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23.1 Benefits of Hosting a Tournament
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A debate tournament provides many benefits to students, teachers, and the institution as a whole. Students can participate in a tournament in a number of ways. First and foremost, many students will have the opportunity to debate, and refine their public speaking, critical thinking, and listening skills. Students can also learn a great deal from watching others debate, so the experiences that tournaments provide for audience members should not be overlooked. For instance, a tournament might offer five to six rounds of debate in which students who are new to debate can watch and practice their listening and note-taking skills. Some advanced students may also have opportunities to serve as judges during the tournament. Students and other community members can serve as volunteers in support of the event, in roles such as timers, ballot runners, tabulation room assistants, registration assistants, and hospitality staff.
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Debate tournaments also provide a number of benefits for teachers. By fostering friendly competition among schools, debate tournaments inspire students and faculty alike to practice techniques that will strengthen their ability to argue persuasively in both speaking and writing. Faculty members who serve as Chairs of judging panels at debate tournaments get the added benefits of judging and developing stronger academic ties with colleagues from other institutions. Because judges have to reach a consensus about the ranking of the teams, participation in judging a tournament directly increases dialogue among faculty about issues such as effective argument construction and debate strategy. In addition, with higher demands from university students for more diversified content-based courses and increasing pressure on teachers to reform traditional oral English teaching in China, tournaments provide a platform for students to practice what they have learned in public speaking or debate classes.
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With all of those benefits to students and faculty, the institution as a whole clearly gains a great deal. Additionally, student success at debate tournaments in the form of individual speaker awards and team awards for semi-finalists and finalists brings honor to a university. More importantly, debate fosters a culture of inquiry and dialogue that is an important element in all fields of academic research. Students and teachers who have regular opportunities to practice their critical thinking and speaking skills through debate become better speakers and writers, and those are skills which can be used to present and publish academic research.
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23.2 Tournament Logistics
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Before deciding to host a tournament, the potential host should consider logistics such as the size, location, and space requirements of the tournament. This section discusses tournament size, along with a variety of issues surrounding space requirements.
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23.2.1 Tournament Size and Location
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The size and location of a debate tournament are important because they are factors that will affect all aspects of planning, including the number of rounds offered, the number of judges required, and the number of rooms needed. For the purpose of this section, “tournament size” is defined as the number of teams participating in the event. The tournament size directly affects the number of rooms and judges that will be required.
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The number of debating rooms is determined by the tournament size. A tournament requires one room for every four teams. Thus, for a tournament consisting of forty teams, ten rooms would be required. Rooms for the debate tournament should also be adequate in size to seat at least twelve people (eight debaters, three judges, and a timer). Larger rooms that can also accommodate additional audience members are desirable if they are available.
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The number of judges needed depends on the size of the tournament, as does the number of judges required for each debate. The standard number of judges for a debate is three: one Chair judge and two “panelist” judges. If enough judges cannot be found, the tournament host may choose to use two judges (a Chair and a “wing”) instead of three. To estimate the number of judges needed, the tournament director must first project the total number of teams (N) in the tournament, then divide the total number of teams by 4 (N/4) to determine the number of debates. If the tournament has a total of 40 teams, the projected number of debates (40/4) would be 10. If the tournament has a total of 100 teams, the projected number of debates (100/4) would be 25. For tournaments using three judges per debate, the number of required judges is equal to the projected number of debates multiplied by three. So, a 40-team tournament would require 30 judges, whereas a 100-team tournament would require 75 judges.
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Using three judges per debate is clearly the preferred standard, but sometimes a tournament director may decide that he or she cannot locate that many judges and, thus, will use only two judges per debate (a Chair and a “wing”). In that case, the number of judges needed is determined by multiplying the number of debates by two. So, a 40-team tournament with 10 debates will require 20 (rather than 30) judges and a 100-team tournament will require 50 (rather than 75) judges.
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23.2.2 Space Requirements
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In addition to a certain number of debating rooms, which was discussed in the previous section, the following are some of the additional space requirements that a tournament host needs to provide: a central gathering area, a registration area, a ballot distribution area, and a tabulation room.
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23.2.2.1 Central Gathering Area A central gathering area is needed for all but very small tournaments because it provides a place for pre-tournament competitor and judge trainings, as well as a place for the announcement of topics and posting of the “draw.” The draw shows how the teams are matched for each round, including the names of all four teams, their positions in the debate, the names of the judges, and the room in which the debate will occur. The draw may simply be a sheet of paper posted with the listing of the debates for any given round, or it may be an electronic posting that is projected onto an overhead screen. The draw must include the names of each team and their position in the debate, as well as the names of the judges and the assigned rooms for each debate. A large central gathering location (like a lecture hall or an auditorium) provides enough space for everyone to read the draw for each round, and to sit during the announcement of the motion and during the times between rounds.
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23.2.2.2 Registration Area The tournament requires a registration area that is positioned very near the central gathering area. It should contain enough tables to comfortably accommodate several volunteers who will conduct the registration. At tournament registration, at least three volunteers will be needed to assist with the registration process. Those volunteers will instruct each school to verify the number of teams and judges entered in the tournament and the accuracy of the participants’ names.
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23.2.2.3 Ballot Area An area needs to be provided for judges to pick up their ballots prior to each debate and return the ballots when the debate is completed. The tables used for registration can also be used for the distribution of ballots to the judges. The volunteers at the ballot distribution table will collect the ballots and take them immediately to the tabulation room. The ballots must be delivered to the tabulation room as soon as they arrive at the ballot table. If the volunteers wait to collect all the ballots before delivering them to the tabulation room, the tournament can be seriously delayed.
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23.2.2.4 Tabulation Room A tabulation room, also called a “tab room,” is an essential and important space requirement. Tournaments of all sizes require a quiet and centralized room for the tabulation of results. This room is a space for the tabulation director and the tabulation assistants to record the results of all debates. The tab room is also the place where important tournament documents, such as the schedules for each debate and the ballots for judges, will be printed. The tab room does not need to be a large space, but it should have enough room to accommodate a staff of four, a computer, and a printer. Competitors are not allowed in the tab room during the tournament in order to avoid the disclosure of tournament results (such as the top speakers) prior to the awards ceremony.
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23.3 Personnel and Their Responsibilities
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For a tournament to run effectively, a good staff is essential. No single model will work for every tournament, but some staff roles will be common to most events. This section will consider the most important staff and their roles.
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23.3.1 Tournament Host and Tournament Director
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The Tournament Host is responsible for advance planning and general hosting. The Tournament Director is responsible for the activities that occur when the tournament actually begins. In many cases, one person manages both of those two roles. If the roles are divided between two people, the Tournament Host needs to clearly spell out the obligations of each of the two people, and this information should then be clearly communicated to the Tournament Director. The Tournament Host and Director are responsible for overseeing all facets of the tournament—registration, topic selection, venues, tabulation, and presentation of awards. The Tournament Host usually has the final say on all questions related to rules and procedures, and should be prepared to step in to assist with any aspect of the tournament throughout the event. Some tournaments also have an Assistant Tournament Director to help with the Tournament Director’s various responsibilities.
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The Tournament Host is responsible for organizing the event and sending appropriate information to all of the participants and judges. The Tournament Director also needs to prepare and send out the tournament invitations (see Appendix B—TOURNAMENT INVITATION TEMPLATE for an example) well in advance of the event.
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