Divisions of Competition:

We are pleased to offer competition in Varsity Policy Debate, Novice Policy Debate, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, and Public Forum Debate. Complete details about each division follow.

Varsity Policy Debate:

Format: The Varsity Policy Debate division will offer competition on the national resolution in a two-person, switch-sides format. Time limits in the Varsity Policy Debate division will be 8-3-5 with 8 minutes of preparation time per side.

Rounds: The division will feature six preliminary rounds: three on Friday and three on Saturday. All teams with a winning (4-2 or better) record will clear to elimination rounds up to a full octafinal. In reality, this means that some 4-2 teams will not clear. Unfortunately, our schedule cannot accommodate a partial or full double-octafinal round.The first two preliminary rounds will be randomly paired. All other rounds will be paired high-low within brackets with the even rounds featuring side constraints. We will not break brackets in the elimination rounds.

Second-Year Breakout: The top four teams that have been designated as "Second-Year" that do not clear to the octafinals will be invited to participate in the semifinals of a "Second-Year Breakout" division. In this case, "Second-Year" is defined as a team composed of two students in their first or second years of debate. For the most part, these students should be competing in the varsity division for the first time but discretion is left up to coaches to designate Second-Year-eligible teams. Please designate "Second-Year" teams with your registration if you would like them to be eligible for the Second-Year Breakout.

Awards: Awards will be presented to all elimination round participants as well as to the top fifteen speakers. The champion team will receive the James Madison Copeland Cup. The top individual speaker will receive the Clark/Foley Outstanding Speaker Award. Teams reaching the finals will receive a bid to the National Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky.

Entry Limits: Six teams per school. A waiting list is available and squads wishing to enter additional teams will be accommodated as much as possible.

Judging Obligations: Three preliminary rounds of qualified judging are required for each team. All judges are obligated for the octafinals or one round past the elimination of their teams, whichever is later. If your school's last team is eliminated in the quarterfinals, for example, your judges are obligated through the semifinals. If none of your teams reach the elimination rounds, your judges are still obligated through the octafinals. Special arrangements must be made with the tournament director in advance if you cannot fulfill these requirements; we don't want to burden anyone unnecessarily, but the tournament cannot function if everyone leaves as soon as they've been eliminated. For the sake of the tournament and for all of the students still competing, please do not embarrass yourself and your squad by failing to fulfill your obligations.

***Special Note: teams whose entries have all been eliminated on Saturday night will NOT be obligated to provide judging on Sunday morning.  We will of course appreciate it if you are able to make some judging available, but we want to ensure that squads are not forced to stay an extra night just to fulfill judging obligations.

Hired Judges: A very limited number of judges will be available for hire at the cost of $150 per team (not per judge -- yes, that's a lot of money). Please plan on fulfilling your squad's entire judging obligation; once our hired judges are gone, teams not covered by judges will be unable to compete. We want your judges more than we want your money! Please make every effort to cover your commitments; if you have additional rounds that you would like to make available, please let Bill Batterman know and we will happily purchase your services.

Mutual Preference Judging: We will use an MPJ system for assigning judges; complete details will be provided to teams that have entered. In order for this system to work, all persons who are expected to judge at the Hilltopper Classic must be identified no later than 3PM on Monday, September 14th and must post their judging philosophy to http://judgephilosophies.wikispaces.com/. Preference sheets will be sent to entered schools during the week prior to the tournament and must be returned by Thursday, September 17th in order to take effect by round one.

Fee: $60 per team.

Novice Policy Debate:

Format: The Novice Policy Debate division will offer competition on the national resolution in a two-person, switch-sides format. Students must be in their first year of debate in order to be eligible for this division; our expectation is that almost all students in this division will be competing in their first tournament at the Hilltopper Classic. Time limits in the Novice Policy Debate division will be 8-3-5 with 8 minutes of preparation time per side.

Rounds: The division will feature five preliminary rounds: three on Friday and two on Saturday. The top four teams will clear to semifinals; depending on entry size and judge/room availability, we might clear to quarterfinals. The first two preliminary rounds will be randomly paired. All other rounds will be paired high-low within brackets with the even rounds featuring side constraints. We will not break brackets in the elimination rounds.

