April 24, 2021 Online Tournament Invitation

Online Tournament, Saturday, April 24, 2021

Sponsored by the English Speaking Union, Greenwich Branch

DEADLINES: ENTER TEAMS & JUDGES BY TUESDAY, APRIL 20 at 11 PM.

Rearrange team members, add judges, or delete teams or judges after that date by emailing Jen.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

EVENT	TIME
Judges enter Zoom	8:30 – 8:45
Judges’ Workshop (Zoom)	8:45 – 9:45
Debaters enter Zoom	9:30 – 9:50
Round 1 (Tabroom)	10:00 – 11:10
Round 2 (Tabroom)	11:15 – 12:25
Lunch Break	12:25 – 1:00
Round 3(Tabroom)	1:00 – 2:10
All enter Zoom (observers welcome)	2:30 – 3:00
Final Round (Zoom)	3:00
Awards	Immediately after Final Round – around 3:45

PLATFORM	USE/PURPOSE
Zoom	Judges’ Workshop, Debater morning meeting, Final Round
Tabroom.com	Website where Coaches register teams, teams are paired for Rounds, judges and debaters access NSDA Campus virtual debate rooms, and results and ballots are posted after tournament
NSDA Campus	Provider of virtual classrooms where 3 rounds of debate take place (access from tabroom.com)

Please review the CTMSDL Handbook for information on our format and rules:  https://ctmsdebate.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CTMSDL-Handbook-July-2019.pdf 

Coaches should make sure their judges understand the information in the Judges’ Instructions: https://ctmsdebate.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CTMSDL-Judges-Instructions-with-Rubric-2019.pdf

We will have Novice and Open divisions at this tournament; it is up to coaches to decide which category is appropriate for each of their teams.  Only Open Level debaters are eligible to win trophies.  Please read more on page 4 of the Handbook.

Coaches should register on Tabroom.com for the event ctmsdlapr24.  There is no cap on the number of teams a school may enter.  Coaches should also register one judge per every 2 teams entered.  We’ll run one Open debate per round in Zoom for observers and judges-in-training to watch. 

ZOOM:

Everyone must have a free Zoom account.  You need to be 16 to register for a Zoom account so debaters who don’t have school Zoom accounts should ask their parents to set up Zoom accounts for them.  This time we’ll have everyone register for the Zoom meeting.  Registrations will be sent to coaches and judges on Monday, April 19.  After someone registers, they will receive an email with the link to the Zoom meeting.  This link is unique to each person.

TABROOM.COM & NSDA CAMPUS virtual debate rooms:

For NSDA Campus to work, you must use Chrome to access Tabroom.com from a computer.

If you have to use a phone or tablet, download Chrome and an app called Jitsi Meet, then log onto Tabroom.com and you’ll be able to access your debate rooms through NSDA Classroom.

Every debater and judge must have a free Tabroom.com account.

Some school email addresses block emails from Tabroom so consider asking your debaters to use non-school email addresses to create their Tabroom accounts.

After setting up Tabroom accounts, judges and debaters should tell their coach the email address associated with their Tabroom account and Coaches should then link their debaters and judges to their school Tabroom account.

High School debaters who are judging must have Tabroom accounts but they don’t need to link to a Middle School.

This video explains how to sign up for a Tabroom account and how coaches should link those accounts to their school.  Debaters do not have to share their cell phone numbers with Tabroom.  Round pairings are emailed to everyone using the email address associated with their tabroom accounts (and also texted to those who supply cell phone numbers.)

These videos explain how NSDA Campus works.  WATCH WELL BEFORE TOURNAMENT DAY! 

For debaters:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocCK7jasgGc

For judges:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOFxYV2BZN0

PRACTICE:

Enter a virtual NSDA Campus debate classroom here:

https://campus.speechanddebate.org/?pw=room100

(Click Enable then TEST COMPETITION ROOM.)

TIPS on ONLINE DEBATING:

1. I am happy to schedule virtual meetings to go over everything with coaches, debaters and /or judges.
2. Debaters and judges should use headphones with microphones if there will be background noise at their location.
3. If possible, everyone should have their video on.
4. Everyone except the speaker should be muted.
5. Debaters should time themselves and each other so they know when it’s protected time.  Let your judge know if you need time signals.
6. Log into Tabroom.com before Round 1.  You’ll then be able to enter your virtual debate room by clicking on the video icon after we release Round pairings.
7. Judges should make sure all debaters are present with working video and audio.  Click ask for help or text Jen if you need assistance.  When all is well, pull up your online ballot in Tabroom and click Start Round.
8. If someone has technical difficulty during the round and can’t hear or has a lag, the judge should stop the debate and resume when the issue is resolved.  Judges can click “Ask for help” and a tournament administrator will join the round.
9. What to do if you have connection issues in NSDA Campus:
   1. Reduce video quality from high to standard to low (as needed) by clicking Manage Video Quality (hover over 3 dots on lower left of NDSA Campus screen).
   1. Turn off your camera.
   1. Contact Jen and we’ll move you to a Zoom breakout room.
10. Debaters should unmute and say “POC” or “POI” or “POO” (loudly) when they want to ask one of those.
11. After the round, judges should 1. submit win/loss and speaker scores 2. give oral feedback and then 3. Click Edit ballot and fill out RFD and feedback (judges may do this any time up until 9 pm Saturday night.)
12. Debaters should have a way to communicate with each other during prep time – by text, phone or a shared document.  Remember you are not allowed to do new research during rounds (including prep time).  You are allowed to research between rounds.
13. Each school should have someone who can troubleshoot during rounds.  If the Coach is judging, assign someone else to this task.  If a debater is missing from a round, this person will help find and connect them.
14. Contact Jen at 203-984-4902.
15. We’ll email the Zoom registration form to coaches and judges on Monday, April 19, 2021.
16. Have FUN 