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December 4, 2007 The Fifth Annual Fear and Loathing in Dallas Invitation to the University of Texas at Dallas Intercollegiate Debate Tournament Dear Colleagues, We cordially invite you to join us January 12-14, 2008 for the fifth annual Fear and Loathing in Dallas Intercollegiate Debate Tournament. The University of Texas at Dallas Debate Team will once again serve as your hosts. Yes, somehow we still get to do this after five years. Our tournament will be the second half of the Texas Two Step. The University of North Texas will host the first half. Teams attending both tournaments will have January 11th as a full day off to relocate, rest, and research. We will offer debates in three divisions (open, junior varsity, and novice). We expect all three divisions to be large enough to remain distinct this season. However, we will collapse the Novice division into the Junior Varsity division if necessary. Please complete all entries by 12:00 noon on Wednesday, January 9, 2008. We will submit final orders for all food purchases that afternoon so correct information by the entry deadline is necessary. We will also need to close entries into order to begin the judge preference process. We definitely need final entries for both TEAMS and JUDGES by noon of January 9. Please use the famous Bruschke system for entering the teams and the judges. You can find that system at www.debateresults.com The Westin Park Central will again serve as the host hotel for the tournament and be the location for all rounds on Monday, January 14. We STRONGLY encourage you to stay at the host hotel. We STRONGLY encourage you to reserve rooms as soon as possible. The Westin Park Central served as the host hotel for 2006 CEDA National Champion tournament and the 2007 National Debate Tournament. The Westin employees treat the debate community well and allow us to hold many tournaments at this exceptional facility. WE ASK THAT DEBATERS, COACHES AND JUDGES TO PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL TO THE WESTIN FACILITY AND ITS STAFF. Please see the 'Hotel' section below for detailed reservation information. FORMAT: There will be seven preliminary debates in the Open division with the tab room randomly assigning the sides to each team in round seven. The Junior Varsity and Novice divisions will have six preliminary debates. The schedule has changed slightly so be sure to examine the tournament schedule located at the end of this document. The teams advancing to the Elimination rounds will be determined by the following criteria. The top half of the Open teams will clear. Each team must have a winning record (4 or more wins) in order to advance, even if that requirement results in a total that is slightly less than half of all Open teams. The maximum number of Open teams advancing will be 32. We will also hold an appropriate number of elimination rounds in Junior Varsity and Novice divisions. ALTERNATE USE TIME: The regular time limits of 9 minutes per constructive speech and 6 minutes per rebuttal will be observed for speech times. Once again the tournament will use 'alternate use' prep time rules for all debates - each team will have sixteen (16) minutes total to use for cross-examination and/or preparation. Cross-examination periods are allowed only after constructive speeches. TAB ROOM and TOURNAMENT ADMINISTRATION: Dr. Jeff Jarman of Wichita State University has agreed to join us in Dallas to direct the operations of the tab room. Justin Green of Kansas State University will also assist in the tab room. Dr. Jarman, Mr. Green and the UTD coaching staff will resolve any tournament administration problems that arise. Current and former UTD students will be available throughout the tournament to run ballots, give directions and, and generally provide any needed assistance. ENTRY FEES: Freedom isn't free and neither is the 'Fear and Loathing in Dallas' debate tournament. The entry fees will be $120 per covered team, regardless of division. Uncovered teams will be assessed an additional fee of $35 per uncovered round. Please send your qualified judges instead of just paying the extra fee if possible. The UTD debate team does not even come close to making a profit on this tournament. In fact, the hosting of the tournament generates a financial loss and some stern questions from our Dean. We believe that our tournament will provide both high quality hospitality and strong competition relative to total costs of attendance. Cash is preferred. However you can make your checks payable to "The University of Texas at Dallas." Our University's Federal Tax ID number is 75-1305566 if your institution requires such information. We once again will go to great lengths to make special accommodations for teams with limited financial resources - please contact us in advance for details. We attempt to ensure that entry fees will not exclude a school from participating in our Fear and Loathing tournament. We want to share our Fear and Loathing with everyone. HOSPITALITY: We take this extremely seriously. We are committed to providing a tournament experience that you will find both competitive and entertaining. We hope to earn a spot on your annual travel schedule. Those who have attended in the past have almost always returned with enthusiasm There will be a reception for all coaches during registration during the evening of the Friday, January 11 at the Westin Park Central Hotel. There will also be a large tournament-wide survivors' reception for all participants during the evening of Monday, January 14. We invite all debaters, coaches, and judges to stay for the survivors' reception. Those who have remained in Dallas for the Monday night survivors' reception have not been disappointed. Lunches will be provided to all tournament participants on January 12 and 13. Breakfast will also be provided at the campus on those days. Please indicate any special dietary needs when entering the tournament. Light snacks will be provided throughout the day on all tournament days. The vast majority of last year's participants found the provided food and beverages to be high quality. Also, the