2009 Liberty University Tournament Invitation

August 20, 2009

 

 

 

 

Dear Colleague,

 

We are pleased to invite you to participate in the twenty-second annual Liberty University Debate Tournament on November 6-8, 2009. Our goal is to host a competently managed tournament with exceptional hospitality while offering strong competition in all three divisions of debate.

 

This year’s tournament will feature six preliminary rounds and an appropriate number of elimination rounds of debate in three divisions. You can manage your tournament entries through debateresults.com until November 4. Drops after that date are subject to the participant fee. Please note that hotel reservations must be made by October 4 to guarantee the tournament rate.

 

There are three important changes to this year’s tournament. First, due to room constraints, we will be moving the tournament to another part of the campus. There is also a high probability that we will have to cap entries at 80 teams, give or take. Please enter early. Second, we are planning on using ordinal ranking to place judges. We will maximize mutual preference to the degree we are able to do so while minimizing the loss of committed rounds. We will not increase judging commitments to accommodate our judge placement system, so mutuality will take precedence over preference in tight judging situations. Finally, we are adopting the 100-point scale for speakers.

 

Like last year, fees are $40.00 per person (debater, coach, judge, or observer). The tournament will provide every meal from Friday night through Sunday lunch, including breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings. We hope that this will provide a friendlier tournament schedule and enable you to bring more teams or attend our tournament for the first time. Additionally, schools that can’t afford entry fees or hotel rooms are welcomed. We will gladly waive your entry fees and do everything we can to help you find housing.

 

We are pleased to be offering a tournament that is sanctioned by the ADA and CEDA. Early November is a beautiful time in central Virginia and we look forward to seeing you at this year’s tournament. If you have any questions, please call (434) 582-2080.

 

We hope to see you at Liberty University.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Michael Hall, John Nagy, Heather Hall, Garrett Halydier, Nick Ryan, Matt Struth

 

Format: The debate topic for the tournament will be the CEDA policy topic. The tournament will be sanctioned by the ADA and CEDA and will be run in accordance with their rules. The most recent copy of the ADA rules can be found at www.liberty.edu\debate.  

 

Time limits for speeches are 9-3-6 with ten minutes of preparation time. There will be six preliminary rounds. Rounds one and two will be pre-set. Rounds three through six will be power matched. Three divisions of debate will be offered: novice, junior varsity, and varsity.

 

We will use ordinal-ranked mutually preferred judging in all round and all divisions. 

An appropriate number of elimination rounds will be offered in accordance with the ADA rules and based on the size of the tournament.

 

Entries: Enter as many teams as you like in each of the three divisions.

 

Eligibility for participation in the division is governed by the ADA rules. You can find a copy of these rules at http://www.liberty.edu/academics/communications/debate/index.cfm?PID=15224. Hybrid teams are welcome to participate in preliminary rounds and are eligible for speaker awards, but they will not be eligible for elimination rounds.

 

Please enter the tournament by November 4, 2009 using debateresults.com. After that date e-mail entries directly toJohn Nagy (jnagy@liberty.edu). 

 

Drops: Teams dropped after the November 4 deadline will be responsible for all entry fees.

 

Judging: Each school must provide 3 rounds of qualified judging for each team entered in the tournament. All judges will be required to judge through the quarter final elimination round or one round after your last team is eliminated whichever occurs later. A limited number of judges will be available for hire at $30per round ($120.00 per uncovered team). If you need to hire judges, please enter early.

 

Awards: Awards will be provided to the top eight teams and the top ten speakers in each division.

 

Fees: Entry fees are $40 per participant (debater, coach, judge, or ovserver). Make checks payable to Liberty University Debate. Fees include trophies, lunch on Saturday, our hospitality room, and the awards reception on Saturday. Extra reception tickets may be purchased for $15 per person (for persons attending the reception only, such as parents).

 

Hotel Accommodations: The Holiday Inn Select is this year’s tournament hotel. The Holiday Inn is located on 601 Main Street off of Interstate 29. They are providing a flat rate of $68.00 per night for up to four people per room. Liberty will be providing a continental breakfast as there will not be breakfast at the hotel. Call the hotel directly at (434) 528-2500 and ask for the “Liberty University Debate Tournament” block. Reservations must be made by October 6. After that date rooms and rates are subject to availability. If you have trouble making reservations, call me and I will assist you in finding rooms.

 

Transportation Assistance: If you are flying to the tournament, you should make reservations for Lynchburg Regional Airport. Rental cars and vans are available. For those of you requesting transportation assistance, please email Bessie Grayson (bgrayson@liberty.edu) your travel details by October 30.

 

To Liberty University: Liberty University is located on Candler’s Mountain Road in the Southeast corner of Lynchburg, Virginia. Major roads through Lynchburg going North and South include Interstate 29 and State Highway 501. Divided Highway 460 serves Lynchburg from the East and West. Signs mark campus exits on both Interstate 29 and 460.

 

To the Holiday Inn Select: Follow Interstate 29 to the Main Street Downtown Exit. Holiday Inn will be on the left side of the 600 block of Main Street.

 

Tournament Registration: Registration will be held in the DeMoss Hall (follow signs) on Friday afternoon from 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

 

Public Transportation: Public transportation systems serving the Lynchburg area include USAir, Delta Airlines, and Greyhound bus line. Check with your local travel agency for schedules and rates.

 

Special Announcement: Alcoholic beverage consumption is not allowed on the Liberty University campus. Smoking is only permitted outside the academic buildings. Please do not smoke in the public lounges or classrooms. Your adherence to the no smoking request will help to guarantee our ability to host future tournaments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday, November 6

 

 2:00 ? 4:00 p.m.           Registration-North Campus (Room TBA)

 

 4:45 p.m.                     Pairings Released

 

 5:00 p.m.                     Round 1

 

 7:00 p.m.                      Pizza Available outside of the hospitality room 

 

 7:15 p.m.                      Round 2

 

 

Saturday, November 7

 

   7:45 a.m.                     Breakfast and Pairings Released for Rounds 3 and 4

 

   8:30 a.m.                     Round 3 

 

   11:00 a.m.                   Round 4

 

   1:15 p.m.                   Lunch (provided) 

 

   2:15 p.m.                     Round 5

 

   5:15 p.m.                     Round 6 (NO Evidence Storage)

 

   7:30 p.m.                     Tournament Reception (North Campus - TBA)

 

 

Sunday, November 8

 

    7:00 a.m.                   Breakfast and Pairings Released (DeMoss Hall – 1^st Floor)

 

                  8:00 a.m.                   Elimination Rounds begin (DeMoss Hall)

 

 

 

Bagels, Breakfast Bars, Coffee and Juice will be available outside of the hospitality room in the first floor of DeMoss.