What is it?

How many tournaments have you been to where you're the only girl in the round? One of the few at the tournament? How many times have you been to a tournament and fewer than a third of the breaking teams comprise any person of your gender at all? How many times have you received a ballot that criticized your clothes instead of your arguments? Do you have women or other girls you can look up to in debate? Do you feel like you are knocked down in speaker points for the same style of debate that wins extra points for boys?

Well, this tournament is for you.

We're here to connect women, girls and other marginalized gender individuals in debate to create a space where we can share and problem solve about issues that affect them at all levels of debate and beyond. We begin with a moderated forum where we can delve into issues that face us in Forensics and the greater community.

Then we move to a round-robin style tournament where we pair competitors into mixed school pairs if they lack a female* partner to experience a tournament that is completely female centered-all competitors, judges and volunteers will be women. The winners? Women. The top speakers? Women. Really.

We'll also include a lunch with a networking event and icebreakers to get to know other women in debate at all levels. We're looking to help foster mentorship relationships especially for girls who don't have adult women mentors to look to for advice. We want to connect high school and middle school girls with college student and adult mentors who can help them navigate the debate world.

It's more than a tournament, The Girls' Invitational is part of a movement.

Join us as we take back debate, one tournament at a time.

*For our purposes, all femme/female identifying individuals, and those that experience marginalization because of their gender in debate, are welcome. Elsewhere where you see "girls" we are referring to all those identities for simplicity sake. Please see FAQ for more information.

Women in Debate by the Numbers

We let the facts speak for themselves.

.2

Less speaker points, on average, than male counterparts

<20%

Women in the top 100 of NPTE rankings

<20%

Forensics directors who are women

2

Number of female-female teams that broke at 2015 NPTE

3

female-female teams in top 32 of the 2016 NPTE

25

teams with any girls on them of 57 in the 2015 NPDA championship

Read more at https://issuu.com/speechanddebate/docs/2017_winter_rostrum_web/44

FAQs

Find the answers to most commonly asked questions here!

Do I have to be a woman or girl to attend?

Are you policing this?

The short answer is, if you identify with the statements above, and navigating debate and the world at large as a feminine-identifying or ID'd person, then this tournament is for you. If that is not your experience, it would not be. Male chaperones or adult presence will have a nice space during the tournament but are not welcome as part of the forum or other events. We will not be policing those that enter but trust registrants to know whether this is an appropriate space for them.

Why no men?

Are we man haters?

Nearly the entire world is open to men. They have access to spaces and power that many of us never can enjoy. The conversation and experience is entirely different with them in the space. The point is to carve out a safe place for discussion and networking and to provide a much needed place where we can be the dominant voice for once in debate. We hope you understand that while we don't hate men, there are times when their voices are actually counterproductive and this is one of them.

Can I just come and observe?

I don't do Parliamentary debate and am not comfortable learning, but this sounds cool!

Absolutely! Please just fill out the registration google form and indicate that you are observing only and not debating. It is the same fee, as it covers the cost of food, but you can enjoy all the other experiences of the tournament, including the forum and networking! We highly encourage observers, particularly middle school girls interested in doing high school debate! That said, there will be no male observers, please see the section above.

Can I just come and be a part of the networking and forum as an adult?

I don't really know how to judge Parliamentary debate, but I really want to be a part of this!

Absolutely! Please just fill out the volunteer google form and indicate the parts of the experience you would like to participate in. You're welcome to do any or part of the day and we'd like as many adults as possible to be mentors for students. You are what will make this tournament special! Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to help us in another way!

Schedule

Saturday December 9th 2017

7:30am: Registration

8:15am- 9:00am: Women Empowerment

9:00am- 9:30am: Break and partner introductions

9:30am-10:30am: Round 1

10:30am-11:30pm: Round 2

11:30pm- 12:30pm: Round 3

12:30pm-1:30pm: Lunch and networking session 1

1:30pm- 2:30pm Round 4

2:30pm- 3:30pm: Round 5

3:30pm- 4:00pm: Networking session 2/final breaks posted

4:00pm- 5:00pm Final round

5:00pm: Awards and farewell

Logistical Information

Where:

1090 S. Central Parkway

Mountain House, CA

95391

When:

December 9th, 2017

8:00am- 5:30pm

Cost:

$15.00 per girl. This covers the cost of lunch and snacks.

Adult volunteers and judges are free.

Partnering:

If you already have a female partner you'd like to debate with, you may register together as a team. If you do not, we will partner you with another girl, who you will have the opportunity to meet and connect with during the tournament. We're hoping that we make solid friends in the debate community!

Food:

All snacks and meals will be provided, including a continental breakfast, lunch and snacks. Please indicate in your registration if you have special dietary restrictions so we can accommodate you.

Competitor Registration Information

You will need to complete four steps to register for the tournament.

Step 1: Register on Tabroom.com

Please go to the tournament registration on Tabroom.com and complete registration. If you have women who can serve as judges, you may register them here, but you will not need to provide judges for this tournament, as women volunteers who are coaches and competitors in college will be adjudicating most rounds. If you are a registering as an established partnership you will register together, otherwise you can register individually. If you are associated with a school, please have your coach register the girls from your school so we can keep track for partnership related purposes.

Step 2: Fill Out the Registration Form

Please fill out the registration form here. This will give us information about you, your goals and debate experience in order to match you with a partner (if not already partnered) and mentors during networking events. It will also give us your contact info and dietary needs so please fill out carefully.

Step 3: Complete the Permission Form

If you will not be attending as part of a team but rather as an individual, we will need you to fill out this form and bring it to the tournament. If you will be attending with your coach, you do not need to complete this step. You will bring the form to the tournament and turn it in as part of the registration process.

Step 4: Bring Payment to the tournament.

Please bring payment to the tournament. Cash or check made payable to Mountain House High School â„… Mikendra Mccoy.

Adult Registration Information

We want you!

Please complete the Google registration form here. Adult volunteers will not only serve girls who very much will benefit from having women judge their rounds, but give an opportunity for you to discuss with other women coaches and college debaters about issues that affect you. The networking events will give you opportunities to connect both with students in search of older women as mentors but also with adults for coaching opportunities and more.

We need you. Please join us.