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The Golden Gate Speech Association is hosting our first Congress and Parliamentary Debate tournament of the school year at Miramonte High School on Saturday September 26, 2026.

ADDRESS: 750 Moraga Way, Orinda, CA 94563

ELIGIBILITY:
This tournament is open only to GGSA / CHSSA member schools and schools whose coach attended the GGSA Fall Meeting Saturday, August 22nd at The Practice Space in Richmond. Schools must have completed and submitted the league’s membership form for the new academic year. Schools whose coach attended the GGSA Fall Meeting.

GGSA / CHSSA Member Schools

Not yet a GGSA / CHSAA member school for 2026-27? Register NOW.

ONLINE & ONSITE REGISTRATIONS & FEES:In addition to online Tabroom registration, coaches and judges must also check in by 8:00 AM on the morning of the tournament. Entry fees are $15.00 per student. Make checks payable to GGSA and mailed to:

GGSA
c/o Lowell Alumni Association
PO Box 320009
San Francisco, CA 94132

JUDGE APPRECIATION & EXPECTATIONS: Thank you for joining our all-volunteer organization in donating your time and energy to empower youth through speaking and listening!

JUDGE CONFLICTS. Please note that parli judges will never judge their own school, so there is no need to note specific same-school conflicts (e.g. the name of their child).
*All judges must be entered on Tabroom and be familiar with thejudge instructions and resourceson thewww.ggsa.orgwebsite; links to event-specific resources are on right side bar.

*All judges must have Tabroom accounts uniqueto them, with cell phone numbers and email addresses.

*Please have access to a fully charged device(s)--laptop, tablet, and/or smart phone--to use to complete electronic Tabroom ballots. Good to have a backup. Laptop and tablet are better as they are easier to use, but it is still possible to use a smart phone.

*Optional But Encouraged: Please briefly fill out the paradigm in a 2-3 sentences or phrases, i.e. your judging experience and philosophy if any, so Tab staff can better support and place you at this and future tournaments. You'll find the "Paradigm" button on the right-hand side in Tabroom, under "Judging."

*Please address the above matters in advance of the tournament. Dealing with them on Saturday morning delays the start of the tournament and causes everyone to go home later.

COACHES/CHAPERONES EXPECTATIONS

*All teams must have an authorized coach on campus at all times during the tournament. Authorized coaches are those individuals who appear on your GGSA Membership Form and have been authorized by your principal or headmaster to serve as a coach and chaperone for your team's competitors. Failure to abide by this policy will result in the disqualification of your team's competitors.

*All competitors and judges must have their Tabroom accounts linked to your school. Please see this video for the procedure.

*When you enter your judges, be sure that you do so using the same email address that judges use for their Tabroom account.

*Make sure that all judges know the email address and password for their Tabroom account. It is a problem when coaches or students create a Tabroom account for a parent judge.

*Please make sure your judges and their technology are ready to judge. In the event of a judge being unable to judge an assigned round, Tab staff reserves the right to substitute the coach from the school as the judge for that round.

*Per league rules, each school is responsible for providing an official non-judging coach/chaperone listed on your GGSA Membership Form and Tabroom in addition to meeting your judge quota. All coaches will be assigned tournament duties. Coaching assignments will be sent out to schools once registration is completed. If you are sending a coach or an official chaperone other than the one listed on Tabroom, please complete the second coach contact information section on the "general" tab when registering entries.

EVENT-SPECIFIC CONTACTS

Courtney Fradelis--Congress Director,cfradelis@srusd.net

Parli Co-Directors: Casey Elsa (celsa@srcs.k12.ca.us) & Vy Linh Nguyen (vnguyen@headroyce.org)

PARLI SPECIFICS

-->HERE for Parli Schedule & Other Essentials.


CONGRESS SPECIFICS

Judging Requirements: One judge for every 10 entries in the House; one judge for every 4 entries in the Senate. Judges will be pre-paneled. Extra judges or judges not entered in advance will be placed in a “reserve pool.” Judge names must accompany the entry. If your judge has a different last name than their child, please note that in your judge entry notes.

Judging Instructions:Congress Judging Instructions

Congress Chamber Rules:House & Senate Chamber Rules

Congress 1 Legislation - 2026

PO Sign Up Sheet

PO Meeting at 8:30 am. House in room TBA, Senate in room TBA.

Schedule:

Presiding Officers arrive by 8:25 am.

PO meeting will start promptly at 8:30 am.

Round1: 9:00 am - 10:30 am

Break: 10:30 am - 10:55 am

Round 2: 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Lunch: 12:30 pm -1:15 pm (pack a lunch or bring cash to buy lunch)

Round 3: 1:15 pm - 2:45 pm

Awards: approx. 3:30 (Awards will begin as soon as all of the final round ballots are in and tabulated.)

Should I compete in House or Senate?: Remember that students who qualified for the Senate in the past will remain in the Senate this year. Varsity debaters should also be entered in the Senate. House should be reserved for novices and less experienced competitors. Students who qualified to the Senate as a speaker may not remain in the House.

Judging Requirements: One judge for every 10 entries in the House; one judge for every 4 entries in the Senate. Judge names must accompany the entry. If your judge has a child competing, please note that in your judge entry notes.

Request for Legislation for GGSA Congress 2: All schools wishing to submit legislation for consideration for the next GGSA Congress tournament, please email legislation to the GGSA Congress Director by Congress 1