House, The Mill, Starbucks).

Campus Coffee Hours

Nebraska Union Starbucks

Saturday          9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Sunday            11:00 AM to 10:00 PM

Learning Commons Dunkin Donuts

            Saturday          9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

            Sunday            12:00 PM to 12:00 AM

Elims – Saturday will begin with a partial Octo-finals debate in Open, JV semifinals debate, and a Novice final round between the top two novice debaters. Speaker awards will be given to the top 5 debaters in open, top 3 in JV, and top speaker in Novice.

Sunday will have a partial Quarterfinals in Open, and final rounds in JV and Novice divisions. Speaker awards will be given to the Top 3 speakers in the round-robin, open, JV, and the top speaker in Novice.

Sunday Round Robin – The top 8 seeds from Saturday’s prelims will be entered into a 6 round, round-robin tournament on Sunday (limit 2 debaters per school). Pairings and judges will be released for the round robin on Saturday evening during elimination rounds. One judge per debate, no final round.

Carbon Offset Programs – The UNL debate team is trying something new this year instead of giving out trophies. Each of the recognized speakers in Open, JV, and Novice divisions will receive a certificate recognizing their award and include the name of the Carbon Offset program the team purchased rather than a trophy. We have chosen to use the GoldStandard website for offset programs. If you would like to make a suggestion for a program, you can go to this website (http://goldstandard.org/take-action/offset-your-emissions) and send me an email with your suggestions for programs.

Saturday Schedule –

7:00 AM – 8:00 AM Registration – 1^st Floor Burnett Hall (#32 on map)

8:00 AM – Round 1

9:30 AM – Round 2

11:00 AM – Round 3

12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Lunch

1:30 PM – Round 4

3:00 PM – Open Octafinals / Novice Finals / JV Semis

4:30 PM – Open Quarterfinals / JV Finals

6:00 PM – Open Semifinals

7:30 PM – Open Finals

Sunday Schedule –

8:00 AM – Round 1

9:30 AM – Round 2

11:00 AM – Round 3

12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Lunch

1:30 PM – Round 4

3:00 PM – Open Quarterfinals / JV Finals / Novice Finals / RR Round 5

4:30 PM – Open Semifinals / RR Round 6

6:00 PM – Awards

6:15 PM – Open Finals

Contact Info –

Justin Kirk – Director of Debate

Ph# - 214-724-3916

Email – Justinwkirk@gmail.com, jkirk11@unl.edu