2024 November 9&10 NSDA Taiwan Members Invitational

Registration & Payment Deadline is Oct 26th

CREATIVE WRITING COMPETITION

Register herefor the Creative Writing Competition! WHY NSDA TOURNAMENTS MATTER? NSDA is the oldest, the biggest, the most recognized in the world, thus most beneficial for your future college and beyond!

NSDA alumni exude prominent influence in the U.S. and beyond.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

• 11/9 Varsity & Novice Preliminary Rounds
• 11/10 Varsity & Novice Elims & Finals
• 11/10 Elementary Events

ELEMENTARY EVENTS (Grades 1 – 5)

• ESD:Smart Debate (G4-5): It is half speech time of PF debate.
• EOO or EST:Speech Block A (G1-4): Storytelling
• EI:Speech Block B (G1-4):Original Oratory orImpromptu
• Creative Writing: Creative nonfiction, short story, script, poetry.Click for instruction.
• Double-Entries must be selected from different time slots (A + B) to avoid time conflicts.Click for moreinstruction on kids’ speech preparation.

SECONDARY EVENTS (Grades 6 – 12)

• OOO:Open Original Oratory (G6-12);Click for instruction.
• OES:Open Extemporaneous Speaking (G6-12);Click for instruction.
• NPF:Novice Public Forum (G6 with 1 year/less debate experience)
• OPF:Open Public Forum (G7-12).
• NCX:Novice Policy (G6 with 1 year/less debate experience)
• OCX:Open Policy (G7-12).
• Creative Writing: Creative nonfiction, short story, script, poetry.Click for instruction.

DEBATE TOPICS (NSDA September/October Topic)

• Smart Debate (same as PF topic): Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially expand its surveillance infrastructure along its southern border.

• Public Forum Debate: Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially expand its surveillance infrastructure along its southern border.

• Policy Debate:Resolved: The United States federal government should significantly strengthen its protection of domestic intellectual property rights in copyrights, patents, and/or trademarks.

LIMITATIONS

• Debate partner can be from a different school for the Taiwan District, but a partner must be from the same school for the U.S. NSDA.
• Double entries ONLY permitted for grade 1-4 if both entries are speech events. For all other situations, NOT permitted.

REGISTRATION METHODS

• Individual Entry Online Registration
• School Entry Online Registration
• Judge Entry Online Registration
• Registration Issues:

VENUE

• 國立臺灣師範大學公館校區: 116台北市文山區汀州路四段88號
• NTNU Gongguan Campus(No.88, Sec. 4, Tingzhou Rd., Wenshan Dist., Taipei City, Taiwan).
• NTNU google map

COSTS Please read to understand how NSDA tournaments are operated as nonprofit service to the students.

1. Annual School Membership:
   • High School – NT 4,500
   • Middle School – NT 3,000
2. Onetime StudentMembership:
   • High School – NT 1,000
   • Middle School – NT 1,000
   • *A student shall pay a total of $2,000 in their lifetime, if they have been a member of NSDA for Elementary, Middle, and High schools.
3. Tournament Registration:
   • NT$ 4,000 per one high & middle school student
   • NT$ 3,000 per one elementary student
4. Judging fee:
   • NT$ 3,000 per one Open/Varsity Policy entry/team
   • NT$ 4,000 will be waived if a school provides either a parent or teacher judge per 6 students; if not, must pay NT 4,000.
5. Optional:If your school does not manage NSDA points for you, then a student can pay ADL 1,500 NT annually to 1) record NSDA points and 2) receive NSDA Certificates. Read more about NSDA pointshere.

DISCOUNTS

• 30% off for students traveling from Tainan, Taitung, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Kenting
• 50% off for students who qualify for financial aid (the coach must submit a letter of request to
• 20% off if registered and paid by two weeks prior deadline
• 10% off if registered and paid by one week prior to deadline
• No discounts for the following:
  • NSDA membership fees
  • School Judging Fees
  • Policy Entry Judging Fees
  • International Entry Fees

PAYMENT

For your convenience, all fees can be wiredto ADL account directly.

