TOC Division vs. Open Division & Waitlist

Generally, our tournament hovered near 100 or so teams and we would run a double octofinals. In a virtual world without room capacity constraints, competitions with an infinite number of teams become possible. To balance a reasonable schedule with competitive integrity we have decided to split our tournament into two divisions. While doing this requires us to cap entries for schools and the TOC division, we believe that this gives students the most opportunity for debates. 

TOC Division

This division is designed for debaters seeking the highest level of competition our tournament can offer. Students in the quarterfinals will earn a bid to the Tournament of Champions. We are capping this division at 90 teams with an initial school cap of 3 teams per school. If you do not have 3 teams with the experience to go 4-2, with high speaker points, then we ask that you place them in the open division. Please use your best judgment.

We understand that breaking to an octofinal with a 90 team tournament will make the break difficult for several teams going 4-2. However, as stated in the tournament schedule philosophy, we believe that this year it is necessary to preserve the well being of all involved at the tournament. We will give the equivalent of our doubles awards to the teams seeded #17-#32 after prelims. 

Open Division

No TOC bids can be earned in this division. However, we want to give as many students an opportunity to debate as possible. There will not be a cap on this division. It is open to any student, regardless of their competitive experience. Depending on the entry numbers, we will clear to an octofinal. If we do not have enough entries to justify an octofinal, we will still guarantee awards for the top 16 teams. 

*Both divisions will have speaker awards*

Waitlist

We understand that some schools may wish to have a 4th team in the TOC division. If possible, we will add them to the TOC division from the waitlist. Our recommendation is that you enter them in the Open division initially and fill the waitlist with a placeholder. If you are notified that you receive a team off of the waitlist, then you can move them from the open division to the TOC division manually.