city of Dallas has many excellent options for dining and entertainment. A packet full of suggestions will be provided to all teams at registration. Scott and Chris are also available to answer your questions - we know where to go in Big D. JUDGING: One pillar of a successful tournament is quality judging so please bring your least sketchy judges. Each team seeking to enter should provide a qualified judge who will be available to judge at least four (4) preliminary rounds and who will comply with tournament rules. A judge covering the requirements for two teams should prepare to judge seven (7) preliminary debates. A qualified judge is a currently active coach, graduate student, or former college debater. EVERY judge will be committed through the octofinal debates in the Open division. We will have very, very few hired judges available this year. Please inform the UTD staff at least a week in advance if your team will need to pay the fee for uncovered teams. Monies gained by such fees will go towards to the hiring of qualified judges and the procurement of ether. Judges will be assigned on the basis of mutual preference. Teams will be allowed to strike a limited number of judges. The number of strikes will depend upon the size of the judging pool, the number of many sketchy people y'all bring, and the number of sketchy people we hire. Please, please, please indicate to the tournament administration if a judge cannot judge all three divisions. Please repeat any such limitation in person at registration. Judges assigned to a debate by the tab room will be responsible for submitting a correctly completed ballot at the end of that debate. Judges should not leave the tournament unless their commitment has been fulfilled. DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS. Any judge who is unable or unwilling to comply with these criteria should not register as a judge. Failure on the part of a judge to comply with these rules may result in a decision by the tab room staff and may also result in the top team from the judge's school being removed from further participation in the tournament. Please do not enter unknown and/or sketchy judges for all seven round then have a highly preferred judge available for only one. That ain't cool. And it makes it much more difficult for us to get highly preferred judges in every round to all teams, including your teams. HOST HOTEL INFORMATION: We strongly encourage all tournament participants to stay at the host hotel. Tournament registration, tournament receptions, and all rounds on January 14 will occur at the hotel. We have reserved a block of rooms at the fabulous Westin Park Central. The hotel is located near the intersection of IH-635 (Lyndon B Johnson Freeway) and Coit Road and a quick, easy twelve-minute drive from campus. Those of you that have attended the St. Mark's high school tournament in recent years will be familiar with this hotel. It is a very nice facility with Heavenly Beds, a full-service restaurant, room service, a business center, laundry/valet service, a pool, an exercise room, etc., etc. It also has, of course, a full-service bar. The nightly rate is $82 per room plus applicable taxes. This rate will INCLUDE internet access at no additional charge (the old daily coupon system was just too annoying so we have eliminated it). The hotel offers free parking. Optional covered parking is also available for a fee. Overall this is an exceptional value for such an amazing facility. Those wishing to access the block rate should reserve rooms using the specific website provided or mention "UTD Debate Tournament" when making reservations over the telephone. We strongly encourage you to use the website reservation system in order to receive updates on the hotel and your reservation. While rooms may be available at the last minute, the hotel will only guarantee the block of rooms and the tournament rate for those reservations made before December 21, 2007. Yes, that deadline is coming soon!!! We suggest that your reserve your rooms as soon as possible. Rooms might be available after that date but room availability, room rates, and room type will not be guaranteed for those reservations made after December 21. The entire Westin Park Central is non-smoking. Please don't smoke anywhere in the Westin. They will add a huge cleaning charge to your bill if you smoke in your guest room. They are serious about it and they will catch you. Just don't even try to sneak it. The best and easiest way to reserve rooms at the host hotel is to use the specialized website created by the Westin. Please see the URL below. Click on "reserve" to proceed. An active credit card is necessary to utilize the on-line reservation system. Teams have the option of arriving early and/or departing late and still receive the same low tournament rate. Hotel Details: Westin Park Central 12720 Merit Drive (near the intersection of Interstate Highway 635 and Coit Road) Dallas TX 75251 Telephone: 972-385-3000 Fax: 972-991-4557 General Hotel Website: www.westin.com/parkcentral UTD TOURNAMENT website: http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/Book/utddallas2 Our hotel contact: Heather Foley Her Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Her telephone number: 972-851-2016 TRANSPORTATION: Dallas is easily accessible by ground or air. The tournament hotel is directly east of DFW airport and it a mere 30 minutes away. Use the 'North' exit from DFW airport toward IH-635 and proceed East on IH-635. All major national rental agencies have operations at DFW airport. The UNT campus is roughly an hour drive from the UTD campus. Teams competing at both tournaments will definitely need to change hotels. Unfortunately, we at UT-Dallas will not be able to provide ground transportation and the hotel will not be able to provide anything beyond the most basic local service. Nor will UT-Dallas be able to transport teams coming from the UNT tournament in Denton. Participating teams should definitely plan to provide their own transportation throughout the tournament. Major rental agencies such as Enterprise, Avis, and Hertz have offices at both airports. Those seeking to rent large vans might try Capps at http://www.cappsvanrental.com/ TOURNAMENT RULES: If you know us, then you know we love rules and we will enforce them. 1. The tournament will follow the CEDA guidelines on sexual harassment. 