Harvard Speech and Parliamentary Debate Society

2007 Harvard Debating Championships

The Harvard Speech and Parliamentary Debate Society will be holding the 2007 Harvard Debating Championships on October 5-6. We are once again proud to host the month's APDA meeting, and we are looking forward to bringing you the league's deepest judging pool and an incredibly fast computerized tab room.

As always, there will be five rounds of preliminary competition breaking to octofinals. And don't forget to bring your novices: we will send the top four teams to novice semifinals.

Remember all those tournaments where everyone complained about the vast number of Harvard debaters? Well, now you can let that work in your favor, as we offer you an immense judging pool composed of experienced debaters and rich with esteemed Dinos from all over, including National champions, and other APDA graduates from New York, Boston, and all over the country.

Couple this with another one of our fantastic Harvard banquets and an APDA meeting that is sure to entertain, and you have yourself a tournament you won't want to miss.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about our tournament.

Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you at the 2007 Harvard Debating Championships.

Sincerely,

Kevin Z. Jiang
Vice President - Tournament Director
Harvard Speech and Parliamentary Debate Society
Email:

DATES:

Friday, October 5 - Saturday, October 6
Check in anytime between 1pm - 3pm

TOURNAMENT FEATURES:

There will be five preliminary rounds of parliamentary debate, after which we will break to octofinals and novice semifinals. We will provide a sumptuous banquet for dinner on Friday, breakfast Saturday morning, and mouth-watering snacks on Friday afternoon. In addition to recognizing the top speakers and teams, we will provide trophies for the top novice competitors. So, please, bring your novices!

REGISTRATION FEES:

$120 per two-person team.

Schools debating for the first time at the Harvard Tournament will pay reg of $100 per two-person team.
Teams facing financial difficulty should contact us at [email protected]

JUDGING REQUIREMENTS:

Each school must provide n-3 judges. Judges MUST have prior debate experience (novices are perfectly acceptable). If you are going to have any difficulty meeting this requirement, please let us know immediately.

HOW DO I PRE-REGISTER?

Every team must pre-register. Just email our T.D., Kevin Z. Jiang at . Pre-registration is due Tuesday, October 2, at midnight.

If you pre-register by e-mail or post, we need to know the following:

(1) contact information, including mobile phone
(2) how many teams you are bringing
(3) whether or not you have judges for all of them
(4) which teams have seeds, including the free seed
(5) if a person is a novice
(6) how many observers are coming along for the ride
(7) how many people need housing
(Cool how you're getting to the tournament

WHERE IS GA?

GA will be in the Science Center, where it has traditionally been. The Science Center is the polaroid camera-esque masterpiece located next to the castle-like Memorial Hall.

You can also check out the map here:
http://map.harvard.edu

WHEN SHOULD I GET THERE?

The police are very strict about kicking us out of buildings at 10:30pm on Friday.
To avoid this issue, we will be finishing registration by 3:00 pm.

Please take into account the time it will take to drive into Boston (traffic can be pretty horrendous),
and the time it will take to go to GA (give yourself half an hour).

WHERE SHOULD I PARK?

Take I-95 (North or South) to exit 29. Get on Route 2 going eastbound. Somewhere after exit 60 or so there will be a sign for Alewife on the right. Bear right at the alewife sign going past the bowling alley. You will soon see a large parking garage called Alewife. Turn in and park.

After parking, follow the signs for the T (subway). Alewife is the last stop, so get on whatever train is there. Take the train three stops to Harvard Square.

When you get out, you will see Harvard Yard (if you see Out of Town news, turn right). Walk along the sidewalk to the left of Harvard Yard, keeping Harvard Yard on your right. The path will curve right after a bit and then you will see an underpass on your left. After the underpass is no longer next to you, turn left. The science center is in front of you. GA is in the Science Center.

If you would like, you are also welcome to park in one of the garages within Harvard Square itself. These garages, however, will be much more expensive. Attempts at street parking are not recommended.

DO I HAVE TO PAY FOR PARKING?

By no means. If you are driving to the tournament, free parking will be available at the Alewife T Station, just down the red line from Harvard. If you park, bring your ticket to verify and we'll deduct the cost from your Registration fees. Parking fees from other lots and garages, however, will not be deducted.

DIRECTIONS:

BY CAR:

After parking, follow the signs for the T (subway). Alewife is the last stop, so get on whatever train is there. Take the train three stops to Harvard Square.

When you get out, you will see Harvard Yard (if you see Out of Town news, turn right). Walk along the sidewalk to the left of Harvard Yard towards the north, keeping Harvard Yard on your right. The path will curve right after a bit and then you will see an underpass on your left. After the underpass is no longer next to you, turn left. The science center is in front of you. GA is in the Science Center.

FROM LOGAN AIRPORT:

You can take Boston's subway, inscrutably called the "T" to Harvard. From your terminal, take the SILVER line bus to SOUTH STATION. Change to the RED LINE outbound (toward ALEWIFE), for six stops and get off at HARVARD. The subway ride from Logan takes 45-60 minutes. Subway tokens cost $2.00 ($1.70 if for some reason you have a CharlieCard). Please tell us if you plan on flying to the tournament. We will try to have someone at the airport to meet you.

FROM BOSTON'S SOUTH STATION (THE TRAIN):

There is a subway stop adjacent to South Station. Take the RED LINE toward Alewife for six stops, get off at Harvard.

WHERE DO I GO TO CHECK IN?

Check-in will be in the main lobby of the Science Center.
(See directions to GA above)

HOUSING:

We will provide housing for the tournament. Bring a sleeping bag or pillow or whatever you need to get comfortable. We can house teams coming from far away for an extra day or two before and after the tournament, but please let us know by Monday, October 1 if you will need extra housing.

ORIENTATION MEETING FOR NON-APDA SCHOOLS:

If you are not a member of the American Parliamentary Debate Association, don't fret. We will have an optional orientation session that will explain all the APDA quirks run by one of our own varsity debaters. Let us know as soon as possible if you will be attending this session. If you can't, don't worry: our judges will just be looking to be convinced of your position, not at your technical manner of convincing, so non-APDA schools will not be at a competitive disadvantage.

WEATHER:

It will rain. Bring an umbrella.

EMERGENCIES:

In case of emergency (like if you're running late on the day of the tournament), call the TD, Kevin Z. Jiang, on his cell phone at (480) 242-8123. Late teams are not guaranteed a spot in the first round, even if you call.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:

FRIDAY

1:00PM - 3:00 PM Registration (No extensions)
3:30PM Round I - Pairings read
5:30PM Round II - Pairings read
7:00PM Banquet begins
8:00PM Banquet ends; return to GA
8:15PM Round III - Pairings read
10:00PM APDA Meeting

SATURDAY

8:00AM Breakfast begins
9:30AM Round IV - Pairings read
11:15AM Round V - Pairings read
1:00PM Octofinals announced in GA
2:45PM Quarterfinals/Novice Semis announced in GA
4:00PM Semifinals/Novice Finals announced in GA
5:15PM Finals announced in GA, Awards to follow

FINAL WORDS

Please get here on time. I cannot emphasize to you enough how important this is. If there are any changes to your pre-reg, please e-mail me as soon as you find out. This will prevent excessive delays in registration.

Should you have any questions, feel free to contact me at . We look forward to seeing you in a few weeks.

Kevin