Cathay United Bank, Nangang Branch:國泰世華銀行南港分行
Account 帳號#:106035009666
Account Name:臺北市私立亞太思辯文理短期補習班天母分班陳南光

REFUND

No refund after two weeks prior to the tournament, as we have already hired judges and paid for most other tournament expenses such as trophies, rooms, and etc.

CONFIRMATION

If you have questions, please call us at 02-2876-1866 from 2:00 – 8:00 PM (Monday – Friday) and 10 AM – 6 PM (Saturday). You can also LINE us <http://nav.cx/6qTXpan>.

TOURNAMENT RULES NOVICE POLICY PREREQUISITE Please read.

• All teams’ affirmative cases must be submitted.
• Ultimately, all submitted cases will be shared openly to all teams via google doc.
• Teams who don’t submit their cases risk the possibility of being disqualified.

GENERAL RULES Please read.

• 1.Judging fee:A judging fee of NT$ 4,000 is waived, if you bring ONE school teacher/parent judge for 8 students. If there are more than 8 students from your school, then you need to provide TWO parent/teacher judges.
• 2.Accuracy in Personal Info:Accuracy in Personal Info: If there is any misinformation in the student’s status (name, grade, school, etc.), you must notify us immediately, as intentional or not, fabrication or misrepresentation of personal status can cause automatic disqualification at the tournament. Please note that inaccurate information you have noticed during the tournament cannot be corrected until the tournament has ended.
• 3.Accuracy in Personal Info:Accuracy in Personal Info: If there is any misinformation in the student’s status (name, grade, school, etc.), you must notify us immediately, as intentional or not, fabrication or misrepresentation of personal status can cause automatic disqualification at the tournament. Please note that inaccurate information you have noticed during the tournament cannot be corrected until the tournament has ended.
• 4.Food & Drink:Bring enough snacks and drinks, and eat between the rounds. Eating in the classroom will be allowed. However, you must take care of your own trash; if you don’t, you might be temporarily suspended from the tournament until it is cleaned up.
• 5.Video Recording:You CANNOT video record the debate rounds, unless you have the permission of EVERYONE in the room. However, if other participants in the room give you the permission to record, ONLY then you can record the entire round.
• 6.Online Ballots Are in the Tabroom:If you are a tabroom member, you will be able to see your ballots online immediately. For instructions, please click thislink.
• 7.Random vs. Fixed Arrangement:During the pre-elimination rounds, the system will automatically prevent competition between teams of same school as much as possible. During the finals, however, if multiple teams from the same school advance, then the teams of same school might compete.
• 8.Elimination Rounds:Please don’t leave prematurely until the speaker awards are announced, even if you have lost all the rounds, as you could have still won a speaker award, which is separate from the debate award.
• 9.Final Rounds:Those who have qualified to at least the octo-final rounds are a winner, and an appropriate award will be issued at the end of the day.
• 10.High School Student Judges:High school students who have not advanced to the final rounds are obligated to serve as judges for middle and elementary divisions. You will be given an NSDA-Taiwan Certificate of Service. This kind of community service is rare and thus will stand out on your college application since most high school students are not good enough to neither understand nor judge debate.

CODE OF CONDUCT Please read.

