Invite

J. Matt Hill Invitational 2026

Topeka High School

800 SW 10th, Topeka, KS 66611

November 21-22, 2026

We invite you to attend the J. Matt Hill Invitational on November 20/21, 2026. The Tournament will have three divisions: Novice, JV, and Open.

Novice-Teams will NOT be limited to the Novice Case-list.

JV- Teams should be made up of first or second year debaters (or coaches best assessment)

Open-division teams should be prepared to debate in front of community members.

Payment must be submitted with the invoice attached from tabroom.com. All entry fees are $10.00 per team.

AS OF RIGHT NOW, there is no judge requirement for the open and novice divisions UNLESS ENTRIES EXCEED 6 teams. This may change as I need to get a better idea of who is coming. All entries will initially be placed on the waitlist. We will initially allow 6 entries per school. We will admit as many extra entries as possible. All coaches/sponsors will be added to the pool as an “as needed only” option.

Aaron Dechant

Head Debate Coach

adechant@tps501.org

Tournament Guidelines

1. The tournament will be cross-examination style with 8-3-5 time limits with 8 minutes of prep time.

2. Round 1 in all divisions will be pre-set. Rounds 2, 3, 4 and 5 will be power-matched.

3. Every school entered in the tournament is required to have a responsible adult in charge for the full day. Coaches and sponsors will be asked to judge if necessary.

4. All ballots will be done on paper by default, with electronic balloting allowed.

5. Tournament management reserves the right to handle difficulties, or things otherwise not clarified in the invitation, in a way that seems fair to us.

6. Everyone will be given an initial 6 entries. Additional entries will be granted in the order of:

1. Flint Hills District

2. Schools whose tournaments we have attended or will be attending

3. Everyone else

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Friday

Round 1 3:30

Round 2 5:30

Round 3 7:30

Saturday

Round 4 8:00

Round 5 10:00

Quarter finals 12:30

Semi finals 2:00 (ASAP)

Finals 3:30 (ASAP)

Awards will be announced in room following the competition of each out round

Sweepstakes will be announced in the student cafe prior to the start of quarter finals

Awards

• Sweepstakes trophies will be given out to the top 3 teams.

• Teams advancing to the semifinals will receive a trophy and medals

• Tiebreakers will be set in the order of:

• Win/Loss

• Ranks from prelim rounds

• Reciprocles

• Sweeps will be determined by a school’s top four entries, with at least one entry in each division