University of Pennsylvania
Liberty Bell Classic
Public Forum 2021

Rules, policies, and procedures for all three divisions of Public Forum at the University of Pennsylvania Liberty Bell Classic, February 12-14, 2021. This document will be updated during the tournament as needed. Participants in the tournament are accountable for all rules explained within - we’re counting on you to read it, and holding you to it.

Contact Information

Contact penn.tournament@gmail.com, the PF emails are not being monitored

Announcements/Updates

2/14/21 5pm - with VPF finals on the horizon, our hope is to only use hired judges. But stand by if your team is defeated in Semis!

11:30am - coaches of teams that will be debating at 1:15 (JV F, N S, V O), please see the email about the supplemental strike sheet

9am - JUDGE OBLIGATIONS: According to the live doc, JV and N judges are now only obligated if your school’s teams competed in the previous round. All Varsity judges were obligated through Octos, so those judges in the Sunday pool should expect to be around until then - and then one round past your furthest advancing team.

2/13/21 7pm - elim participants posted

• V runoff entry list
• JV Quarters entry list
• N Octos entry list
• V Sunday judge pool (if you are the Sunday judge from your school)
• JV Sunday judge pool (if you are the Sunday judge from your school)
• N Sunday judge pool (if you are the Sunday judge from your school)

2/12/21- Example RFDs added to the Advice section

2/10/21 - strike numbers updated

2/9/21 - Updated the language of the content warnings section

2/9/21 - the live doc is live! We will update the number of strikes in each division when judge registration closes.

Schedule

• All rounds are SINGLE-FLIGHTED.
• How it works:

• Pairing Time: 30 minutes before scheduled start time. This may be condensed to save the schedule if necessary.
• Tech Check Time: 20 minutes after postings, and 10 minutes before round start time. THIS IS WHEN YOU MUST BE IN YOUR ROOM! All five participants  (4 debaters, 1 judge) should arrive for Tech Check AND SHOULD NOT LEAVE. Ensure that everyone can hear everyone else and resolve tech issues before start time. Coordinate email chains for evidence sharing during this time. Send a message to tab if anyone is not present 5 min after tech check time.
• Start Time: 30 minute after postings. This is the LATEST that a round should begin. It is OK to start early

• TEAMS: forfeit time is 10 minutes after Tech Check (so, the start time is the forfeit time). If you have not communicated with the judge/tournament by this time, you will lose the round

• Teams will be allowed up to 10 minutes of “tech time” per round to resolve connection issues during the round. If the round cannot continue after the 10 minutes have elapsed, the round is forfeited. ONLY TAB DECLARES/ENTERS FORFEITS

• JUDGES:

• If you are assigned a round: push start to acknowledge the ballot as soon as you receive it, be in the room by tech check, and start on time.
• If you are not assigned a round: report to the PF judge lounge by Tech Check time. You will be released when all rounds have started.
• You can be fined for not pushing start on time. You can be fined for pushing start but not reporting to tech check. You can be fined for not being on standby in the judges lounge. Late-starting rounds threaten the tournament schedule which has been designed to give time for screen breaks and to end at an appropriate hour.

Varsity PF Schedule -- ALL TIMES EASTERN

Friday, February 12 - VARSITY PF

Saturday, February 13 - VARSITY PF

Sunday, February 14 - VARSITY PF

*Elimination rounds: Varsity will break all 5-2s.

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N/JV PF Schedule -- ALL TIMES EASTERN

Friday, February 12 - Novice and JV PF

Saturday, February 13 - Novice and JV PF

Sunday, February 14 - Novice and JV PF

*Elimination rounds: JV will break up to 16 4-2s. Novice will break all 4-2s.

Decision Timer

Judges have 75 minutes from the ROUND START TIME (not when you click start, not when you really start, but the scheduled start time) to submit their decisions. This countdown is visible on the ballot. This rule exists a) to keep us on schedule, b) to encourage debaters to minimize wasted time within rounds, and c) to prevent judges from overanalyzing every piece of evidence in a round.