• 1.Punctuality:If you are not in the room on time, the debate will start without you. If your team is absent, your opponent wins automatically. Under pressure, a judge might decide to skip grand crossfire.
• 2.Electronic Devices:Electronic devices during the debate and speech rounds will be permitted, ONLY if they are disconnected from the internet and muted. One caught using the internet during the rounds, will be suspended from the tournament. But internet usage in between the rounds is allowed.
• 3.Judges’ Decision is Final:A judge may disclose or close the decision, meaning for various reasons (usually due to time pressure), a judge may refrain from explaining the results in detail. However, it is the duty of the judge to write clearly the reasons for voting on the ballot.
• 4. Judges’ Fairness:ADL has handpicked the very best judges available in Taiwan. However, if you feel that you were judged unfairly, please don’t complain to anyone on the day of the tournament, as no one will have the time to listen. Wait until you have received your ballot. Then address your concerns directly to your debate coach during the class time, so everyone can learn from the experience.
• 5. Grievances about Unfairness:ADL will not listen to unsubstantiated grievances.
• 6. Participants’ Code of Conduct:Participants must not a) make insulting comments, jokes, insults, or insinuations about another person’s culture, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation whether in the presence of that person or not; or b) engage in any form of violence or uninvited physical contact with another individual.
• 7. Coaches’ Code of Conduct:a) coaches cannot confront judges in an aggressive manner after a debate; b) feedback between teams and judges must be given and received in a constructive and non-confrontational manner.
• 8. Parents’ Code of Conduct:a) Parents CANNOT video record the debate rounds, unless EVERYONE in the room give you the permission to do so; b) during the contest, parents CANNOT TALK with their child via vocally, facially, or bodily; c) parents CANNOT COMMUNICATE with their child during the contest by means of showing notes, passing notes, or by texting via devices.
• 9. Everyone’s Code of Conduct:Any contestant or a judge leaving the tournament prematurely MUST first obtain permission to leave because you could have advanced to higher rounds or needed to judge in later rounds, but by you leaving prematurely creates a delay and chaos in later rounds.
• 10. Breach of Code:If a participant believes that another participant has breached this Code of Conduct, s/he may report the breach to the tournament tab room officers. If found guilty, the violators will be disqualified from the tournament.

DEBATE RULES Please read.

• 1.Make Copies of your Case for the Opponent:Your opponent has the right to scrutinize your evidence, so please bring enough copies for your opponent.
• 2.If you don’t speak loud or clear:Then, your opponent has the right to sit/stand near you to discern your arguments.
• 3.Time Your Own Speech:Contestants must time themselves; cannot entirely depend on the judges.
• 4. Open Crossfire:If both teams agree, partner assistance will be allowed during the crossfire.
• 5. Judge Adaptation:Before each round, debaters can assess “judging preference” simply by asking the judge how s/he personally votes. A good debater can use different strategies to persuade judges of different backgrounds. Thus, be mindful that it is not the fault of the judge that s/he is not convinced, since the burden of proof and persuasion lies with the debater.

SPEECH RULES Please read.

• 1.Make Copies of your Case for the Opponent:Your opponent has the right to scrutinize your evidence, so please bring enough copies for your opponent.
• 2.If you don’t speak loud or clear:Then, your opponent has the right to sit/stand near you to discern your arguments.
• 3.Time Your Own Speech:Contestants must time themselves; cannot entirely depend on the judges.
• 4. Impromptu Resources Allowed:Impromptu contestants can bring in hard copies of articles, organizers, notebooks, dictionaries, and etc. into the rounds to prep for their speeches.
• a. Drawing:The first speaker draws 2-4 topics/questions, choose one, and return the other; the other contestants draw in like manner, in the order of speaking. If a contestant draws a topic/question which s/he has spoken already in a different round must return it and draw again.
• Preparation:As soon as a question is chosen, the contestant will prepare a speech without prepared notes. However, students may use published books, magazines, newspapers and journals or articles.
• No other materialwill be allowed in the prep room other than stated above – e.g., speeches, handbooks, briefs and outlines are prohibited from the prep room.
• 5. Time Limit:After you have spoken for a half minute past your speech limit (5. 5 minutes), a judge might or might not allow you to continue and finish your speech. After one minute past the time limit (6 minutes), a judge might decide to disqualify you.

JUDGE TRAINING Please read.
All new judges must receive judge training either by A) via LINE or email and/or B) the first day face-to-face training from 7:30 – 8:30 AM before the tournament begins.

2021 NSDA TAIWAN MEMBERS’ INVITATIONALRESULTS & PICTURES

2020 NSDA TAIWAN MEMBERS’ INVITATIONAL RESULTS & PICTURES