The Dave Waite Debate Invitational

General information	Schematics	Files for download	Tournament schedule	Fees	Registration handbook

General information

This is a High School tournament in Indiana.

View manager contact information

Registration, balloting, and tabulation will take place utilizing Speechwire.  Faxed, mailed, or emailed entries will not be accepted.  To help us prepare, we would appreciate if each school planning to attend (or not attend) would mark their team as attending (or not attending) on Speechwire as soon as possible, even if you don’t yet know how many entries you will bring.  Registration will close at 5:00PM (Eastern) on Tuesday, October 17, 2023. 

Students may not enter multiple styles of debate.

Each school must provide one judge for every two entries or any fraction thereof (e.g., one LD entry and two policy teams will necessitate two judges).  Each judge should be prepared to judge all rounds including finals and all styles of debate regardless of your school’s entries.  Judges are expected to provide meaningful and helpful written feedback.  As we will be utilizing electronic ballots, judges will need to have speechwire.com accounts created ahead of time and must bring an internet-capable device (i.e., laptop or tablet).  Please ensure your judges are familiar with Speechwire’s electronic balloting prior to the tournament.

Please drop off students in front of Jordan Hall, 4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis, IN  46208.  Once inside the building, we ask that students remain inside if there is inclement weather.  There are skywalks between the buildings we will be using so there is no need to go outside.

All entries will incur a fee of $20 per entry (i.e., one LD entry is $20; one policy team is $20). Beginning at 12:00PM (noon) on Thursday, October 19, 2023, drops will incur a fee of $25 per dropped entry and $100 per dropped judge in addition to the entry fee.  Name changes will be permitted without cost until 5:00PM on Friday, October 20, 2023.

Make checks out to “Butler University Speech and Debate Team” and address them to Janis Crawford, 4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis, IN, 46208.

Students are expected to make it to every round for which they are scheduled.  Students will forfeit their round if they are ten or more minutes late.  No participant or observer may record anyone without prior approval of the student, the student’s coach, and the tournament director.

Please instruct your judges to submit their decisions immediately at the conclusion of the round.  They may then continue editing their critiques/comments if they desire.  Ballots will not be closed and released until 12:00PM (noon) on Monday, October 23, to ensure judges have ample opportunity to provide thorough and meaningful feedback.

All events will follow their respective current NSDA topics.  The third round of World Schools will be an impromptu round.

We will be awarding ribbons to individual students, 1^st through 8^th, in addition to team awards. 

Important tournament rooms

Awards - Jordan 141
Tab Room - Levinson 136

Manager contact information

Greg Moser
Email address: gmoser@butler.edu
Phone number:

Mailing address

4600 Sunset Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46208