August 21, 2024

Dear Coach,

Your team is cordially invited to the Dana Hensley Debate Invitational, hosted in person on the campus of Wichita Collegiate School, on September 21, 2024. Our tournament will have open, JV, and novice divisions. Entries will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. We are limited to 50 entries.

Our debate tournament honors the legacy of Wichita Collegiate’s founding Debate and Forensics coach, Dana Hensley, who was a teacher and administrator at WCS from 1988-2003, 2007-08 and 2009-10. Dana previously coached at Topeka West High School in the mid and late 1970s and earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees from The University of Kansas, where she was a standout member of their storied debate program. Since 1982, Dana has been co-author of Mastering Competitive Debate, now in its 8th edition. Dana has transferred her debate and forensics skills to real world application, leading schools, public policy initiatives and political campaigns. Dana Hensley is a member of the Kansas Speech Communication Association Hall of Fame Class of 2022. We are privileged to strive to honor Dana’s lifetime of work through our continued quest for excellence in debate and forensics, based upon the foundation Dana worked tirelessly to provide.

This tournament is one day. All divisions will be four rounds, with the top 8 teams with the best records receiving recognition in each division. Sweepstakes awards for the top three schools will be given. The Novice Division will utilize the NDCA Novice Caselist. In the Novice Division, each school is required to bring at least one judge and is encouraged to bring additional judges. High school seniors may judge in the Novice Division. The tournament will utilize Tabroom.com, and all ballots will be completed online.

To work to accommodate as many programs as possible, we will offer $6 entries, including lunch! Gluten-free, dairy free, vegetarian and vegan options will be available for those who need them—please email me to notify me of dietary restrictions. We look forward to seeing you and your squad on September 21!

Sincerely,

Drew Westfahl

Wichita Collegiate School

316-771-2332 (school)

361-571-1053 (cell – please note that the area code is NOT a typo)

dwestfahl@wcsks.com

TOURNAMENT RULES AND REGULATIONS

1. All teams will be debating this year’s resolution--Resolved: The United States federal government should significantly strengthen its protection of domestic intellectual property rights in copyrights, patents, and/or trademarks..

2. All debates will use the standard 8-3-5 cross examination format with 8 minutes for prep time per team, per round.

3. JV is any team composed of two individuals in which this is the second year of policy debate for BOTH members. Novice debaters may be placed in JV but are really encouraged to consider the novice division.

4. Any team more than 10 minutes late to the round (through their own fault) will receive a 3-4/0 Points loss.

5. No two debaters from different schools may debate together as a team.

6. Any rules challenges (evidence or otherwise) must be made before the beginning of the next round. Issues of clipping cards should be argued in the debate and the ultimate decision will be made at the discretion of the judge evaluating the round.

7. The tab room will always be open and it is your job to check the results before the awards assembly. Once the assembly starts, the placements are final.

8. KSHSAA revised rules for internet use will be followed. As you register on site, you will be provided with wifi logon information so that you and your students will be granted capacity to access our school’s internet services for competition purposes.

9. We will delay power match rounds after lunch.

10. Cancellations will result in rescheduling, substitution of host teams, or byes.

11. No Mavericks unless it is a last resort and has been approved by the tournament director.

12.Fees for entry and hospitality are non-refundable if drops are made after September 16 at 8:00 AM.

13.Coaches and/or sponsors may be asked to judge in the event of a necessary judge change.

SCHEDULE OF ROUNDS

Round 1: 8:00-9:45

Round 2: 9:45-11:30

Lunch: 11:30-12:15 AM

Round 3: 12:15-2:00 PM

Round 4: 2:00-3:45 PM

Awards: 4:00 PM or ASAP