Judging

The most important factor in determining a quality tournament is the quality of the judging. Please assist us in having the best pool of judges possible by making judges available to us that reflect the quality of the competition. Towards that end we ask that all parties which are part of a school’s staff in either an official or unofficial capacity (which are eligible/qualified judges) be available for at least one preliminary round to make the pool as large as possible to reflect the diversity of perspectives that is "national circuit debate.” The determination of "eligible/qualified" is left up to the tournament staff. We will not use community judges at the Greenhill Fall Classic. All schools providing judges must ensure they are of sufficient quality to judge a minimum of four debates in a world of mutual preference judging. First year judges are allowed to fulfill a school’s commitment, but we respectfully request that the head policy or LD coach serve as a critic and be represented on the strike sheet and we ask that ALL judges be available for double octo-finals to make the best panels possible. In addition, please remember that you are obligated one round past the time your team/debater is eliminated. Please help us in this communal effort by planning travel accordingly. Those who opt not to adhere to our reasonable request may be asked not to return and their name and school affiliation will be passed on to the Directors of other major invitational tournaments. We will offer schools the ability to rank/strike a limited number of judges online. ALL SCHOOL JUDGES MUST BE SUBMITTED BY SATURDAY NIGHT, SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 AT MIDNIGHT. Our goal is to have rankings/rating sheets online by Tuesday morning to allow schools to review these lists and enter their choices online. Schools must complete rankings/ratings by Friday, September 18 at 5 pm Central Time. Any school that opts to/neglects to fill out the information online (and by the deadline) will forfeit the privilege to do so. Debate coaches are strongly encouraged to embrace the responsibility of filling this information out themselves and not turning it over solely to students. With all due respect to those attending the Greenhill Fall Classic, the luxury of rankings/ratings are a privilege and not a right. If the tab room feels adjustments to the judge pool/assignments are in the best interest of tournament to do so, we will exercise that option. So that no confusion about this statement exists, one example where the tab room might exercise its jurisdiction to change a panel's make up is if all first year judges make up an elimination round panel. Rest assured we will attempt to honor preferences.

New - If a school's judge(s) depart before fulfilling their school's commitment, a fine of $100.00 will be assessed. Those not paying within 30 days will have their school's name passed on to the Director of other major invitationals.

Judging Requirements:  

One policy team OR LD debater = one judge for 4 prelim rounds plus required elim rounds.

Two policy teams OR LD debaters = one judge for 6 prelim rounds plus required elim rounds OR two judges for 4 prelim rounds each plus required elims.

Three policy teams OR LD debaters = two judges required for 6 prelim rounds EACH plus required elim rounds.

We will hire additional judges for you at the rate of $200 per uncovered team or  $175.00 per Lincoln - Douglas debater.  Schools bringing both policy teams AND LD debaters are obligated for judges in each division. All schools must provide the first judge in each division entered.