This should create an incentive for all participants to start on time (or early!), move swiftly through the round, and quickly notify tab of any tech issues or missing persons. It may NOT be used to justify cutting time from speeches, crossfires, prep, or tech time.

Judges who have not decided by the decision deadline will be visited by angry tab staff, unless we are aware of the tech issues that caused a delay. The ballot does not disappear when the timer ends - even if you exceed the time allotted, finish the round and vote as normal!

Remember that the decision timer is for points and the winner. You can always go back and enter more comments until the end of the tournament!

Judge Notes and Expectations

The PF Judge Lounge is accessible from your tabroom.com home page (click on Current Ballots and Panels if you do not see it). There is no coffee, but there will be someone on staff to answer your questions. Judges who are not assigned a round are on standby must be in the judges room at Tech Check time for possible substitutions. If you are on standby for consecutive preliminary rounds, there is a problem and you should ask the judges lounge manager.

ONLY THE ASSIGNED JUDGE MAY JUDGE. YOU MAY NOT (NEVER EVER) ALLOW SOMEONE ELSE TO JUDGE IN YOUR NAME. YOU MAY NOT FIND A SUBSTITUTE JUDGE.

Before the Tournament

• Update your paradigm - debaters use judge paradigms to decide how to best adapt to the judge, so tell them what kind of debates you want to see! Be sure your paradigm is honest and accurate - your jokes are both not funny and not understood by people who don’t know you, which are the people who read your paradigm
• Complete the Ballot Test - Thursday from 4-8pm (eastern) we will open a test ballot on tabroom.com. This will ensure that everyone can access ballots and knows how to fill them out
• Check your connection - test your ability to access the test room at campus.speechanddebate.org. You must be using Chrome! You can also Google “internet speed test” to find out how strong your connection is, and if you are better off moving closer to the router or trying a wired connection

Before Rounds

• PLEASE CLICK START TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE BALLOT. Tab staff will check all rooms, so do not wait until starting to click start.
• If debaters are missing at Tech Check, send a message to tab (you don’t need to leave to tell us!).
• When the teams are present, confirm that the flip is correct on your ballot. If not, refresh your ballot. If that does not resolve the issue, use the contact form in the NSDA Campus room to let tab know, and still start the round on time!

During Rounds

• Flow (take notes)
• Keep time
• Enter comments on tabroom between speeches or during prep time
• That’s it. Do not ask questions, answer questions, comment on arguments, or get involved in the debate in any way

After Rounds

1. Quickly read any evidence that is crucial to making your decision.
2. Confirm (verbally) that the sides listed on your ballot are correct.
3. Enter points (following the scale; see ballot and below) and a decision (must be one winner and one loser).
4. Confirm decision in tabroom. Write the winning SCHOOL and SIDE in your RFD. Help debaters and coaches by explaining the argument that caused you to vote.
5. [REQUIRED] Announce the winner - read both SCHOOL and SIDE from your tabroom vote confirmation page
6. [Preferred but not required] Provide a brief reason for decision so the debaters can improve their arguments for the next round

1. If debaters rudely question your decision, simply leave the room.

7. Take a screen break, have a snack, and hydrate!
8. Complete comments later - they remain open until the end of the tournament

Forfeits

Tab declares and enters forfeits. If you think a team should be forfeited, you must talk to tab. You may not enter that result on your own.

Rules Violations

Please consult tab before deciding that something in the round warrants punishment for violating the rules, excepting the evidence violation process described above.

Obligations

All schools are obligated to provide judging for all preliminary rounds and some number of elim rounds, depending on the division and the success of your school’s teams. All VPF judges are obligated through Octos and then one round past your school’s furthest advancing entry in the division. All JVPF judges are obligated through Quarters and then one round past your school’s furthest advancing entry in the division. All NPF judges are obligated through Octos and then one round past your school’s furthest advancing entry in the division.

