Alumni tournament - May 15, Seattle, WA

[JjulianSr]

The Washington Debate Coalition (http://www.washingtondebate.org/) is hosting its Spring Fling on May 15 at a location yet to be determined. The Open Debate Tournament will involve coaches, students, parents, alumni, judges, and debaters current and former to raise money to support debate programs in Washington State. Details will follow here shortly. I will be attending and hope (not confirmed) to debate with my old friend from Spokane, Dave Smith. It will be the ultimate old school policy team! If you're in the area, please come by and watch, pledge, and support programs in the Pacific Northwest.

Details (from the WDC Spring Fling website):

Saturday, May 15

Open Entry Mini-Debate Tournament

Participants: We encourage current debaters, current coaches, debate alumni, and even those who have never participated in debate (including parents) to enter the tournament.
Format: Debates will occur in a shortened policy debate format (6-3-4) with two debaters per team. Half of the rounds will be pop culture & current events topics and the other half will be on next year's high school debate topic (an evidence packet with be provided by the WDC so participants will not have to conduct research). Decisions will be made by a combination of judge vote and audience vote (by applause). Bring your personality, bring your persuasion skills, and win the audience over!
Entries and Deadline:Submit your entry between now and April 15th to info@washingtondebate.org. Each team should submit the name, photo and brief bio of each team member as well as a judge.
Fees: There is no entry fee but teams should meet a minimum pledge requirement of $100. Entered teams will have until May 10th to seek pledges. Pledges will be displayed on the website and the teams with the highest pledges will receive awards.

Regards,

Mr J
Newport High School
Bellevue, WA

[JjulianSr]

For the record... anyone anywhere near the Northwest ought to attend this next year. It was a HOOT and a half! In 5 rounds, I debated against past Collegiate Nationals finalists, students with an axe to grind, parents debating with their kids just to see how it works... it was awesome!

The judges were mostly high school kids, getting a taste of their own medicine. Quote of the year came from one judge... a sophomore at Holy Names in Seattle, head resting in the palm of her hand like she was fighting off a migraine, "This round was painful to watch..." My response: "Now you know how we feel."

My favorite round: Debating "Resolved: The Super Friends would beat the X-Men in a fair fight." against Chris McCool - the coach from Mercer Island. Great round!

The after-party... a buffet at a local bistro... was awesome! I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend at a debate tournament. They should all be this much fun.

See http://www.washingtondebate.org for more info on the WDC and its efforts to improve debate in the Pacific Northwest. I think they raised around $1500 or so for the cause at this fundraising alumni tournament.

See y'all next year!