Your Source for news and culture about Wisconsin Debate and Forensics
Students who are members of the NFL are invited to weigh-in on our “Student Challenge” question of the month: “What are your predictions for the 2008 U.S. Presidential and Vice Presidential debates?” Click here to submit your answer.
For some teams the season began last weekend at Wake Forest or Greenhill. For others, the season began even earlier at Grapevine. But for most teams, the season begins this weekend with the start of the WDCA schedule and Marquette’s Hilltopper Classic. As we begin the season, WFD asks: what tournaments are you planning on attending this season?
The Hilltopper Classic will be hosted by Marquette University High School on September 19th and 20th, 2008. Competition is offered in Varsity and Novice Policy as well as Lincoln-Douglas and Public Forum. However, we are short on entries in the latter three divisions and many Wisconsin teams that I would have expected to attend have not yet registered. If you’re planning to attend but haven’t registered yet, please visit the Joy of Tournaments page and do so as soon as possible. We look forward to hosting you!
This weekend, teams from Wisconsin will be traveling to Greenhill’s tournament in Texas and Wake Forest’s tournament in North Carolina. Specifically, (and please let me know if I’m missing anyone), Marquette University HS will be competing in Texas, while Neenah and Sheboygan North high schools will visit North Carolina.
Check back here over the weekend for updates…
From Mary Wacker:
There are three bylaw change items posted on the WFCA web site that will be acted upon at the September 20 meeting. There are also revisions to the speech topics I want to be sure coaches are informed now and encouraged to attend the meeting, Saturday, September 20, at Marquette University. Details at www.wfcaforensics.org
From the President-Elect, me:
Greetings Coaches,
Attached is the schedule and invitation for the 2008 WDCA and Fall Workshop. Brookfield East High School will again play host to this year’s event. The event is scheduled for Saturday, September 13. This year’s event offers an expanded schedule for Public Forum students and will have evidence CD’s available for all policy participants. The initiation contains all the details.
Please provide me an approximate number of students attending by Wednesday, September 10 to this email address. You are - of course - free to bring more students than you indicated. Assistant coaches and judges are encouraged to attend - we’ve even scheduled a judge training workshop for them.
Costs for the workshop are just $10 / student. Please make checks payable to the Wisconsin Debate Coaches Association.
Coaches, you are also reminded that proposals for the Fall Meeting are due this Friday. An email that contains that meeting’s agenda will be sent later this week.
Thanks,
Nick Bubb
WDCA President-Elect
You can find a link to the invitation here: download the WDCA Workshop 2008 Invite.
Tags: 2oo8, fall workshop, wdca
Resolved: The United States should significantly increase its use of nuclear energy.
This topic is sponsored by the Bickel & Brewer Foundation, who holds the National Public Policy Forum written debate essay contest. By reaching out to Public Forum students with a focused iteration of the Policy topic, it allows more schools and students to participate in the contest.
Tags: Public Forum Topic
We have updated the calendar a second time based on updated information.
9/13 Workshop and Fall Business Meeting at Brookfield East
9/19-9/20 Marquette; Milwaukee Debate League
9/26-9/27 Nicolet (Friday Festival, Saturday Tournament)
10/3-10/4 Merrill (Canceled); Brookfield East (replaces Rufus King)
10/10-10/11 Hortonville; James Madison Memorial, New Trier (IL)
10/17-10/18 LaCrosse Central; Mukwonago
10/24-10/25 South Milwaukee; MDL
10/31-11/1 Teacher’s Convention; Iowa Caucus (IA)
11/7-11/8 Waupaca; West Bend (replaces Brookfield Central)
11/14-11/15 Waukesha South; MDL
11/21-11/22 Fritsche (Friday only); Sheboygan South; Glenbrooks (IL)
12/5-12/6 Sheboygan North; Bradley Speech (IL)
12/12-12/13 WSDT (Hortonville)
Tags: wdca
Bill Batterman has released the invitation for the 2008 Hilltopper Classic. Registration will be conducted through the Joy of Tournaments website. Read below for the full invite:
Dear Colleagues,
You are cordially invited to attend The 2008 Hilltopper Classic at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee, WI. The MUHS Webster Club is once again excited to welcome friends new and old from across the state, region, and country to enjoy fine hospitality and excellent competition and judging.
The 9th Annual Hilltopper Classic will take place on Friday, September 19th and Saturday, September 20th. Competition will be offered in both Varsity and Novice Policy Debate as well as Lincoln-Douglas Debate and Public Forum Debate. Finalists in Varsity Policy Debate will once again earn a bid to the National Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky.
Registration is now open at http://www.joyoftournaments.com/wi/marquette/.
After much consideration, we have decided to maintain our “Texas-style” two-day tournament format again this year. With escalating travel costs and shrinking budgets, regional tournaments are essential to the health of the debate community and we are committed to hosting a tournament that is both affordable and accessible to the broadest constituency possible.
By maintaining the Hilltopper Classic as a two-day event, we hope to help squads minimize costs by arriving on Friday and returning home late on Saturday night, necessitating only a single night’s hotel stay. Teams are of course welcome to stay in Milwaukee on Saturday night if this is within their means, but by concluding the tournament on Saturday night we ensure that no team is required to make that choice.
Of course, the “Texas-style” format is not without its downsides. The schedule will once again be intense and opportunities for relaxation, socializing, and community building will be limited. We will of course do our best to provide a hospitable and friendly atmosphere, but teams will have to endure a long night on Friday and an early morning on Saturday. Squads that reach the late elimination rounds will also have to drive home late on Saturday night and into Sunday morning, but we hope that coaches and debaters alike will appreciate the opportunity to sleep late on Sunday and enjoy a rare weekend “off day” early in the season.
On behalf of the Webster Club and the entire Marquette University High School community, I look forward to hosting you here in beautiful Milwaukee.
Sincerely,
Bill Batterman
Tournament Director
For the first time, the Wisconsin Debate Coaches’ Association is adopting an evidence packet for the novice division of policy debate. Until the first week in November, novice debaters are limited to those arguments contained in the packet. More details about the rules will be provided soon including lists of acceptable arguments, guidelines for what constitutes a “new” argument, and a helpful “cheat sheet” to familiarize judges with the packet.
The following files are included in the WDCA novice evidence packet:
The research for these files has been completed and they are in the process of being reformatted and reviewed prior to release. Links will be provided to both Word and PDF versions as the files are approved and posted. When all files are posted, a zip file containing the complete packet will also be made available.
Tags: novice packet, wdca
