Second Annual Lancer Invitational and Cougar Swing

We welcome you to the Second Annual Lancer Invitational and Cougar Swing, co-hosted by Eastern Wyoming College and Western Nebraska Community College on the EWC campus in Torrington, Wyoming September 29-October 1, 2017.

The tournament will offer six preliminary rounds of International Public Debate Association (IPDA) style debate with two divisions, novice and varsity, with an appropriate number of elimination rounds as proscribed by the IPDA charter. Debate will begin on Friday and conclude Saturday. The Lancer Invitational will also offer two preliminary rounds of AFA individual events on Saturday with appropriate elimination rounds. The Cougar Swing, held Sunday, will offer two preliminary rounds of all AFA events with appropriate elimination rounds. Students entered in IPDA will only be able to enter the Sunday swing for individual events as IPDA is in a conflict pattern with all Lancer Invitational Rounds.

All entries must be uploaded to SpeechWire by September 25, 2017 at 5 p.m. MST. Also, we have reserved a block of rooms at the Holiday Inn in Torrington under a block called “Lancer Invitational.” The rate is $91.00 per night + tax, but the block expires August 28. Details appear later in the invitation.

The tournament is adding a $20.00 per person charge to the entry fees for debate and $15.00 for individual events. For that charge, you will have a full dinner and lunch for debaters on Friday and Saturday for debate and a full lunch on Saturday for individual events and pizza or subs on Sunday. This also includes your parking passes and hospitality rooms for judges, coaches, and competitors.

We are excited to see you September 29, and look forward to a great season.

Sincerely,

Tournament Logistics
The debate portion of the tournament Friday and Saturday will be held on the EWC Campus located at 3200 West C. Street in Torrington, Wyoming. Individual events will be held at Torrington High School located at 2400 West C. Street on Saturday and at the EWC campus on Sunday. We are a small campus, so we appreciate your willingness to accommodate us.

Entry Methods and Costs
*EWC will be using Speechwire for registration and changes. Please register using Speechwire.
**Make checks payable to Eastern Wyoming College. We can also accept MasterCard and Visa. Cash is always an option.

Debate:
The cost for each IPDA entry is $35.00 for a covered entry. Uncovered entries are an additional $25.00 for each debater.

Individual Events:
Individual events entries will be $10.00 each and one judge covers six entries. Please see AFA guidelines for judges. Please keep that in mind when you fill out the entry form.

Each uncovered entry will be assessed an additional $10.00.

Flight A: EXT, POI, POE, DI, CA, ADS

Flight B: IMP, PRO, INFO, DUO, Pers

All individual events judges are required to adjudicate both Flight A and Flight B Finals.

Individual Fee: Debate Friday/Saturday $20.00 per person including coaches and competitors. You will get a meal ticket for dinner and for lunch as well as access to the judges/competitors/coaches lounge for snacks and a parking pass at EWC for both days.

Individual Events: Saturday/Sunday $15.00 per person including coaches and competitors. You will get a meal ticket for dinner on Saturday and Sunday lunch will be provided from Subway or Dominos. This also includes parking at EWC on Sunday at Torrington High School on Saturday.

Please make checks payable to Eastern Wyoming College. We will also be able to accept MasterCard and Visa, as well as cash.

Debate Parameters
Debate will be double-flighted. If you need a coach in preparation with your competitors, then please bring extra judges. One judge will cover four entries. We appreciate you bringing additional judges. All judges and all non-advancing competitors in IPDA must be available through the first two elimination rounds of competition.

IPDA defines a novice competitor as a student who is a currently enrolled in the institution. The student may not have competed “in more than eight debate tournaments in any capacity at in any level in any combination (e.g., high school or college; novice, junior or open, CX, Policy, Value, NDT, CEDA, Parliamentary, NFA, L-D, etc.)

IPDA defines a varsity competitor as any currently enrolled student at an undergraduate institution, who has not competed more than four years of intercollegiate competition.

The Structure of IPDA
IPDA is a one-on-one limited preparation format tailored to a lay audience. For more information regarding the rules, please go to: http://www.ipdadebate.info/constitution–bylaws.html

The basic parameters are as follows:

Students will congregate to select from five topics. The negative debater strikes first with the Affirmative striking second, until two propositions remain. The Affirmative will select between those two.