This enables us to run elimination debates with multiple judge panels. Serving as a judge beyond your team’s participation is necessary at every tournament and always will be. Coaches may have arranged different days of assignments for different judges, which is fine. You are obligated for all the rounds on your day. We will not make exceptions.

Please see the link to the tabroom video below for some tips on how to find out if your school is still competing in your division. This is a question to ask your coach, not the tab staff.

Advice

A great resource for judge training: https://sites.google.com/view/judge-training/home

A video explaining how to use tabroom.com: https://youtu.be/lEHBHm5itGY

A set of event explainers and sample rounds with commentary: PCFL Resources and Videos

Example RFDs , with commentary, can be found here.

Tech Stuff

The tournament will use NSDA Campus/tabroom.com for all rounds. The system runs in Google Chrome, and that’s it. All competitors and judges will need Chrome. Everyone should test their set up at https://campus.speechanddebate.org/ - enter a practice/test room, be sure that the application can see your camera and microphone.

Our best advice to solve connection issues is to start each tournament day with a browser restart (not closing a tab, closing the full browser) and clearing cookies. This is also a key troubleshooting step that has solved most issues for most people. If you have a finicky computer, try restarting the entire system before rounds.

Where’s my ballot? Where’s the room?

Here! On the main screen of your tabroom account (click your email address in the upper right to refresh the page) you’ll see this view when you have a round.

The camera icon takes you to the room (in a separate window). The start button opens the ballot.

Rules

• All debaters SHOULD be on separate cameras, and MUST maintain 6ft of social distancing except when physically impossible. While debaters are permitted to share a room and a camera (if this complies with local health guidelines), we would like teams to recognize that this creates a perceived advantage over teams who are not allowed to do so, and so encourage teams to compete in separate rooms except where it is not practical to do so. If sharing a room, debaters should wear a mask when it is not their turn to speak. Tab should be made aware of any situation that requires a deviation from this requirement.
• All competitors MUST have cameras on while speaking or involved in crossfire and are encouraged to keep their camera on throughout the debate unless tech issues prevent this.
• Judges SHOULD have their cameras on throughout the round so that the debaters can observe reactions and ensure that no tech glitch prevents you from hearing them.
• Always mute your mic unless it is your turn to speak
• Observers are not permitted - debaters may not record rounds or share their screen with non-participants or broadcast rounds in any format
• Participants are not allowed to move rounds to another platform. This causes legal problems. Moving rounds to another platform will result in large-scale disqualification of everyone involved and people from their schools.

Mid-round tech issues

If a student loses their connection in the middle of a round, the team’s 10 minute tech timer (or what is left of it) begins counting. This is not prep time! If the team is unable to reconnect before tech time elapses, they will forfeit the round.

If a judge loses their connection in the middle of a round, the debaters should contact tab right away.

Mid-speech tech issues

The above applies under mid-round tech issues, but the speech will resume from the point where it was lost.

Camera best practices

• Keep your webcam at eye level
• Do not move your webcam when someone is speaking. Ideally, keep your webcam at the same location for the entire round

Tech Troubleshooting Tips

Try these steps, starting with a browser restart, if you have trouble connecting. You don’t need to try all the steps at the same time! Judges, if you are experiencing tech issues or have trouble getting onto NSDA Campus, please contact tab so we don’t fine you!

1. Restart browser (not just the tab, close all browser tabs and windows and re-open Chrome)
2. Try on another device (i.e. phone….download the Jitsi App and Google Chrome)
3. Reduce video quality (in NSDA Campus, click the three dots in the bottom right, select Manage Video Quality, and crank it down - and ask the rest of the room to do the same)
4. Turn camera off
5. Clear cookies
6. Incognito mode
7. Restart computer

Contacting Tab

In NSDA Campus, to the right of your room there is an info box. The fourth tab is contact:

Which opens up this:

Which will send a message directly to the tab email. You can also send an email directly. Please include the room number and full description of the problem!

Event Rules

Coin Flips

Following current NSDA rules, the round begins with a coin flip. The winner of the flip may choose which side of the topic to defend OR which speaking position to uphold. The other team makes the alternative choice.

