The Eighth Annual

Clash of the Titans

Speech & Debate Tournament!

WHEN: Saturday, January 13, 2024

WHERE: Cosby High School- 14300 Fox Club Parkway, Midlothian, VA 23112

EVENTS: This Speech and Debate tournament will follow VHSL rules to prepare students for upcoming conference, regional and state tournaments, although private schools are encouraged to compete as well. We hope to provide a great local tournament option for Central Virginia schools especially! Middle school students are also encouraged to compete in the novice category.

1. Lincoln-Douglas: Novice* and Open4 rounds. VHSL Rules.

Resolved: The United States ought to substantially reduce its military presence in the West Asia-North Africa region. We will use this resolution for both novice and open divisions.

2. Public Forum: Novice* and Open. 4 rounds. VHSL Rules.

Resolved: The United States federal government should repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. We will use this resolution for both novice and open divisions.

3. Student Congress: Open division. Maximum entries capped at 2 sessions. Coaches- prioritize entries in order of registration. VHSL Scoring. Each student should submit a bill and teams should coordinate to divide bills up among the following 4 categories (Domestic, International, Virginia, Economic). 2 sessions of Congress, 2 hours minutes each. Congress topics are:

Domestic: Renewable Energy and Election Reform

International: Argentina and Ukraine

Economic: Sick Leave Rules and Rail Transit

Virginia: Voting Rights Restoration and Minimum Wage

Email Congress legislation to scott_mckeag@ccpsnet.net by WED 12/20/23 (We will offer 2 chambers. We will be prioritizing students who have submitted legislation by this date by taking them off the wait list.)

4. Policy Debate: Novice* and Open. 3 rounds. VHSL Rules.

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.

*Novice debaters must be in their first year of competitive debate (in any category--ie, if a student competed in LD last year, and want to compete in PF this year, they are not novice). If there are not enough numbers to operate a separate novice bracket, they will be combined into the open division but top novice awards will still be given. Please indicate on Tabroom if a competitor is in his/her first year of competition.

5. The following open speech categories will be offered (3 rounds each), and please note that students may double-enter in all categories EXCEPT Extemporaneous Speaking:

*Extemp Topics: 2024 Election, Int’l Affairs, Energy & Environment

JUDGES:

Each school is responsible for providing their own judges with the following quotas:

1 judge for:

…every 2 Lincoln-Douglas Debate entries or fraction thereof,

…every 2 Public Forum Debate entries or fraction thereof,

…every 2 Policy Debate entries or fraction thereof,

…every 5 Student Congress entries or fraction thereof, and

…every 5 Individual Events entries or fraction thereof*

*Student Congress and IE event judges may be combined.

ENTRIES / COSTS:

Schools are limited to 6 entries in each debate category/speech event. Exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of the tournament director. Cost per entry are as follows:

Number of LD competitors @$10 per entry = ______

Number of Congress entries @$10 per entry = ______

Number of Individual Speech entries @$10 per entry = ______

Number of Duo Speech entries @$20 per entry = ______

Number of PF teams @$20 per team = ______

Number of Policy teams @$20 per team = ______

**Above costs includes lunch for all competitors**

DROPS:

Drops (for any reason) are permitted up to 48 hours before the tournament with no penalty. Drops within 48 hours require schools to honor the entry fees AND still require the original judging quota. If the original judging quota is not met upon registration, students may not be able to compete and there will be a $75 dropped judge fee.

SCHEDULE:

Registration: 8:00 - 8:30 am

Judges Meeting: 8:45 am

Extemp Draw: 8:45 am

Round 1 (all events): 9:15 am

Round 2 LD/PF: 10:00 am

Extemp Draw: 10:15 am

Round 2 Speech: 10:30 am

Round 3 LD/PF: 11:00 am

**Lunch in between rounds (beginning at 11:00 am)

Round 2 Congress: 12:00 pm

Extemp Draw: 12:45 pm

Round 3 Speech: 1:00 pm

Round 4 LD/PF: 1:00 pm

Bonus Round (Storytelling) 2:30 pm

Awards Assembly: 4:00 pm

CONCESSIONS and LUNCH:

Concessions will be made available throughout the day. Lunches for competitors, coaches, and judges are included in the price of admission.

AWARDS:

Trophies will be given to the top 3 finishers in each category. Sweepstakes and runner up sweepstakes trophies will be given to the schools with the most points in each division (speech and debate).

REGISTRATION:

Please go to http://cosbyclashofthetitans.tabroom.com

You will need to create a Tabroom account with an email and password (free). Add your entries and judges. On the main page, you will be able to print an invoice to know the amount due. Direct any Tabroom questions to william_waddell@ccpsnet.net .

All registrations will be due on Tuesday, January 9th at 5:00 PM. Judges due by Jan 11^th at 5:00 PM.

Please bring checks payable to Cosby High School. Thank you for supporting our Speech and Debate Program!

Best,

Jackie Clark (804-386-8000), Billy Waddell (434-390-2995),

Scott McKeag, & Elizabeth Miller

Cosby Speech and Debate Coaches

This tournament is sponsored by:

The Richmond Forum Speech and Debate Initiative