Welcome Community Judges!

Thank you for volunteering to judge! Our students would not be able to participate in this tournament without your generosity.

Please click on the "Judges" button at the top to register!

Judge Orientation will take place virtually and will be held two differents nights leading up to the tournament. Those dates are:
Wednesday, February 28th at 8:00pm and Saturday, March 2nd at 10:00am. You will receive a link via email.

Do you need prior experience?
NO! You may not know anything about debate, but that’s ok. As long as you are 19 years or older and have graduated from High school, you are eligible to judge. We will train you on the specifics at an orientation prepared just for you!

What is the time commitment?
We need a 2.5 to 3 hour commitment from you for judge orientation/training, judging and completing a ballot.

May you review the schedule before committing?
Yes! Please click on the schedule tab to the left of this page. Then click on the Judge Registration tab at the top. Also, you will find all times available to judge in the registration process.

When do you arrive?
Please arrive 20 minutes prior to your assigned judging time is you have completed online registration prior to the tournament. If you were unable to complete judge orientation prior to the tournament, please arrive 45 minutes prior to your scheduled time for onsite JO.
Be sure to allow time for enjoying food and drinks in our hospitality room! We endeavor to feed you well!

What if you forget you registered?
You will receive a confirmation email once you've registered and a reminder will be sent one day before the tournament.

Want to know more about the debate and speech events?
Debate
Debates are structured arguments or discussion with timed speeches. Students must prove their side of the issue within a given a time-frame and set of rules to guide the debate. Engaging discussion takes place as students cross-examine one another and a winner is determined based on the arguments presented. There are three different styles of debate:

Team Policy Debate
A two-on-two debate that focuses on a policy question for the duration of the academic year. This year’s resolution is: The United States Federal Government should substantially reform its energy policy. Rounds last 75 minutes.

Lincoln Douglas Debate
A one-on-one debate that centers on the weighing of values held by individuals, societies, and governments. Debaters develop arguments based upon a values perspective. This year's resolution is: A free press ought to prioritize objectivity over advocacy. Rounds last 47 minutes.

Parliamentary Debate
A two-on-two debate designed to engage the audience with advanced debate and speaking skills. Students receive a current issue topic 20 minutes before the round. They prepare arguments that reflect general and specific knowledge they have acquired throughout their education. A sample resolution could be: This house believes that change is not progress. Rounds last 45 minutes.

Speech Events
To learn about specific speech events that are offered, please click on the link below where you can click on red buttons for the rules (or descriptions) and ballots of each category.
Stoa speech link

For more information about judging Speech, you will find this 20 min video helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPdFpYs1KIo

Parking: There will be signs directing you to Community Judge Parking to the right of and also behind the Barbara Hodel Center.

Sincerely,
Sara Davis, [email protected]
Tournament Director