Debate Tournament – Novice Rules

Duval Urban Debate League  – Middle School Novice Rules

Coaches and debaters should observe the following guidelines when using evidence and preparing for tournaments:

1. Schools should not modify the actual 1AC plan texts until the 2nd tournament in January, 2010. However, each team may update and reformat parts of their evidence as required.
   
2. Each school will need to update evidence on their own, independent of outside support; no updates will be sent out from DUDL Admin for the remainder of the year. However, we will offer technical and research assistance under special cases. If any disadvantage or affirmative becomes “non unique”, the DUDL Administration will put together a new disadvantage or affirmative for the next tournament.
   
3. The topicality information in your DUDL Information Kit is there only as a guide; any school may add topicality arguments, but not theory arguments including effects topicality and extra topicality.
   
4. Schools may develop as many Negative “on-case attacks” as they choose, however points may be deducted if judges determine that any of the content within the arguments in the DUDL Information Packet are altered/changed.
   
5. Enforcement of these rules is up to the Tournament Director. The DUDL Administration and Tournament Director will clarify this during the opening assembly each tournament. For example, if a Director chooses to make the penalty for a novice running another case or disadvantage or an argument such as a counter plan, (s)he will make this clear during the opening assembly. A pre-tournament Judges meeting will be held to stress the importance of these rules with all of the potential judges of the novice debate division prior to each tournament.
   
6. The Rules exist to insure that debaters in both new and old programs are comfortable in the novice division. Although coaches are encouraged to remember that the novice division is geared toward new and less experienced debaters, the division (ie. Junior Varsity, Varsity) in which they enter their debate teams is up to the coach’s discretion.