On behalf of the Vanguard Debate Society, I am excited to invite your program to the campus of Arkansas State University – Beebe September 21-22, 2018 for the Vanguard Forensics & Debate Tournament.

The tournament will be open to any interested junior & high school forensics & debate programs seeking competition in policy debate (CX), Lincoln-Douglas debate (LD), public debate (IPDA), congressional debate (CD), dramatic interpretation (DI), humorous interpretation (HI), duo interpretation (DUO), domestic extemporaneous speaking (USX), international extemporaneous speaking (IX), original oratory (OO), informative speaking (INF), program of oral interpretation (POI), impromptu speaking (IMP), prose (PRO), poetry (POE), storytelling (ST), improvised duet acting (IDA), reader’s theatre (RT), and words and music (WM); offering sweepstakes awards in high school and junior high school divisions.

The Vanguard Tournament is a sanctioned tournament under Arkansas Communication & Theatre Arts Association (ACTAA) where competitors will be provided the opportunity to qualify for the Arkansas State Forensics & Debate Championship tournament.

With the combined offering of NSDA & ACTAA forensic events and various debate formats, the tournament will feature two (2) preliminary rounds of NSDA forensic events (DI, HI, DUO, USX, IX, OO & INF, POI, & IMP) in Pattern A on Friday, two (2) preliminary rounds of ACTAA forensic events (PRO, POE, ST, IDA, RT & WM) in Pattern B on Saturday, and three (3) preliminary rounds/sessions of debate (CX, LD, IPDA, & CD). Registration will begin Tuesday, August 21, 2018.

The Congressional Debate Docket will be the preliminary bills 1-15 from the 2018 NSDA Nationals Docket, posted to the right at vanguard.tabroom.com.

The tournament will be hosted on Tabroom, a service of NSDA, at vanguard.tabroom.com. Teams will be required to setup an account in Tabroom to register for the tournament. Programs are encouraged to setup accounts for their judges and competitors to receive updates via email/text on assignments and other tournament communication. Along with the tournament schedule, pre-tournament updates, breaks, and post-tournament reports will be posted on this site.

The tournament will be headquartered in Dr. Eugene McKay Student Center (610 N Pecan Street Beebe, AR 72023); where registration, debate prep, and tabulation will be hosted. We hope to offer you a fun and educational weekend of forensic competition.

If you have any questions feel free to email, zatucker@asub.edu, or call/ text, 901-626-0838.

Yours for better discourse,

Zackery Tucker

Vanguard Debate Society, Director

Arkansas State University – Beebe

International Extemp Topic Areas

(round order)

• Round 1 – Disruptive Technologies
• Round 2 – Europe
• Round 3 – Russia’s Resurgence
• Round 4 – International Economics
• Round 5 – East Asia

United States Extemp Topic Areas

(round order)

• Round 1 – The U.S. Congress
• Round 2 – Trump’s Presidency 
• Round 3 –  Education
• Round 4 – Election 2018
• Round 5 – Immigration and Social Issues