Icda Rules

7/31/2019 Icda Rules

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ILLINOIS CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE ASSOCIATION

RULES FOR INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENTS Updated September, 2010See Trial Changes for Fall located in the appendix at the end of this document

ELIGIBILITY, APPORTIONMENT, AND GENERAL RULES

An invitational tournament must follow these ICDA rules in order to be eligible for the StateCompetition. Schools wishing to host an ICDA tournament must be approved at the spring coachesmeeting, and placed on the ICDA schedule.

1. An ICDA invitational tournament has the requirement that all entries must be current high schoolstudents in good standing.

2. Fees are based on original entry number or actual participant number, whichever is greater.Suggested registration fees are $7.00 per student for the Training Workshop; $8.00 for a one-daytournament; $10.00 for a two-day tournament.

3. Judging responsibilities are determined by the needs of the tournament according to the tournamentdirector. The general rule of thumb is one judge for 1- 10 participants (expect to judge all three rounds);more than 10 participants will judge the fraction thereof. Tournament host should count the oversightcommittee/tab room personnel as judging assignments. The tournament director should make every effortto post a judging schedule on Edline prior to the tournament.

4. Coaches should make sure that hired judges are qualified. In order to maintain objectivity, hiredjudges should be out of high school at least two full years.

5. All judges must attend a training workshop to be eligible to judge at an ICDA tournament.6. The tournament manager has the option of turning away a late entry. (This may happen if trophieshave been purchased based on the original registration number or if additional rooms/judges are not

available).

7. Once registered, schools are responsible for their registration fees and judging fees (@ $60 persession) even if they do not participate. This holds true even in the case of inclement weather, as long asthe tournament has not been cancelled.

8. The tournament manager will respect requests to pair students in chambers only when the request ismade on the original registration. Changes will not be made at the tournament registration desk unless itis in the best interest of the tournament to balance chamber.

9. The tournament manager will provide a copy of the rules in every chamber.10.Teams are capped at 45 entries per school.11. It has been determined that hosting schools will follow registration deadlines, and any school thatdoes not submit their registration by the Friday prior to the tournament will not be allowed toparticipate. A confirmation e-mail will be sent to all schools that registered for a tournament theMonday following the registration deadline.

12.The host school will pay the Illinois Congressional Debate Association a $1 fee per studentparticipant (not the number registered, but the number in actual attendance).


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LEGISLATION

13.Each school may submit legislation for the next tournament, which must be in the hands of thetournament director by 9:00 am Saturday of the tournament. Each school is limited to one bill, as

determined by the draw at the fall coaches meeting. Only the legislation that is submitted by the due dateand in the proper format may be considered for debate at the following tournament.

14.Bills should be authored by no more than two students.14. A maximum of five bills per committee will be selected for the following tournament. The oversightcommittee is responsible for maintaining this ratio. Every effort will be made not to eliminate bills fromthe same school twice in a row within the current season.

COMMITTEE SESSIONS

15. Each chamber shall have a committee for each of the three areas for legislation. The host school shallassign the chairpersons for the committees. Tournament managers should assign experienced debaters toserve as chairpersons.\

16. The committees shall meet (not before 5:00 P.M.) to select the bills to be debated within therespective chambers. The committees will provide a prioritized list of the top four bills recommended fordebate. The purpose of such committees is to select the most debatable bills. Discussions within thecommittees shall be restricted by the chairperson to the issue of debatability. ("Is the bill controversial,timely, well written? Are there substantial pro and con arguments concerning the bill?)

17. Only committees shall have the authority to amend legislation providing that the amendments are forthe purpose of clarification or correction of errors and does not change the intent of the legislation.

18. The bills on the prioritized committee lists shall be considered in the order recommended by therespective committees, selecting the top priority bill first from Economics (100), Foreign Affairs (200),then Public Welfare (300). The process shall continue until time expires or until all bills are debated.

PROCEDURES WITHIN THE CHAMBERS

19. The judges assigned to the chambers shall be responsible for circulating a seating chart in eachchamber. Participants shall neatly print their name and school on the charts. When the chart is completedthe judges shall assign a person to take the chart to the tab room to obtain duplicate copies.