Awards: Awards will be presented to all elimination round participants as well as to the top ten speakers. All students participating in the novice division will receive a certificate of participation.

Division Philosophy: Our goal is to provide students with a challenging but rewarding and educational experience in their "rookie" tournament. We take this division very seriously and view it as a means by which our squad can contribute to the growth of debate in our region. To this end, we make several requests of our colleagues that are detailed below.

Disclosure and Argument Limits: In order to accommodate schools from outside of Wisconsin, this division will not adhere to the Wisconsin Debate Coaches' Association novice case limits and evidence packet. However, all schools with teams in the novice division are required to participate in a pre-tournament casebook that includes full disclosure of affirmative cases. Participation is not optional: teams that do not participate in good faith and in a timely fashion will not be allowed to compete. This pre-tournament casebook will hopefully make novice students' experiences less stressful and more educational; it was very successful in a trial run at the Hilltopper Classic in 2005 and again the last two years. In addition to the lack of case limits, there will be no prohibition of counterplans or critiques; however, the tournament strongly discourages the use of these arguments in the novice division and asks that any school intending to make them disclose as much prior to the tournament. There will be plenty of opportunities throughout the season for novice debaters to compete in less restrictive environments; there will never be another opportunity for them to experience their first tournament.

Entry Limits: Four teams per school. A waiting list is available and squads wishing to enter additional teams will be accommodated as much as possible.

Judging Obligations: Three preliminary rounds of qualified judging are required for each team with the caveat that one judge can cover two teams (and two judges can cover four teams, etc.). All judges are obligated for the quarterfinals or one round past the elimination of their teams, whichever is later. Varsity-level students are welcome (and indeed encouraged) to judge in the novice division, but we ask coaches to please use only your most mature students to cover your obligation. All judges will be asked to provide post-round comments as well as a written ballot and the tone should be positive and educational. Sample ballots and guidelines will be provided to all novice judges but it is very important to us that judges in this division do their best to encourage rather than criticize students. No hired judging is available in the Novice Policy Debate division, but we would be happy to "trade" Novice judges for Varsity judges (we'll cover your Novice commitment if you cover additional rounds in Varsity).

Fee: $45 per team.

Lincoln-Douglas Debate:

Format: The Lincoln-Douglas Debate division will offer competition on the national September/October resolution in the National Forensic League 6-3-7-3-4-6-3 format with four minutes of preparation time per side.

Rounds: The division will feature six flighted preliminary rounds: three on Friday and three on Saturday. All debaters with a winning (4-2 or better) record will clear to elimination rounds up to a full quarterfinal. The first two preliminary rounds will be randomly paired. All other rounds will be paired high-low within brackets with the even rounds featuring side constraints. We will not break brackets in the elimination rounds.

Awards: Awards will be presented to all elimination round participants as well as to the top ten speakers.

Entry Limits: Four debaters per school. A waiting list is available and squads wishing to enter additional teams will be accommodated as much as possible.

Judging Obligations: Two preliminary rounds of qualified judging are required for each debater. All judges are obligated for the octafinals or one round past the elimination of their teams, whichever is later. No hired judging is available in the Lincoln-Douglas Debate division.

Fee: $30 per debater.

Public Forum Debate:

Format: The Public Forum Debate division will offer competition on the national September resolution in the National Forensic League 4-4-3-4-4-3-2-2-3-1-1 format with two minutes of preparation time per side.

Rounds: The division will feature six flighted preliminary rounds: three on Friday and three on Saturday. All teams with a winning (4-2 or better) record will clear to elimination rounds up to a full quarterfinal. The first two preliminary rounds will be randomly paired. All other rounds will be paired high-low within brackets. We will follow the NFL coin flip format to assign sides and speaking order in both the preliminary and elimination rounds. We will not break brackets in the elimination rounds.

Awards: Awards will be presented to all elimination round participants. Individual speaker awards will not be provided.

Entry Limits: Four teams per school. A waiting list is available and squads wishing to enter additional teams will be accommodated as much as possible.

Judging Obligations: Two preliminary rounds of qualified judging are required for each team. All judges are obligated for the quarterfinals or one round past the elimination of their teams, whichever is later. No hired judging is available in the Public Forum Debate division.

Fee: $30 per team.