NSDA Campus/Tabroom.com will manage the coin flip. Five minutes after a pairing is released, the teams will be notified who won the flip, enabling that team to make their selection. Debaters must check their email for the tabroom link! If they miss their chance, the other team will be given the choice. When they have chosen, or if five minutes elapses without a choice (8 minutes in elims), the second team will be offered the remaining choice.

Missing the flip email, if it works for everyone else, is your problem. If a system-wide error occurs, judges will manage the flip in the room - tab will notify judges if this is necessary, judges may NOT flip unless notified by tab.

Structure of a Round

Constructives - 4 min

Crossfire between 1st speakers - 3 min

Rebuttals - 4 min

Crossfire between 2nd speakers - 3 min

Summaries - 3 min

Grand Crossfire - 3 min

Final Focus - 2 min

The structure of a round is not modifiable, with the exception that speakers are not required to use all of their speech/crossfire time. That time is simply absorbed, not transferred to other activities.

Prep time

3 minutes - teams may ask for prep time in between any two elements of the round and may divide their prep time in any increments.

Calling for and sharing evidence

Any evidence read/cited in the round must be made available to the opponent upon request. Requests for evidence, and the time spent finding the evidence, is untimed in the round and MAY NOT be used for prep time for any debater. Teams ought to be able to find and electronically share their evidence very, very rapidly. If the time spent finding a piece of evidence is excessive, you may begin running prep time - however, the lack of prep time CANNOT be a reason to deny a team the chance to see their opponent’s evidence.

If a team simply cannot produce their evidence, or is out of prep time to find it, it should be tossed out of the round and not factored into your decision.

Time spent reading the opponent’s evidence must be timed in some way, either as prep time or while another speech/crossfire is underway.

Evidence challenges

The quality of evidence may be a part of the debate. In fact, good debaters make evidence comparisons. Here is a way to consider the escalation of evidence issues:

1. A team claims evidence is of low quality, from a disreputable source, uses a flawed methodology, etc. - decide this issue in the course of the debate based on the arguments made by the teams. Read the evidence after the debate if you’d like.
2. A team cannot produce evidence they read - disregard the evidence in your decision and pretend it was never mentioned
3. A team alleges that their opponent’s evidence is fabricated - this claim would, under NSDA rules, stop the round for the judge to determine win/loss in the debate based solely on the evidence challenge. Please confirm that this is a team’s intent before stopping the debate.

You can consult tab for help resolving these issues, but we cannot make the decision for you.

Strikes

Teams in both divisions will be able to enter judge strikes. This precludes a judge from being assigned to a team because the team doesn’t want the judge. Teams make these decisions based on judge paradigms, which is why only teams whose judges have paradigms may enter strikes.

Strikes will be open from Thursday at noon until Friday at 3pm. Teams will have 20 strikes in Varsity, 4 strikes in JV, and 6 strikes in Novice. Tabroom.com only allows coaches to enter strikes - we cannot change that setting for you. We cannot enter your strikes after the deadline.

Sanctity of strikes

Varsity strikes are sacrosanct unless removed for violations of tournament judging policies. We will do everything possible not to violate Novice and JV strikes.

Conflicts

Strikes are not conflicts, and conflicts are not strikes. Strikes are for judges you don’t like, conflicts are for judges who like you too much. A conflict means that a judge is - or, more importantly, would seem to be - too friendly to the debaters, such as a former coach, former teammate, someone who cuts lots of your evidence for you, someone you worked closely with at camp, someone you are related to, or someone you had or have a personal relationship with.

Mavericks

Public Forum is a team event. Students may not be registered as mavericks. In any non-bid division, if a student's partner has health or tech issues that prevent them from debating during one or more rounds, the remaining partner may continue to compete, at their discretion, with no additional prep time provided. In a bid division, both partners must participate in each debate or they will forfeit the round.  After 2 such forfeits, the entry will be removed from the tournament.