20. The judges shall then conduct elections for Presiding Officers. Students may be nominated or may

nominate themselves. Each nominee shall be given an opportunity to present a brief statement in supportof his/her candidacy. Each person within the chamber may cast one vote for presiding officer, except thatno school shall have more than two votes. Voting will continue until one person receives a majority. Ifthere are more than three candidates, the candidate (or candidates if they are tied) with the lowest votetotal shall be dropped from consideration on subsequent votes. The person who obtained the majorityshall have first choice regarding the session for which he/she wishes to be presiding officer. The personwith the second greatest number of votes shall have second choice. The person with the third greatestnumber of votes will preside over the remaining session.


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21. Voting in all elections shall be done as in the election of Presiding Officers, one person one voteexcept that no school shall have more than two votes.

22. Voting on all procedural matters, motions, rules, votes for and against bills and resolutionsallmatters except for election of Presiding Officer, Best Presiding Officer, First Place and Second PlaceSpeakers, Best Legislationshall be one person one vote.

23. Debate shall begin once the presiding officers have been selected. Both judges must be present fordebate to begin. Debate on a bill shall be limited to a maximum of one hour, no exceptions.

24. Debate on each bill will begin with a request for a four minute authorship speech to be given by theauthor or representative from his school. In the absence of an author, the Presiding Officer will call for aspeech in favor of the bill. Following the delivery of the authorship or three minute first pro speech, thechair will ask for a speech in opposition of the bill. This speech will be four minutes long if it follows afour minute authorship. It will be three minutes long if it follows a three minute first pro speech. Thisalternating process of three minute speeches will continue until the one hour limit expires. Should asession terminate while a bill is still being debated, the Presiding Officer will instruct the PresidingOfficer for the following session concerning the amount of time left for debate on that bill.

25. Following a four-minute speech will be a three-minute question and answer period. Following eachother speech, a two-minute question and answer period will be held. The time clock shall runcontinuously for the question and answer period

26. Voting procedures: In the case of needing a majority vote, 51% of those on the seating chart mustvote in favor to pass. In the case of needing a 2/3 majority vote, it will be 2/3 of those on the seatingchart. In cases of ties, the Presiding Officer may vote to break a tie.

27. A speaker who speaks on both sides of a bill will receive a 0 for the speech opposing his/heroriginal speech. This will occur even when the second speech is given in a different session than theoriginal speech

JUDGES RESPONSIBILITIES

28. Judges shall be responsible for evaluating all participants speeches. Judges may evaluate their ownparticipants speeches, but these scores will not be averaged into speech totals. Judges should leavecritique forms face up so the other judge may see the evaluation. Make all attempts to keep speech scoresfrom participants in the chamber.

29. Judges shall keep track of the participation of members of the chamber, including speeches andquestions.

30. Judges shall each individually nominate at the end of each session two people to be considered forFirst and Second Place Speaker Awards. They will not confer, and they will not nominate students fromtheir own school.

31. Judges shall award participation points to each member of the chamber following each session.Those points may range from zero through six and shall be based on participation as indicated by thenumber of speeches and questions. Though the quantity of participation is the main source ofconsideration, judges may also take into account whether or not a debaters participation contributed to


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the furtherance of debate in the chamber. A student who does not participate should receive a 0. Astudent on the seating chart who is absent should be marked as absent, notwith a 0.

32. Judges shall evaluate the performance of the presiding officer following each session. The P.O. shallbe given a score which will result in his/her earning 10% to 100% of the point total earned by the topspeaker in the chamber for that session. Points should be rounded up or down to the nearest number. The

percentage scores shall be based on the criteria forms and shall not include a consideration of the qualityof the speakers within the chamber or the typical speaking performance of the presiding officer.

33. The judges shall be the ultimate authorities in parliamentary procedure and fairness in recognizingspeakers. They shall have the power and responsibility to correct or overturn a decision of the PresidingOfficer.

34. All judges should return to the tab room with results at the end of the session in case there is aquestion concerning said results.