Students have thirty minutes from beginning of preparation time to speaking. We will enforce a two-minute forfeit rule.

The speeches names and times are as follows:

Affirmative Constructive – 5 minutes
Negative’s cross-examination of the Affirmative – 2 minutes
Negative Constructive – 6 minutes
Affirmative’s cross-examination of the Negative – 2 minutes
Affirmative Rebuttal – 3 minutes
Negative Rebuttal – 5 minutes
Affirmative Rebuttal – 3 minutes

We will keep with the spirit of IPDA and offer propositions of fact, value, and policy from which students can choose. We will also try to put in as many laypersons as possible to judge. IPDA bylaws and rules can be found here: http://www.ipdadebate.info/constitution–bylaws.html

The judging pool as proscribed by IPDA bylaws: “Individual Judges must be at least 18 years of age or be a currently enrolled college student representing the collegiate institution where they are currently enrolled. It is actively recommended that judging pools be made up of as wide a range of backgrounds, abilities, and perspectives as possible. Tournament directors are encouraged to use class or volunteer undergraduate students as judges.”

Students must arrive at their rounds on time. Students who arrive more than two minutes late, excepting a judging problem, will earn a forfeit for the round.

Elimination Rounds
Elimination round numbers will adhere to IPDA guidelines as follows:

Students will clear based on the following tiebreakers: (1) w-l record, (2) H/L adjusted speaker points, and (3) strength of opponents.

Individual Events Parameters
Rules: for the 11 AFA events should follow the AFA-NIET Event Descriptions which can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/afanietnew2/products-services/event-descriptions

Conflicts: Students may enter up to three events per pattern. Individual events will be offered as an open division available to any student eligible to compete under AFA guidelines. Students
may not cross-enter between IPDA and IE’s on Saturday.

Tie Breakers: Competitors will be advanced to out rounds based on lowest cumulative rank, then inverse reciprocals, then highest cumulative rating points. If after these criteria are applied there is still a tie, tied competitors will advance to the appropriate out round. Ranking in finals will follow this order Majority of first place rankings, Lowest cumulative ranking, Majority of preference based on each individual judges’ rankings, highest cumulative rating points, highest cumulative rating points after dropping high score, highest cumulative points after dropping low
score, highest cumulative points after dropping high/low scores.

Finals: Because we believe forensics should be educational, in events containing 8 or more competitors we will err towards at least 6 finalists in each event to ensure maximum experience and ballots. I.E.’s will break to semifinals at 40 entries, quarterfinals at 80.

Students are responsible for signing into all of their events prior to competition and must be on time. Students who fail to arrive on time will earn a “no show” and computer ranking of sixth in that round for that event.

Lodging
We have reserved a block of twenty rooms at the Holiday Inn in Torrington. The rate is $91.00 + tax, if you are outside the state of Wyoming. The block expires August 28, 2017. For reservations call (307) 532-7600 and ask for the “Lancer Invitational” block of rooms.

Should those run out, you might also consider the following options:

America’s Best Value Inn
1548 S. Main Street
Torrington, WY 82240
(307) 532-7118

The Days Inn
1555 Main Street
Torrington, WY 82240
(307) 532-4011

Parking and Map
The main campus of Eastern Wyoming College is located in Torrington, Wyoming, and is located at 3200 West C Street. When approaching the campus from the south, you will come up a steep hill and note a sign to turn in for cosmetology and welding programs, you may turn in there and park in that area or you may proceed to the next entrance and park in that lot. If you are bringing a shuttle bus, please let me know and I will give you the directions for parking, as EWC has a specific lot designated for that event.

Here is a link to the campus map: https://ewc.wy.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Map-front-self-tour-New.jpg

Awards – Lancer Invitational
All elimination round participants will receive awards, with substantive awards (trophies) for 1st-3rd place.

Pentathlon Awards will be given to the top three competitors who compete in five individual events.

Sweepstakes Awards: A first, second, and third place award will go to the top three colleges based upon cumulative results of debate and individual events. The process for awarding sweepstakes will consider the top three competitors in each event. The matrix for tabulation will be provided in your tournament packet.

EWC competitors are eligible for all awards, except for sweepstakes awards.

Accommodations
Should you or a member of your team need special accommodations, please ask. We are happy to help make the experience as enjoyable as possible.

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