MIFA Varsity Debate State Finals

Tentative Schedule for January 8 & 9, 2016

Dear Coaches:

The Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association cordially invites you and your team to the 2015-16 Varsity Debate State Finals to be held at Albion College on Friday, January 8 and Saturday, January 9, 2016.  MIFA will host Varsity divisions all 3 debate events - Policy, Public Forum and Legislative as well as Novice Legislative. In addition, MIFA will offer a Middle Level Public Forum event in conjunction with the tournament. Policy divisions will run on Friday and Saturday. Public Forum and Legislative Debate will be held on Saturday only.

Registration is now OPEN on tabroom.com through midnight on December 23rd. Further details below.

Hope you will join us!

Sincerely,

Jon Becker

Executive Director MIFA

Events:

Varsity Policy Debate State Championship

MIFA will host 2-person teams for both events using the National High School Policy Debate Resolution for 2015-16, Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially curtail its domestic surveillance.

Entries: Varsity is limited to (1) team per school although you may change/rotate participants between rounds.

Judges: One certified judge for every two-person team.

Awards: State Champion, Runner-up, (2) Semi-Finalists will be recognized

Varsity Public Forum Debate State Championship & Middle Level Public Forum Invitational

MIFA will host both events using the January 2016 NSDA Public Forum Resolution,

Resolved: On balance, economic sanctions are reducing the threat Russia poses to Western interests.

Entries: Varsity and ML PF entries are only limited by the logistics of the tournament. If you are entering 5 or more teams you may have to hire unaffiliated judges or have the tournament hire them to cover your obligations.  

Judges: One judge for every two 2-person teams or fraction thereof PER DIVISION. Any adult high school graduate, regardless of debate experience, may judge this division. Lay judges are encouraged.

Schools with more 6+ entries will need to hire additional judges through MIFA.

Varsity Format: 5 preliminary rounds (1&2 preset, 3 lag paired, 4 & 5 power paired), Semis and Finals

Middle Level Format: 3 preliminary rounds, Semis and Finals

Varsity Awards: State Champion, Runner-up, (2) Semi-Finalists and 1st-10th Speakers will be recognized

Middle Level Awards: Champion, Runner-up, (2) Semi-Finalists

Varsity & Novice Legislative Debate State Championship

All participating school must provide at least one piece of legislation.

All bills should be emailed to director@themifa.org no later than Friday, December 18, 2015

The docket will be provided to participating schools on Saturday, December 19, 2015

Judges: One judge for every ten entries or fraction thereof.

Awards: Presiding Officer gavel, 1st-10th Speakers will be recognized

GENERAL

Location: All debates will take place on the campus of Albion College in Albion MI 49224. Please proceed to Norris Hall where registration will be held. More info: http://www.albion.edu/about-albion/visitors-guide

Registration: Please enter at tabroom.com. Deadline is midnight on Wednesday, December 23, 2015.

Entry Fees: *School Fee is per event entered.

Varsity Policy $50 school fee + $50 per team (unlimited competitors, may swap between rounds)

Varsity Public Forum $50 school fee + $25 per 2-person team (if 6+ entries, then must hire judges thru MIFA)

Middle Level Public Forum $25 school fee + $10 each additional entry (no limit)

Varsity Legislative $50 school fee + $10 per student competitor (limit 10)

Novice Legislative $50 school fee + $10 per student competitor (limit 10)

Hired Judges: A limited number of hired judges are available for policy at $200/full commitment.  A limited number of hired judges are available for PF and legislative at $100/full commitment.

Drops/Adds/Changes: Deadline for drops/adds/changes is 5:00PM on Wednesday, December 23, 2015. After which the following fees will be assessed in addition to forfeiting the original registration fee:

Drops after 5:00PM December 23, 2015 do not decrease judging obligations. Drops which involve judges hired at the coach’s request by the tournament will be assessed their full fee for the judge regardless of the time at which the drop occurs.

Food: Albion’s Bon Apetit Food Services will provide food for students, coaches and judges at a reasonable cost HOWEVER, it must be purchased thru MIFA to get this rate. Please indicate how many people you need meals for under the “Concessions” tab. On-site purchase will NOT be an option at this price.

Policy Debate $20/per person includes Friday dinner and Saturday lunch.

Public Forum and Legislative $10/per person includes Saturday lunch.

Friday Dinner Menu - Beef and broccoli, General Tso's chicken, fried rice, lo mien noodles, stir fry vegetables,

salad bar, dessert bar, beverages.

Saturday Lunch Menu - Penne, Spaghetti or gluten free noodles with italian meat sauce, alfredo sauce or marinara sauce. Garlic bread, grilled chicken breast, fresh sauteed vegetable medley, salad bar, dessert bar, beverages.

Lodging: The MIFA recommends contacting Pam at Cadillac Travel (pam@cadillactravel.com) to assist with your tournament lodging needs. They are negotiating rates 10-20% below advertised AT NO COST TO YOU.  

Rules: The Tab Room/Tournament Administration will enforce MIFA rules including but not limited to: disclosure of decisions, reading of evidence, prompting or "tag teaming," paperless debate or evidence citation. Judges may indicate preferences in individual debate rounds. We only ask that judges announce their preferences to the debaters prior to the beginning of the rounds.

ALL Judges/All Events: Judges are expected to be available to judge all rounds including elimination. Additionally, all judges, are required to write or type (on tabroom.com) complete ballots whether or not they voluntarily decide to provide oral critiques.

Policy Debate Judge preferences will be available after the coaches meeting on December 28th.

Contacts:

Tournament Director

Jon Becker, Executive Director MIFA

734.352.7401 cell

director@themifa.org

Hospitality

Courtney Bassett, Membership Coordinator MIFA

248.885.4335 cell

members@themifa.org

Billing

Becca Weissman, MIFA Business Manager

248.613.1489 cell

billing@themifa.org

Policy Debate Tab

Ruth Kay, Detroit Country Day School

248.417.5252 cell

rkay@dcds.edu

Public Forum Tab

Debora Marsh, Dexter High School

810.623.0791 cell

marshd@dexterschools.org

Legislative Tab

Chris Kuhlman, Utica Academy for International Studies

586.747.7845 cell

christopher.kuhlman@uticak12.org