VOTING

35. Judges shall conduct elections for Outstanding Legislation at the end of the third session. Onlylegislation that was debated and voted upon within the chamber shall be eligible for consideration. Eachperson in the chamber shall be allowed one vote with the exception that no school shall have more thantwo votes.

36. Each chamber will record the total number of votes received for each piece of eligible legislation.Chamber results will be tallied in the tab room. The top three legislation will receive awards.

37. Judges shall conduct elections for best Presiding Officer at the end of the third session. Each personin the chamber shall be allowed one vote with the exception that no school shall have more than twovotes. The winning candidate must receive a simple majority of the votes cast. If no person earns a

simple majority, the candidate who receives the lowest vote total will be dropped from consideration andvoting will be repeated.

38. Judges shall conduct elections for the First Place and Second Place speaker awards at the end of thethird session. The host school shall provide the judges in each chamber with the names of participantswho have been nominated by judges for speaker awards. (The winner of the Critics Choice shall bedeleted from balloting.)

39. The names of all nominees shall be announced, and all chamber members shall be entitled to one votewith the exception that no school shall have more than two votes. The winner of the First Place SpeakerAward must receive simple majority of the votes cast. If no person earns a simple majority, the personwho receives the lowest vote total (or all candidates with the same lowest total) will be dropped from

consideration until such time as a candidate does obtain the required simple majority. On the balloting inwhich a candidate does receive a simple majority, the person with the second highest vote total shall beawarded the Second Place Award. (In the event there is a tie among persons with the highest vote total, arun-off election for the Second Place Award shall be held).

40. A Critics Choice Award shall be given to the person with the highest total points in each chamber.Those points shall include participation points, speaker points, and Presiding Officer points. Students maygive as many speeches per session as desired, but only the top two speeches will be counted. The totalnumber of nominations will be used to break any ties for the Critics Choice Award.


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CALCUATION OF SWEEPSTAKES (TEAM) AWARDS

41. This contest is divided into two divisions, Large Teams and Small Teams, based on actualparticipants at the tournament, including all students even those entered for only part of the tournament.

42. Students may give as many speeches per session as desired, but only the top two speeches

will be counted.

CALCULATING SWEEPSTAKES AWARDS FOR LARGE TEAMS

43. The first, second, and third place school awards shall be based on calculations as described below:

44. Scores for each individual participantincluding participation points scores for speeches, andpresiding officer pointsshall be totaled.

45. The number of high point speakers used to determine the sweepstakes award shall be the top eight perschool.

46. The high point speaker scores shall be totaled by school and ranked accordingly. The three schoolswith the highest totals shall be declared the first, second, and third place winners. In the event of ties,duplicate awards shall be presented.

CALCULATING SWEEPSTAKES AWARDS FOR SMALL TEAMS

47. The first, second, and third place school awards shall be based on calculations as described below:

48. Scores for each individual participantincluding participation points scores for speeches, andpresiding officer pointsshall be totaled.

49. The number of high point speakers used to determine the sweepstakes award shall be the top four perschool.

50. The high point speaker scores shall be totaled by school and ranked accordingly. The three schoolswith the highest totals shall be declared the first, second, and third place winners. In the event of ties,duplicate awards shall be presented.

DECORUM AND BEHAVIOR

51. No eating or drinking of any kind in chambers by contestants and judges.

52. Inappropriate language will not be allowed.

53. Disrespect or misuse of facilities or furnishings will not be tolerated.

54. Appropriate behavior is expected at all times.

55. Unsportsmanlike behavior will not be tolerated.


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56. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is defined as work or ideas taken word for word andpassed off as ones own.

57. Falsification of evidence will not be tolerated.

58. Consequences for infractions may result in the following actions by the Oversight Committee:

Disqualification from the tournament Loss of participation points Forfeiture of awards Schools held financially responsible for all damages incurred School administrators being notified of any misconduct Any additional consequences deemed appropriate to the severity of the infraction

59. Judges are responsible for enforcement of the rules and reporting infractions.

60. Special needs students will be accommodated according to individual needs. Coaches should reportthose needs to the tab room at the beginning of the tournament.