2. The topic for all debates will be the 2007-2008 NDT/CEDA policy debate topic. 3. Each judge obligated to judge a round will assignment a win to one and only one team and a loss to one and only one team. The judge will also rank each debater 1 to 4 and rate each debater 0-30. Each judge will have a maximum of three hours from the official start time of the debate to record a decision for that debate. A judged assigned by the tab room to a particular debate is responsible for the submission of a correctly completed ballot at the conclusion of that debate. Failure on the part of the judge to comply with these rules may result in a decision by the tab room staff and may also result in the top team from the judge's school being removed from further participation in the tournament. 4. In order to enter and compete at the tournament, debate must be eligible according to CEDA and NDT guidelines. Each competitor should be currently enrolled undergraduate student (or, since the tournament occurs over the Winter Break, every competitor should have been officially enrolled during the previous semester and/or be officially enrolled in the upcoming semester). 5. Hybrid teams will be allowed to enter the tournament and are eligible to advance to the elimination rounds. Maverick debaters will not be allowed to enter the tournament and will not be allowed to compete - a team consists of two and only two undergraduate students. Should one member of a team or both be or unable to debate in more than two rounds, that team will receive a loss for those rounds and will become ineligible for elimination rounds and awards. 6. While it is unlikely, one or more teams from UT-Dallas might compete at the tournament. However no UTD team will compete in elimination rounds. 7. Debaters, coaches, judges and all other tournament guests should not damage or remove any UT-Dallas property. No smoking is allowing in any UT-Dallas building. No food or drinks are allowed in any classroom. Please, please, please follow these rules. Please, please, please help us to keep the rooms and hallways clean. The room czars are reluctant to give us rooms even when they are in a good mood. And the debate tournament will be the only large event occurring on the campus in early January so the room inspectors will assume that someone involved with the debate community caused the damage. Many UTD buildings are very new and we will not be allowed to use them in the future if any damage occurs during the tournament. 8. Brackets will NOT be broken in elimination rounds. Teams from the same school that face each other in elimination rounds may either choose to declare a winning team or may choose to debate the round. 9. Unless the teams have met previously in the preliminary rounds, sides in elimination rounds will be determined by coin flip or an agreement by both teams. Please flip the coin and announce sides as soon as possible. We all want to expedite the rounds on Monday. 10. The eligibility rules for participation in the junior varsity and novice divisions will follow the CEDA standards. AWARDS: They will be cool and you will enjoy them. Trust us, we're experts. We will once again present the traveling "Texas Two Step" award to the Open Division team that gains the most preliminary wins at the two tournaments. Malcolm Gordon and Amy Foster of the University of Missouri - Kansas City won the award last year. Someone please remind Vega to bring the trophy to Dallas in January. INFORMATION: We hope to make this fifth annual 'Fear and Loathing in Dallas' Debate Tournament meet the high standard established by our previous tournaments. Please contact Chris Burk or Scott Herndon if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions regarding the tournament. We look forward to once again welcoming the college debate community to Dallas. Your lovely hosts, THE UTD DEBATE TEAM www.utdallas.edu/orgs/debate/new/ Christopher Burk Director of Debate crb01200 at utdallas.edu Cell: 972-536-3995 UTD Debate Office: 972-883-4806 Scott Herndon Assistant Director of Debate sxh021200 at utdallas.edu Justin Kirk Assistant Coach justinwkirk at gmail.com Todd Jordan Assistant Coach and Graduate Student tajordan at utdallas.edu Trevor Andreas Assistant Coach and Graduate Student tha031000 at utdallas.edu UT DALLAS - 2008 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE: Friday, January 11 (Westin) 6:00pm - Tournament Registration and Coaches Reception Begin 9:00pm - Tournament Registration Ends Saturday, January 12 (UTD campus) 7:45am - Pairings for Rounds 1 and 2 released 7:45am - Breakfast available (UTD campus) 8:45am - Round One (pre-set) start time (all rounds on campus) 11:15am - Round Two (pre-set) start time 1:30pm - Lunch provided at campus 2:45pm - Round Three (high-high) start time 5:45pm - Round Four (high-low) start time Sunday, January 13 (UTD campus) 7:00am - Pairings for Round 4 released. Breakfast and coffee provided 8:00am - Round Five (high-high) start time 11:00am - Round Six (high-low) start time. Pairings based on results of all five rounds. 12:45pm - Lunch Provided 1:45pm - Pairings Released 2:15pm - Round Seven in Open (high-low, Sides assigned by computer) start time 2:15pm - First elimination round in Junior Varsity and Novice divisions start time 5:15pm - Pairings for Open Division Doubles Released (no round for JV and Novice) 5:45pm - Open Division Doubles start time (no round for JV and Novice) Monday, January 14 (all events at Westin) 8:30am - Pairing Released for Open Division Octofinals 8:30am - Pairings Released for second novice & JV elimination rounds 9:30am - Open Octofinal Rounds begin 9:30pm - Second Elimination Rounds in Novice & JV divisions begin High Noon - Awards Assembly 1:30pm - Elimination rounds continue Evening - Tournament reception -END- _______________________________________________ CEDA-L mailing list [email protected] http://www.ndtceda.com/mailman/listinfo/ceda-l