Final Round Norm

Participation in final rounds in every event is expected. If extenuating circumstances prevent participation in a final round, that information must come from coaches and not students. If students make their own arrangements to avoid final rounds, they will be disqualified from the tournament.

Miscellany

Implicit Bias Reminders

We live in a world that is filled with bias. While it may be impossible to completely separate ourselves from our worldview and the many factors that influence us on a daily basis, we can make a concerted effort to minimize the way our personal biases impact the way that we interact with students within this activity. The vast majority of adults within this activity do a phenomenal job of this throughout the season but we wanted to put out a few  reminders for everyone to take note of:

• Accents do not reflect intelligence.
• Race does not indicate socioeconomic status.
• Gender is fluid.
• There is no uniform in Speech and Debate. Your personal opinions about what a student chose to wear should not be indicated on your ballot.
• Pitch is not a personal choice.
• Positions that students take while competing don’t necessarily equate to their personal beliefs.
• Your beliefs on a topic should have no bearing on how you judge a speech or performance.
• Recognize that words do not exist in a vacuum.  Avoid using charged language on your ballots.
• You are the adult in the room. As such, please be mindful of how students will interpret what they see and hear you do. Please demonstrate respect in every aspect of the word.

Debate Speaker Point Scale

Speaker points are used to give a holistic measurement of the effectiveness of the debater’s participation in the round - speaking, strategy, decorum, etc. Judges must follow the speaker point scale, regardless of what they are used to or may prefer, so that there is a fair standard across all rounds. Plus, if we have a standard, points provide meaningful feedback instead of being arbitrary and useless!

29.5-30: I wish I could frame your speeches – hard to imagine a better speaker

29.1-29.4: you were consistently excellent

28.8-29.0: you were effective and strategic, and made only minor mistakes

28.3-28.7: you hit all the right notes, but could improve (e.g. depth or efficiency)

27.8-28.2: you mainly did the right thing, but left something to be desired

27.3-27.7: you missed major things and were hard to follow

27.0-27.2: you advanced little in the debate or cost your team the round

26.0-26.9: you are not ready for this division/tournament

Below 26: you were offensive, ignorant, rude, or tried to cheat (MUST come to tab)

Low-point wins (where the winning team has fewer points than the losing team) are allowed.

Content Warnings

In the spirit of creating a safe, respectful and inclusive space in every debate round, teams reading sensitive content ought to offer content warnings before a debate begins. If you are unsure of whether a content warning is appropriate, offer one. Debaters or judges who believe they will be psychologically harmed by hearing the content as described should be given an opportunity to indicate so in time to allow the debaters offering the warning to remove the triggering content.

Content warnings can be offered via Google Forms, text messaging, or verbally asking before a round. Please ensure that you have received a response from all parties.

Diversity and Inclusion

This year, the Liberty Bell Classic would like to emphasize NSDA’s core value of equity. We at the University of Pennsylvania believe that our competition should foster a sense of diversity and inclusion in every way possible, and in order to maintain a streamlined message, we would like to relay NSDA’s equity statement:

• The National Speech & Debate Association is committed to modeling and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion for all speech and debate communities.
• We are continuously transforming our organization to reflect and operationalize the values of equity, integrity, respect, leadership, and service.
• We will take responsibility.
• We will heed, learn, and evolve.
• We will work conscientiously to model and foster an inclusive and equitable speech and debate experience for all.

(UPDATED 1/20) In addition, the Liberty Bell Classic will be having a dedicated ombuds team to ensure that any violations of our core principles of diversity and inclusion are treated appropriately. We will be monitoring violation complaints by email at

penn.tournamentDEI@gmail.com and ask that you provide some essential information:

your name, your school, the round in which the incident occurred, and the name/school

of the violator. We also ask that your coach/primary adult contact be CC’d on the email for easy access. That being said, any member of the tournament may fill this out, and our ombuds team will respond promptly.

As a way to prevent such incidents from occurring, we highly encourage judges to read through the “Cultural Competence Training Handout” and watch the “Cultural Competence Training Video” on NSDA’s official website here.