Tournament Invitation

ClosingTheDivide is proud to host its very first fall public forum debate invitational. Our organization is committed to closing the digital divide by raising money to donate computers to low-income households. All of the proceeds made in the tournament will go towards the ClosingTheDivide organization to support our cause. To learn more visit: https://closingthedivide.foundation/

Join the official tournament discord: https://discord.gg/C8ShzPd7rV

Schedule

Schedule -- All times Pacific. ALL debates are single flighted.

Note: The schedule is subject to change based on the number of entries and judges. Stay tuned for any updates we make via email. 

We will also be hosting an informational session the day before the tournament. This session will go over how to use tabroom as well as a short lesson going over the basics and rules of the Public Forum debate. This workshop is free to attend for all the participants of the tournament.  

Friday (9/3) (Times in PST)

4:00 pm - Information Session/Debate Workshops offered by Phantom Debate (We will be providing Sample Cases and Prep) -> Sign up with this link: https://www.phantomdebate.com/

Saturday (9/4)(Times in PST)

9:00 AM - R1

11:00 AM - R2

1:00 PM - R3

3:00 PM - R4

5:00 PM - R5

Sunday (9/5) -- PF (Times in PST)

 9:00 AM - R6

Elimination rounds will be back to back following round 6. This tournament will break to octofinals and all 4-2s will break. However, depending on the number of entries, this tournament could break into double octofinals or quarters.

PAYMENT

The deadline for payment of $25 per entry is August 6th, 2021, all entries not paid for at that time will be dropped unless a waiver fee is given. If this price is unaffordable the option for Fee Waivers is available. If you are in need of these waivers, please contact one of our tournament administrators as soon as possible.

For Digital Payments please click this link to navigate to Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/ClosingTheDivide

For physical payments via cash or checks put ClosingTheDivide in the recipient area and please mail to address: 3559 Corsica Ct, 95148, San Jose, CA

Awards

First Place will receive a $50 Amazon Gift Card.

Second Place will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card.

Semifinalists will receive a Medal.

Quarterfinalists will receive a Certificate.

Events

CTD Invitational will be offering one division of Public Forum Debate, combining both Junior Varsity and Varsity. Public Forum will follow official NSDA rules as per the 2020 - 2021 season, click this link for more information (go to page 25 for PF rules).

Topic 

The topic we will be using is the NSDA Septober Public Forum Topic: Resolved: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization should substantially increase its defense commitments to the Baltic states.
 

Judging

There is no judge obligation for competitors, however, we encourage competitors to submit judges if possible. The tournament will provide qualified judges for all rounds with no fee for the competitors. If you’d like to judge, sign up to judge in the Judge Signup tab. High schoolers are allowed to judge! As a 501(c)3 organization, we can provide you with volunteer hours for your service. 

Dress Code

The CTD Spring Invitational does not require competitors to dress formally. We encourage competitors to wear casual attire. 

Deadlines

Registrations and payments are due on August 6th at 11:59 PM PST.

Mavericks

Public Forum debate is in a 2 versus 2 format (where 2 debaters supporting one side of the resolution) debate against another 2 debaters supporting the opposite side of the resolution. However, our tournament does allow maverick teams (which are 1 person debate teams) with no restrictions.