Greetings Fellow Debaters,
Please find attached the invitation to Loomis Chaffee’s 42nd Annual Debate Tournament to be held on January 21, 2024 (switch-side, cross-ex, policy resolution with a one-hour preparation period using a supplied packet of information). Details about the day and the style of debate are included in the attached invitation. You should, therefore, read very carefully the invitation which outlines the format of this cross-ex debate tournament. I have also attached a sample ballot as well as some sample information packets from some previous Loomis Chaffee tournaments.
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Briefly, our tournament will be, a cross-ex, switch side, policy debate, but where none of the participants will know the resolution prior to the day of the tournament. Shortly after the close of registration we will give out the resolution along with a research packet of approximately 10 pages to accompany that resolution. Debaters will have one hour to work together in teams (schools) in assigned spaces to prepare their cases using the packet (but no other research materials of any kind) before the rounds of debate begin. Thus, teams have access to exactly the same information, so the debates will be assessing how well you can work with that information to produce & defend cogent, persuasive arguments on both sides of the issue. After the one hour preparation period, the debate competition will begin with each team ultimately debating both sides of the resolution. The first two rounds will be assigned (one round on each side) – for the third round the side will be decided in the room by mutual agreement if the two teams, by chance, want different sides, or by coin flip if on that third round both teams had hoped to debate the same side.
We hope you share our enthusiasm for preserving this form of debate. We believe it includes some of the best features of prepared cross-ex tournaments while eliminating the sometimes challenging research burden that was difficult for some in mid-January. Full details on the day, as well as guidelines for judges, are included in the attached invitation. I have also attached a sample ballot (with instructions) and a couple of examples of research packets from some previous debates we’ve held using this format.
Teams may enter up to two 4-person teams in each division (Advanced & Novice) and must supply a judge for each 4-person team entered. We ask that you reserve your spots in the tournament by January 12 (earlier if possible) and that you supply the names of your debaters by January 15 (earlier if possible). Assuming space still remains on January 12 the non-league schools hoping to compete in the tournament will be accepted into the tournament and their spots guaranteed beginning January 13. The cost for entering is $80 per four-person team – no additional charge for observers. We hope to hear from many of you soon and look forward to welcoming you to our annual tournament on January 21st.
Curt Robison, Advisor to the Debate Society
The Loomis Chaffee School
Windsor, CT 06095
(office: 860 687 6122, cell: 860 796 4120, email: curt_robison@loomis.org)