Hello Friends
Hello friends,
James Madison University invites you to Harrisonburg, VA from January 26th-28th for a weekend of debate. We will offer three divisions of debate and hope that you choose to join us!
ENTRIES:
Entries will be accepted in all three divisions (novice, junior varsity, and varsity). Hybrids are eligible to clear. In each division, there will be six preliminary rounds of debate competition on the 2017-2018 CEDA resolution. The entry deadline is January 20th at noon (teams dropping after that time will be assessed entry fees). JMU teams will be entered and will be eligible to clear and receive speaker awards. The tournament will be CEDA and ADA sanctioned.
JUDGING:
Judging philosophies as a precondition of entry must be posted at tabroom.com no later than January 20th. Each school must provide 3 rounds of prelim judging. Judges must vote for one and only one team in each debate. Each judge will have 2:30 from the announced start time of each debate to render a decision.
CASELIST and SCOUTING:
Participating teams and schools are expected to contribute to the caselist as a precondition for entry and should provide their most recent affirmative and negative information by January 20th (at the latest). This should include an outline of the arguments sufficient for novice comprehension as well as full citations. Teams and schools are expected to cooperate with JMU students and staff assigned to gather the material.
Tournament Staff:
The tournament will be staffed by individuals from at least three different debate programs. If you are interested in working in the tab room please contact me as we would like to expand opportunities for those who normally are not asked to participate.
AUDIO and VIDEO RECORDING:
All rounds (defined as the speeches of the participants) are open to registered tournament participants and may be electronically recorded for private educational use by tournament participants (registered coaches, debaters and helpers, and JMU tournament staff) only. Public distribution of such recordings is expressly prohibited unless prior written consent of all people on the recording is obtained and unless prior written consent of James Madison University is obtained. Private sharing for educational use is permitted.
TOURNAMENT HOTELS:
Quality Inn - $88 per night
1881 Evelyn Byrd Avenue
(540) 442-6655
HOSPITALITY:
In addition to dinner on Friday, breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday and breakfast and lunch on Sunday we will provide hospitality throughout. We plan to provide all meals buffet style with significant healthy alternatives. Additionally, JMU will be hosting a coaches’ reception on Saturday night including a complimentary hospitality shuttle.
RULES, NORMS AND CONDUCT:
All participants debate at the invitation of James Madison University according to its tournament rules as well as any rules of their sponsoring institutions. The tournament abides by the rules and norms of the American Forensics Association, the American Debate Association (pending approval), and the Cross Examination Debate Association.
PARKING:
Parking will be in the Warsaw Parking Deck ( You do not need a pass as parking officials have been instructed not to ticket.
FEES:
$75.00 per person. Any school that needs a fee reduction due to economic hardship should contact us as soon as you know you are planning on attending. Our food costs are $69.55 per person so we plan to lose money on the tournament, but if there is any profit generated from the tournament it will be dedicated supporting local high school debate.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
Friday, January 26th
1:00-3:00 Registration (Grafton-Stovall Auditorium)
3:00 Pairings Released
4:00Round One
6:30Round Two
8:00Dinner Served
Saturday, January 27th
8:00 Pairings Released Online and On Campus
9:00 Round Three
11:30 Round Four
2:00 Lunch
3:30 Round Five
6:00 Round Six
8:00 Dinner and Speaker Awards
Sunday, January 28th
8:00 Pairings Released Online and On Campus
9:00 First Elim
11:30 Second Elim
2:00 Lunch
3:00 Elims continue as necessary