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APPENDIX

OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE FUNCTIONS AND MEETINGS

The responsibilities of the Oversight Committee include:

Acting as an advisory body to tournament hosts Sponsor of the All State Team Assisting with the operation of the State Tournament

The Oversight Committee will meet during the 1st session of each tournament in lieu of a judgingassignment.

Committee members should be very familiar with this act ivity, should have coached for at leastthree years, and should have hosted at least one tournament.

The President, five committee members (one committee member will function as secretary) willbe elected annually at the Spring Coaches Meeting.

To be considered for election to the oversight committee, coaches should submit their names tothe ICDA secretary prior to the spring meeting. Voting will occur by secret ballot.

Electronic Devices

Electronic Devices of any kind may not be used in the chambers. Internet access duringcompetition is strictly prohibited.

CAPTAINS MEETINGS

Captains are an advisory body.

Captains meetings occur during the Saturday lunch break. Host school will provide anappropriate meeting space and lunch.

One representative per school will attend the Captains Meeting.

The ICDA President and the host of the upcoming tournament will attend the meeting.

ALL STATE TEAM

The All State Team recognizes the top 10 debaters annually, as determined by the number ofnominations received at the 5 ICDA invitational tournaments.

To qualify, the schools must be ICDA members.


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A student will receive one point per session for one or more nominations. A presiding officerwill receive .5 points for each point earned by nomination at that tournament, with a maximumof three points per tournament. The All State Team will consist of the top 10 point earners. Tieswill be broken by:

Highest average points per speech for the five tournaments Greatest number of 6 point speeches for the five tournaments Total number of nominations for the five tournaments

UNIFORM FORMS (PO, JUDGING, ETC.)

See forms on Edline.

TRIAL CHANGES FOR FALL, 2010

The following rules will be piloted during the fall of 2010. Coaches will review these changes atthe December 2010 tournament and recommend adoption, modification, or elimination of theserule changes.

The only authorships that will be given are those by the actual author(s) of the bill. Amaximum of two authors may submit a single bill. If the author is not in the chamber, thePO will call for a sponsorship. The representative school will not automatically begranted the sponsorship; all debaters have equal opportunity to present a sponsorship.

The maximum number of bills per committee is to be reduced from 5 to 4. There will only be a committee of the whole for each chamber. Committee will be

scheduled for hour. During the first 15 minutes, at a minimum, chamber members willplace nominated dockets on the board. The chamber will then vote on the most desirabledocket during the last 15 minutes of committee. Only one vote per school is permitted.

Each session will be its own legislative day, with no bills carrying over to the nextsession. All debated bills will be voted on at the end of each session. A tracking sheetwill be provided in each chamber for the PO to complete and the judges will verify at theend of each session. If a bill is tabled and has not been debated, it may carry over to thenext session. Once a speech has been given on a bill, it must be tabled or voted upon bythe end of the session and cannot be removed from the table in a later session.


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GUIDELINES FOR PARTICIPATION POINTS

In order to make participation points equitable, please use the following guidelines:

Every chamber must have at least one 6 point participator Debaters with the most number of speeches and questions should receive a 6 Debaters with no speeches or questions should receive a 0 Inappropriate questions should not be counted (use your discretion)Points could be rewarded:

Regularly trying to give a speech but does not get called on Remains consistently active throughout session Participation contributed to the furtherance of debate in the chamberSuggested Standards:

Points Criteria

6 Greatest quantity of speeches; numerous questions5 1-2 speeches, several questions4 1 speech, some questions3 1 speech, a few questions OR

numerous questions, no speeches

2 No speeches, several questions1 No speeches, some questions0 No speeches, no questionsPoints could be deducted:

Debater is out of the chamber for an excessive amount of time Debater is disruptive during session Debater has not participated throughout the majority of the session (inattentive, reading during

session, playing games, sleeping, etc.)

Debater uses rude, offensive language or behavior Debater participates only during short intervals which would indicate sporadic attention and

participation

On the seating chart, judges should indicate reasons for major point

discrepancies.

Both judges must agree on the points assigned and sign the seating charts.

Revised, September, 2010

Documents

Icda Rules