Event Rules

Policy Debate: This is a varsity division for your most experienced team(s).  The format will be 8-3-5 with ten minutes of preparation time.  Six preliminary rounds with two presets and four power-matched rounds will be held.  All power-matched rounds will be high/low within the brackets.  This division will break to a double octafinal.  We will not break brackets.

The resolution to be debated is - Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially curtail its domestic surveillance.

EACH SCHOOL WILL BE ALLOWED TWO POLICY TEAMS.  We will entertain requests for 3rd teams as space permits. You will be notified by email no later than August 23 about the status of your request.  DO NOT assume confirmation of your 3rd team; wait for notification before making travel arrangements.

Lincoln Douglas Debate: This is a varsity division for your most experienced Lincoln-Douglas debaters.  Lincoln-Douglas debaters will be allowed five minutes of preparation time.  Six preliminary rounds with two presets and four power-matched rounds will be held.  All power-matched rounds will be high/low within the brackets.  This division will break to a double octafinal.  The resolution will be the September/October National Forensic League resolution. Each school will be allowed two entries. We will entertain requests for a 3rd Lincoln Douglas debater as space permits. We will not break brackets. 

In requesting extra entries two important considerations should be noted. First, no director should request extra entries unless they feel those students have an above average chance of advancing to elimination rounds given the difficulty of the competition at the Fall Classic. Second, schools requesting extra entries must provide judging for those entries. No school will be allowed to “buy out” of all of its judging.

World Schools Debate: The WSDC format is comprised of 3-person teams that compete in any given round. A school may have five total members, all of which may participate in the impromptu preparation time. Teams are allowed to switch speakers to make different combinations for three person teams in any given round.  During each round, each team will compete against another 3-person team from a different school. If the team is from the United States, they must represent the school for which they are currently enrolled, have principal/head of school/divisions approval to travel and compete as part of the school’s official debate team, and have an adult chaperone present at the tournament. If the team is international or represents USA Debate, then all competitors for a team must be enrolled in high school (or an equivalent institution in their country of origin) and must have an adult chaperone/coach (at least 18 years of age and graduated from high/secondary school). This division may be limited in size so enter soon.  We will start out with a cap of 20 teams but may adjust that depending on interest.

Any school needing clarification on the rules for WSDC competition may find them here: http://www.speechanddebate.org/aspx/content.aspx?id=1258

There will be a diversity of prepared and impromptu motions. These motions will be released at least three weeks before the tournament so that participants have ample time to prepare for the competition.

Also, instructional videos that you might find helpful in preparation can be found at http://debate.uvm.edu/wsdcvideo.html.

All teams in the World Schools division must have a judge that is familiar with the WSDC format and will be willing to commit to the training that will be provided by the tournament. NO team will be allowed to “buy out” judges in the World Schools division.

Policy and Lincoln Douglas Divisions:

We will be again using a 30-point scale that allows tenth points for speaker points.

We encourage disclosure of decisions and discussion of all debates within the constraints of keeping the tournament on schedule.

All debates must have one winner and one loser.

Awards will be presented to all policy debate teams and Lincoln-Douglas debaters reaching the elimination rounds. Speaker awards will be presented to the top 15 cross-examination debaters and top 15 LD debaters.

***When we reach capacity entries will be closed. DO NOT make plane reservations until you have confirmation of entries. The information listed on the web entry must be that of the official coach for the school.  E-mail information must be supplied for confirmation purposes.  Student initiated entries will not be accepted. Signing up on the website alone does not guarantee entry. You will get a confirmation from Aaron Timmons or Eric Forslund via Tabroom to confirm acceptance. We also reserve the right not to accept an entry based on a school's delinquent payment of fees or past behavior (students or coaches) that we feel is inconsistent with the goals, and/or continuation of, our tournament.  

Each year more and more requests are coming our way for independent entries. We are unable to accept "independent" entries. We define an independent entry as a team or student who wishes to compete without the approval, knowledge or consent of their school administration and/or coach(es). All students must compete under the school's name in which they are officially enrolled.

Tournament officials must approve all judges, in advance, as a condition of entry. We reserve the right to deny a school’s entry based on a school filling a judge slot with a judge we feel doesn’t meet the pedagogical ends of the tournament.