The Atlanta Urban Debate League is committed to providing excellent debate education programs, services, and opportunities to diverse students, educators, and members of the community!
Starting Your Team
Tournaments - What to Expect
Introduction
AUDL tournaments typically last all morning and go into the mid- to late afternoon. The biggest task for coaches will likely be making sure that registered students and judges are where they need to be during morning check-in and at the start of each round.
Before a Tournament
Before the weekend of the tournament:
Make sure students and volunteer judges/parents know when and where the tournament is.
Encourage debaters to get their partners’ contact info before the day of the tournament.
Make sure students know what to bring to the tournament (paper, pens, and their evidence/resource packets) .
Students may need highlighters if they end up needing evidence they haven’t already highlighted.
Make sure all registered debaters and judges can access their Speechwire accounts.
On the Day of a Tournament
Before rounds start, debaters and judges will need to be checked in once they arrive. Use a table or two as a gathering spot for your school and encourage students to do some final preparations while waiting for the pairings to be released. As students arrive, make sure to inform AUDL staff at the ballot table that they are present so they can be checked in. Judges should also be checked in with AUDL staff, but they will also need to go to judge training, which will be held before the first round in a separate room. Make sure they are aware of when and where judge training will occur. While students should stay with their school, judges are free to spend time before and between rounds in the judges’ lounge, where refreshments will be provided.
When pairings are released for the first round, Speechwire will send a notification with the specific room, which team will be debating on which side, and the judge for the round to each debater (and judge if they have been assigned a round).
Debaters and judges should report to their assigned rooms for the first round. After a round, if pairings for the next round have not yet been released, students should return to the same school gathering spot used before rounds; if pairings have been released, students should proceed to their assigned rooms (caution students to see if the previous round is still in progress before entering!).
Note: There will be a lunch break between the second and third rounds.
Note: Coaches will be excused from the judging pool for one round to enjoy a Coach Socialization hour with refreshments.
After all rounds have concluded and all scores have been tabulated, there will be an awards ceremony to announce top speakers and teams in each division, along with community awards. If your school wins a community award, a picture will be taken after the awards ceremony, and the community award will be ready to take home by the next tournament.