[eDebate] 47th Annual Naval Academy Debate Tournament Invitation

[Daniel Overbey]

3 January 2005
Dear Colleague, 
You are cordially invited to enter the Forty-seventh Annual United States Naval 
Academy Debate Tournament. The USNA tournament will take place in historic 
Annapolis, Maryland on January 28- 30, 2005. Join us for a weekend of 
exceptional team policy debate competition between some of the nation?s premier 
forensic programs. 

The USNA tournament will utilize the 2004-2005 national debate topic: 
Resolved: the United States federal government should establish an 
energy policy requiring a substantial reduction in the total 
non-governmental consumption of fossil fuels in the United States. 

The USNA tournament will include Varsity, Junior Varsity and Novice level 
competition and feature six preliminary rounds of debate followed by 
elimination rounds.* All debates will use the 9-3-6 minute time format. Teams 
will receive 10 minutes of preparation time during each debate. 

The deadline for entering the USNA tournament is January 15, 2005. The 
registration fee is $45.00 for each participant (coaches, debaters and 
observers). Please make checks payable to the ?Midshipmen Welfare Fund?.
Each college or university debate program entering the USNA tournament must 
provide a qualified critic to judge three preliminary rounds of competition for 
each team it enters in this tournament. Entering programs are further required 
to provide a critic to judge up to two break rounds of debate beyond the 
elimination of their teams from the tournament. In the event your program 
cannot fulfill these requirements, a very limited number of ?for-hire? critics 
will be available at $125 per two-person team. Please let us know in advance 
if you will need to hire judges. 

Trophies will be awarded to all teams advancing to the quarter final round. 
Trophies will also be awarded to the top ten individual speakers in each 
division of debate. The John Jay Pierpont Trophy, an eighteenth-century 
silver cup, will be presented to the college or university forensic program that 
sponsors the winning the Varsity-level-debate-team. The Pierpont Trophy may be 
displayed at the victorious college or university for one calendar year. 

Tournament accommodations are available at the Radisson Hotel Annapolis
located at 210 Holiday Court, Annapolis, Maryland 21401 telephone (410) 
224-3150 website: www.radisson.com. A special double room rate of $70.00 per 
night plus tax is available. The Radisson has guaranteed room rate and availability for tournament participants until January 15th. After January 15th, the Radisson will 
only offer rooms subject to availability and only at the going rate. Tournament 
registration and coaches? meetings will be held at the Radisson Hotel Annapolis. Contact the Radisson Hotel Annapolis directly to arrange accommodations. 
When making reservations request the ?USNA Debate Tournament? room rate. 
To ensure a memorable and pleasant experience at the USNA debate tournament 
please inform your participants of the following: 

1. The tournament will be conducted in academic facilities that will be used 
for classes shortly after the conclusion of the event. To help keep the rooms 
clean, please dispose of trash in appropriate receptacles. 
2. There is absolutely no smoking in any Naval Academy building. Smoking 
areas are located outside all USNA buildings. Please dispose of smoking materials 
responsibly. 
3. Tournament participants are welcome to visit the Officers and Faculty Club 
(O&F Club) aboard the Naval Academy. When visiting the O&F Club, be aware that while casual dress is permitted, athletic clothing, jeans or t-shirts are 
inappropriate attire. The O&F Club serves lunch daily from 11:00 AM until 2:00 
PM. Dinner is served Tuesday through Friday from 5:00 until 9:00 PM. A large 
brunch is served on Sunday from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM. Reservations are always recommended. You may direct questions or reservation requests to (410) 293-2611 
4. The Fifteen-Minute Forfeit rule will be in effect. If a team is not ready 
to debate 15 minutes after the announced start time of a debate they forfeit 
the round. All judges are asked to finish coaching their team 5 minutes before 
round start time and get to the rounds they are judging. Judges holding up the 
tournament who are fifteen minutes late to their rounds will cause the top team 
of the school they are representing to forfeit a debate. It is very important 
that this tournament run on time, please help us in this regard. 
5. As you register, please be aware that we need security information for each vehicle entering the Naval Academy including:  Make, Model, License plate, Driver name, and Driver?s license number.
If you have any questions, please contact me at 410.293.6853. Entry is through the Bruschke system (preferred) or through email and those emails should be addressed to overbey at usna.edu . 
Sincerely, 
Daniel Overbey          Keith Gibeling                 Jonathan Smith 
Director of Debate     Officer Representative    Tournament Logistics 
United States Naval Academy 
* The USNA Debate Tournament will utilize the following American Debate 
Association (ADA) definitions for Novice and Junior Varsity Debaters.  Half of competing teams will clear, up to a maximum of 16 per division, as we have room constraints on Sunday evening.
   
 

Naval Academy Debate Tournament 
Tournament Schedule 
January 27-30, 2005
Thursday, January 27 
8:30 - 10:00 PM: Early registration, Radisson Hotel Annapolis
Friday, January 28
12:00 - 3:00 PM Registration * Location to be announced 
3:30 PM General Meeting - Mahan Auditorium 
4:00 PM Round I 
6:15 PM Round II 
10:00 PM Coaches Reception - Sheraton Barcelo Annapolis Hotel 
Saturday, January 29
7:30 AM Continental Breakfast - Mahan Hall 
8:00 AM Parings Distributed 
8:30 AM Round III 
10:45 AM Round IV 
1:00 PM Luncheon - Mahan Hall 
2:00 PM Round V 
4:15 PM Round VI 
7:30 PM USNA Tournament Banquet - King Hall 
Sunday, January 30 
7:30 AM Continental Breakfast - Mahan Hall 
7:45 AM Parings Distributed 
8:00 AM Elimination Rounds Begin