Northwest Indiana District Debate

 

***UPDATED WITH RESCHEDULE DETAILS***

Hello Northwest Indiana Coaches, 

 

Your team has been cordially invited to the Northwest Indiana District Debate Tournament. This event is scheduled to take place at Valparaiso High School on Friday February 2nd through Saturday February 3rd, 2024. Registration will take place 4:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m. with the first round scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.

(All times will be Central Time). 

 

EVENTS: Lincoln Douglas / Public Forum / Policy 

 

Debaters must be members of the NSDA. You can determine eligibility by viewing your roster on the NSDA website, and entries must be members to be entered in Speechwire. REMEMBER: Your school cannot have any outstanding bills with the NSDA. So, do not generate any bills that you cannot pay before January 29th.

 

ENTRY DEADLINE: Monday January 29th, 2024 @  8 PM Central.

 

JUDGES REQUIREMENTS: 

Policy Debate and Public Forum Debate: 1 judge per EACH entry (four teams = 4 judges).

 

Lincoln Douglas Debate: 1 judge for 1-2 entries, 2 judges for 3-4 entries.

 

Neutral Judges: We will need a number of neutral/unaffiliated judges to help facilitate the tournament. Each team is required to provide one neutral judge for every four entries (ie. Four policy teams= 1 neutral judge. If you are planning to hire neutral judges, please email jstarkweather@phm.k12.in.us with anticipated numbers and I will work on recruiting. 

 

 

JUDGE ENTRY DEADLINE: Please have all judges entered by Wednesday January 31st, 2024 @ 8 PM Central

 

Topics: 

 

Lincoln-Douglas Debate – 2024 January/February Topic

Resolved: The United States ought to substantially reduce its military presence in the West Asia-North Africa region.

 

Public Forum Debate – 2024 January Topic ** Note that we will still use the January Topic**

Resolved: The United States federal government should repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

 

Policy Debate – 2023-2024 Topic

Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase fiscal redistribution in the United States by adopting a federal jobs guarantee, expanding Social Security, and/or providing a basic income.

 

* Please note that in order for a judge to count for your team's entry, they must be present for both days of competition, or you must enter additional judges who will be available for a given day of competition. Judges may be split between days/times, however the judging obligation is necessary for the extent of the tournament. Please make a note on availability in speechwire if this is the case.

 

* Coaches will be responsible for checking in ALL of their judges at Friday registration between 4:00 – 5:00 PM.

 

* Please make your judges aware that this will be may be a long couple of days and they should be prepared for a full day of judging. Also, to qualify as a neutral judge, judges must not be able to recognize a competitor or be able to identify which team they are a part of because of inside knowledge of your team. In other words, it's not just that they are "unbiased" but they are able to judge without associating a competitor with a particular team/coach.

 

FEES: $10 per debater. So, $10 for each LD debater, $20 for each PF and Policy team. Checks made out to NSDA Northwest Indiana District. 

 

Fees should be mailed to:

 

Jeremy Starkweather

56100 Bittersweet Rd, 

Mishawaka, IN 

46545

 

Please note that the mailing address is for Penn, but the tournament will take place at Chesterton high school at the following address: 

 

2727 N Campbell St, Valparaiso, IN 46385

Valparaiso High School

 

Pizza and other concessions will be available for students both Friday and Saturday. In addition, there will be snacks and drinks available for purchase. There will be a coaches'/judges' lounge with complimentary dinner/lunch, beverages, and snacks available. 

 

Questions? If so, contact Jeremy Starkweather Jstarkweather@phm.k12.in.us, or via my cell phone (574) 370-4758.

 

 

(vr)