TOC Lincoln-Douglas

Resolution

Resolved: States ought to ban lethal autonomous weapons.

Tentative Schedule (all times in PST)

PLEASE ENTER YOUR VIRTUAL COMPETITION ROOMS 10 MINS BEFORE START TIME.

Saturday January 16

Remember, all debates are single-flighted 

Round 1: pairings released at 8:15, start time 9:00am
Round 2: 11:15am
Round 3: 1:45pm
Round 4: 4:00pm

Sunday January 17

Round 5: pairings released at 8:15, start time 9:00am
Round 6: 11:15am

Rapid-fire debate trivia round! We are having a super quick trivia round before doubles. It is only 10 questions, and the person who guesses the answer correctly first will win a $10 gift card to Starbucks. Each question = $10 gift card on the line, so 10 of them are available to win! This will take maybe 20 minutes max, but it gives us a chance to have some fun before elims. The questions will be debate-related. We will send out a Zoom link on Sunday for everyone to join. 

Partial Triples: 1:45pm
Doubles: 4:15pm

Monday January 18

Octas: pairings released at 8:15, start time 9:00am
Quarters: 11:30am
Semis: 2:00pm
Finals: 4:00pm

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JUDGE REQUIREMENTS

In Varsity LD we require that judges are experienced with "TOC-style" debate. When we say "TOC-style" we mean you should not enter judges who are parents, or have no formal debate experience. The bottom line is that you should only bring judges who you would feel comfortable having in the back of the room. Jasmine Stidham will be reviewing each school's judges and may contact you with questions. If you have questions about your judge(s), please reach out to her at jstidham@hw.com. Every judge covering an obligation must be available for doubles on Sunday evening.

DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT

Our tournament will continue with the tradition of mandating Opensource disclosure in the VLD division. This is non-negotiable. ALL varsity LD debaters must post their speech documents to the NDCA Wiki in a timely manner after each round. Jasmine will be monitoring the Wiki throughout the tournament to ensure teams are following our policy. To be clear, you must Opensource your speech documents. If we determine that a student is violating or evading this policy for whatever reason, they may be disqualified from the tournament. Judges should feel empowered to uphold this policy. After the first offense, you will be contacted by Tabroom in hopes of fixing the error. If the problem persists, the Tabroom will intervene. Additionally, if a student tries to evade this policy by misdisclosing, not specifying which affirmative they will be reading, or other similar antics, the disqualification rule still applies. Misdisclosure is considered a form of cheating. We firmly believe that debate is ultimately better for everyone when we make our evidence transparent and easily accessible. If you are someone who is against Opensource generally, you can always delete your speech documents after the tournament. During the HW tournament, however, you must post all speech documents to the NDCA Wiki. If you have questions, please reach out to Jasmine. 

FAQ for the disclosure policy:

Q: What is Opensource?

A: Opensource refers to posting the speech documents you read in the debate. Yes, this is different than just posting the full text. Please Opensource your documents. 

Q: What needs to be included in those documents?
A: The cards you read. You do not need to disclose personal narratives or analytics. You should include evidence and the tags for the evidence. 

Q: Do the cards need to be highlighted?
A: If you are truly concerned about your opponents viewing your highlighted cards, you do not need to send the cards highlighted. The cards should still be posted in a speech document along with the tags.

Q: What if I don't read any cards at all?
A: If you truly do not read any carded evidence, then you would not have any evidence to send to your opponents and there is nothing to upload. However, we still ask that you disclose your affirmative by telling your opponent what your affirmative is. Giving your opponent a summary explanation of your affirmative would meet our disclosure policy if your affirmative does not include any evidence.

Q: When should I disclose my affirmative?
A: At least 30 minutes before the round. You may disclose earlier, but it is not required. This does not apply to new affirmatives that you have not read before.

Q: Do I need to Opensource my 1AR or 2NR cards?
A: No, this is not required. We only require that you Opensource your 1AC and 1NCs. 

Q: What if I decide to flood the Wiki with affirmatives I've never actually read to evade the disclosure policy, or I misdisclose to my opponent?
A: The Tabroom will intervene if a student decides to do this. 

Q: What happens if I am in a debate round and I believe my opponent is violating the disclosure policy?
A: You should make your judge and the Tabroom aware. 

Q: Does this apply to novices in the NLD division?
A: We are not as concerned about Opensource in the novice division. We still encourage disclosure in novice, but we recognize there is a much larger Wiki learning curve for novice debaters.

Q: As a judge, what should I do if a disclosure issue comes up in one of my debates?
A: Our goal is not to tell judges how to adjudicate a debate. Your decision is still ultimately up to you. If a debater is in violation of our disclosure policy, you are fully empowered to enforce it. If you end up deciding not to enforce it in a particular round, we are not going to change your decision. We just ask that you tell the Tabroom if a student is evading the disclosure policy so we can follow-up. 

Q: What if the NDCA Wiki crashes?
A: If the Wiki experiences technical difficulties, students should not be punished for this. However, debaters should still make a good faith effort to disclose to their opponents by sending an email, or entering the NSDA campus room ASAP to verbally disclose. 

Prep time:

LD will have 5 minutes of prep time.