Northwest Indiana District Debate

 

Dear Northwest Indiana Coaches, 

 

Your team has been cordially invited to the Northwest Indiana District Debate Tournament. This event is scheduled to take place at Penn High School on Friday January 17th  through Saturday January 18th, 2025. Registration will take place 4:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m. with the first round scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. (All times will be Eastern Time). 

 

EVENTS: Lincoln Douglas / Public Forum / Policy 

 

Debaters must be members of the National Speech and Debate Association to be eligible to compete. You can determine eligibility by viewing your roster on the NSDA website, and entries must be members to be entered in Speechwire. REMEMBER: Your school cannot have any outstanding bills with the NSDA. So, do not generate any bills that you cannot pay before January 10th.

 

ENTRY DEADLINE: Monday January 13th, 2025 @  8 PM EST. 

 

JUDGES REQUIREMENTS: 

Policy Debate and Public Forum Debate: 1 judge per EACH entry (four teams = 4 judges).

 

Lincoln Douglas Debate: 1 judge for 1-2 entries, 2 judges for 3-4 entries.

 

Neutral Judges: We will need a number of neutral/unaffiliated judges to help facilitate the tournament. Each team is required to provide one neutral judge for every four entries (ie. Four policy teams= 1 of the judges must be neutral judge. If you are planning to hire neutral judges, please email jstarkweather@phm.k12.in.us with anticipated numbers and I will work on recruiting. As in previous years, we will have a strong need for neutral judges, and teams are strongly encouraged to bring extra judges if possible. 

 

* Please note that in order for a judge to count for your team's entry, they must be present for both days of competition, or you must enter additional judges who will be available for unfulfilled time of competition. Judges may be split between days/times, however the judging obligation is necessary for the extent of the tournament. Please make a note on availability in speechwire if this is the case.

 

* Coaches will be responsible for checking in ALL of their judges at Friday registration between 4:00 – 5:00 PM. Please make your judges aware that this will be may be a long couple of days and they should be prepared for a full day of judging. 

 

*Also, to qualify as a neutral judge, judges must not be able to recognize a competitor or be able to identify which team they are a part of because of inside knowledge of your team. In other words, it's not just that they are "unbiased" but they are able to judge without associating a competitor with a particular team/coach. It is the responsibility of the Head Coach to adhere to the NSDA honor code, and use integrity and honesty when assigning the neutral label to their team’s judges. 

 

Topics: 

 

Lincoln-Douglas Debate – 2025 January/February Topic

Resolved: The United States ought to become party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and/or the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

 

Public Forum Debate – 2025 January Topic

Resolved: The African Union should grant diplomatic recognition to the Republic of Somaliland as an independent state.

 

Policy Debate – 2024-2025 Topic

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

 

FEES: $10 per debater. So, $10 for each LD debater, $20 for each PF and Policy team. Checks made out to NSDA Northwest Indiana District. Fees may be brought on the day of registration or should be mailed to:

 

Jeremy Starkweather

56100 Bittersweet Rd, 

Mishawaka, IN 

46545

 

Pizza and other concessions will be available for students both Friday and Saturday. In addition, there will be snacks and drinks available for purchase. There will be a coaches'/judges' lounge with complimentary dinner/lunch, beverages, and snacks available. 

 

Questions? If so, contact Jeremy Starkweather Jstarkweather@phm.k12.in.us, or via my cell phone (574) 370-4758.

 

See you soon, 

 

Jeremy Starkweather

(vr24)