12. Equity and Protest Information

Harassment and Discrimination

Our policy on harassment and discrimination is adapted from the National Speech and Debate Association.

The Delores Taylor Arthur School Invitational is committed to providing its participants, judges, coaches, and staff the opportunity to pursue excellence in their endeavors. This opportunity can exist only when each member of our community is assured an atmosphere of mutual respect. The Arthur School prohibits all forms of harassment and discrimination. Accordingly, all forms of harassment and discrimination, whether written or oral, based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, citizenship, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by any applicable federal, state, or local law are prohibited, whether committed by participants, judges, coaches, or observers. Individuals who are found to have violated this policy will be subject to the full range of sanctions, up to and including removal from the tournament premises.

Our Belonging and Inclusion Station team includes Byron Arthur (The Delores Taylor Arthur School), Hannah Stafford (The Delores Taylor Arthur School), and Jeffrey-David Swift (The Delores Taylor Arthur School).

Individuals who would like to report an incident of harassment, discrimination, or other equity concerns may submit that information through this form. This includes coaches, competitors, judges, and anyone else affiliated with the tournament.

Protest

Those who feel that a rule was violated by a competitor, judge, or coach may fill out the protest form to be evaluated by the protest committee. A protest must be submitted within 30 minutes of the round’s conclusion. Only the coach of the team submitting the protest may submit the form. Any form submitted by someone other than the coach will not be reviewed. The protest committee will issue a decision before the next round’s pairings are released.

Please keep in mind that we defer to NSDA rules for all events at our invitational, with the exception of those that conflict with information in our tournament invitation. In those situations, the rules for our invitational take precedence.

You can submit a protest through this form.