Tournament Code of Conduct
- You are an adult for the duration of the tournament and responsible for your actions!
- You may NOT talk to any adult during your preparations for the debate round. Doing so is a serious offense and constitutes cheating! You may however talk to ANY other debater at the tournament and work together to prepare, including sharing notes.
- You may NOT spy on your opponent during prep-time. Doing so is a serious offense and constitutes cheating!
- You may drink, but NOT eat during the debate round.
- Show your Respect and Control at all times during the tournament. Good behavior and appreciation for all those helping to run the tournament DO matter.
Advice
- Pack your things the night before the tournament – see: Debater Prep.
- You will want to be very careful not to lose your belongings! Debaters frequently forget their notebooks at tournaments. We usually cannot help you if you do.
- Take care of your timers! The batteries could fall out or it could break.
- You are an adult for the day. Be the best adult you can be!
- Remember, judges will be watching you all day! The better behaved you will be, the more likely they will expect you to be a strong debater.
- Talking to other debaters can be very helpful before the round. However, too much talking can be distracting. Make sure to use your prep time wisely!
- You might have long breaks. Go have FUN and MEET new people! This can be one of the best experiences of the tournament.
- Be polite to other debaters and you will make lots of friends. A good debate round can make great friends, no matter who lost or won!
- You will win some and lose some. The more you debate, the better you will get! The more others debate… the better they will get. You are doing VERY well, if you consistently win more than half of your rounds, over the lifetime of your debate career. No one wins them all!
- Learn from the rounds you do not win! You can actually learn the MOST from these. They are key to becoming successful. Being angry or bitter about not winning will block you from learning to get better. Think about your Real Goal!
- Change, then change a LOT, then maybe even change some things back. Learn! Then learn some more… followed by learning. Grow, fail, then pick yourself up and do it all over again. Get your feelings hurt and become stronger from it. Help someone, who has their feelings hurt and become great!
- Show you are strong, by being humble. Enjoy when things go well. Share in others joy, especially your opponents. Then you always win!