Manitoba Speech and Debate Association
What to expect at an MSDA Debating Tournament
This page is intended to provide information for new debaters and schools about what normally happens at a debating tournament. It is also meant to be a resource for tournament organizers.
 
Invitations
Invitations for the first couple of tournaments are normally faxed to all schools in Manitoba. After November, invitations are usually only sent to schools that are members of the Manitoba Speech and Debate Association (MSDA). If a school is not a member or is a member but has not received an invitation (faxes do go astray sometimes), they can receive one by contacting a member of the executive of the MSDA ( see the contacts page) or the tournament organizer (see the tournament schedule page). Invitations are usually sent out at least 4 weeks prior to the event. Invitations normally indicate the maximum number of teams allowed. If there is still room after the registration deadline, schools are often allowed to send additional teams and these can be indicated on the registration form.

Categories
There are three different levels that students can enter, although not all tournaments will have all three. In the Junior Division, the novice category is limited to grade 7's and grade 8's who have not been to more than two interschool competitions. The intermediate category is for grade 9 novices and for those grade 7, 8 and 9 debaters who are no longer novices but still do not feel comfortable competing with the very experienced teams. Open is the category for all other teams. In the Senior Division the novice category is for students in any grade who have not been in more than two senior tournaments, the intermediate category for students who are no longer novice but do not feel comfortable competing against the most experienced teams, and open is for all other students.
A team may compete in a higher category if it wishes to (e.g. a novice team could enter open). Both team members must be eligible for a given category in order for the team to be in that category. If a tournament selects students for an interprovincial, national or international competition, only students in the open category are eligible to be selected (see the Travel Policy page).

Fees
MSDA tournaments are free for members of the MSDA, although if hosts are providing lunch or supper there will normally be a charge to cover the cost of the meal. Nonmembers pay $20 to $30 per team and are not eligible to win places on provincial teams to interprovincial, national or international competitions. Non MSDA tournaments, e.g. competitions hosted by universities,  will sometimes charge a fee per team.

Judging
In Manitoba we feel that debaters should be able to convince and persuade a general audience, not just one made up experienced coaches and judges. For this reason we encourage parents, teachers, university students and members of the public to volunteer to judge, even if they do not have any experience. For senior tournaments, judges must be older than high school age. For junior tournaments, grade 10, 11 and 12 students as well as anyone older than high school age may judge.
Normally a school is expected to send 1 judge for each team. This results in 2 judges per room without imposing too great a burden on the host school. If you are unable to provide 1 judge per team you should contact the organizer and see if that presents a great problem. Sometimes there will be 3 or 4 judges per room while on other occasions, usually due to last minute cancellations, there may be only 1.

What will happen at the tournament
When debaters arrive they should register. They will then be given a schedule which indicates which rooms they will debate in and which side they will be on. Sometimes a schedule is posted rather than providing individual copies. Normally teams will debate both sides of a prepared resolution, i.e. once as government and once as opposition. In the case of an impromptu debate, sometimes there is only one resolution and the sides are assigned randomly while in other tournaments one team chooses a resolution from a list of two or three and the other team then picks the side that they want. Debates take place in classrooms with an audience consisting of a chairperson and 1 to 4 judges. In a few cases debates take place in front of classes but this only happens when the tournament is held during the school day. At the conclusion of each debate the judges may offer comments and advice to the debaters but will not reveal the results. Between rounds there are usually refreshments available ( e.g. timbits, cookies, juice). After all of the the rounds of debating are concluded, the awards will be presented. There is a delay between the end of the debates and the presentation of the awards due to the need to enter the scores and calculate the results. The scoresheets are either returned to the coach at the conclusion of the award ceremony or are mailed out a day or two after the tournament.

What is expected of Debaters
1- Have fun
2 - Be polite to judges, officials and opponents. Shake hands after the debate.
3 - There is no dress code for tournaments although clothes should be neat and clean. Often males wear dress pants, dress shirt, tie and jacket or sweater while females wear the equivalent. Some schools wear their school uniform.
4 - You are expected to stay for the awards ceremony, even if you don't expect to win anything.
5 - You are expected to compete in all rounds and not to leave early
6 - The judges may make oral comments after the debate. You should not respond to their comments when they are giving them because that can easily turn into an argument. The judges will not reveal the results in their comments.
7 - You should prepare for the debate
8 - Please be on time
9 - You should be quiet and attentive when your opponents are speaking.
10 - At the tournament do not ask your coach for help preparing the impromptu debate

What is expected of Coaches
1 - Bring the number of teams that you registered, even if it means some last minute substitutions. If having fewer teams is unavoidable, let the organizer know as soon as possible.
2 - Make certain that your students understand the rules and the expectations listed above
3 - Bring one judge per team unless the invitation states otherwise. If you can bring more, please do so..
4 - At the tournament, do not help your students with preparing the impromptu debate although, obviously, you should help them practice how to do impromptu debates before the tournament.
5 - Be available between rounds to encourage your students
6 - Remind your students that, just because other students are arguing against them, it doesn't mean that they don't like them or are enemies. Encourage them to get to know debaters from other schools
7- Be on time. If a school registers late, it can throw off the entire schedule.