Wisconsin Forensics Daily

Gearing Up: Workshop and Coaches Meetings

On Saturday the WDCA will offer a very affordable season opening workshop.  Workshops will be offered on many topics related to policy debate including but not limited to, negative strategy and theory, topic specific arguments, advanced disadvantages, topicality, flowing, and many other topics.  The workshop will also offer an advanced seminar, which has in the past been taught by Shrikanth Reddy, Bill Batterman, and Kevin Thom.  Sessions will also be offered for Public Forum and Lincoln Douglas debate – so there should be something for everyone.  To get more information and to register, surf over to http://www.wdca.org. 

During the first two sessions, the WDCA will also hold its fall business meeting.  Many topics will be discussed, the novice topics and the calendar will be approved, and any remaing issues before the season will be taken care of.  If you have an interest in helping debate grow in Wisconsin, attend the Coaches Meeting!  Information on this can also be found on the WDCA web site.  The link is above.

Conveniently, the WFCA is also hosting its fall business meeting on the same day, in the same location (Ripon College), but later in the afternoon.  Many topics there will also be discussed, including but not limited to:  eliminating LD as a spring category, standarizing the timing of categories (more on this in the comments), and various other issues.  Again, if you're interested in seeing forensics grow in WI, please come to the meeting.  To attend either meeting, you don't have to be a head coach or a member.  (You do, however, need to be a member or a head coach in order to vote).

UPDATE:   Bill Batterman will be teaching the Advanced Seminar.  Also, Nick Bubb and Brian Samuelson will be presenting a demo LD debate. I am formally starting a rumor that unlike Star Wars, I will not go out like Obi Wan.

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Gearing Up: Join the Judge List Serv

Are registered with Wisconsin Forensics Daily's Judge List Serv ?  If not, you should do so right now! 

The WFD Judge List Serv is a free email list available for coaches and judges.  The Judge List helps coaches by giving them a forum to access those hard to find judges, and conversely, the list helps judges find coaches who need their services.  The aim of the list is to connect people to debate in way that was not previously possible.

Again, if you’re interested in judging or you think you might need to find judges this season – join the WFD Judge List Serv . 

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Gearing Up: Where are you going next Season?

This post is intended to start a conversation about what debate tournaments schools are planning on attending, both in state and out of state.  To help facilitate that conversation, I have listed a tentative schedule of both national circuit of interest to most WI schools and Wisconsin tournaments that I know about.  Since college preparation tests often get in the way, I have also included those for convenience.  Please post away!

However, there are some notes that need to be made about the calendar below.  First, SAT/ACT dates are always on the Friday, not the Saturday and the information regarding those tests provided here relate only to the debate season.  For more information, check out their respective websites ACT and SAT.  Second, the Wisconsin Tournaments are merely tentative, and subject to change and approval at the WDCA Fall Business Meeting. The one exception to that note is the State Tournament.  Third, several other schools have expressed an interest in hosting a tournament, including but not limited to Nathan Hale, South Milwaukee, Sheboygan North, Spash, and Merill, but as of the WDCA Summer Exec Board meeting, none of those schools had moved beyond the initial planning stages.  Fourth, as invites are made availible to WFD, we will post them here. Additionally, invitations will be available through the WDCA website.  

September

• 8-9:  Grapevine Classic (TX)
• 15-17:  Wake Forest National Early Bird (NC), Yale (CT), Greenhill (TX), ACT  note: Greenhill starts on the 16 according to VBD
• 23:  WDCA Workshop in Ripon
• 29-1:  Valley Mid-America Cup (IA)

October

• 6-7:  New Trier (IL), Rufus King (WI), Waupaca (WI)
• 13-14: Big Bronx (NY), West Bend (WI), Hortonville (WI), SAT
• 19-22: St. Mark's (TX)
• 20-21: La Crosse (WI), Nathan Hale (WI)
• 27-28: Iowa Caucus (IA), EGR (MI), WI Teachers Convention, ACT

November

• 3-4:  Apple Valley (MN), University of Michigan (MI), SAT
• 10-11: Capitol City Challenge @ James Madison Memorial (WI)
• 17-18: Sheboygan South (WI), Mukwonago (WI)
• 18-20: The Glenbrooks (IL)
• 23:  Thanksgiving, no debate, pie

December

• 1-2: Alexandra Hoecherl Challenge and Patriot Debate Tournament @ Appleton East (WI), Greendale/Nathan Hale Challenge, SAT
• 9-10: Wisconsin State Debate Tournament (WDCA AND WHSFA State) @ Hortonville, ACT

January

• 12-13:  NFL District Tournament.  Northern and Southern WI Districts are held in the same location, during the same time.  This years combined tournament will be held in the Northern District. 

Posted in Gearing Up, News | 23 Comments »

Gearing Up: Potential LD Topics

Today's Gearing Up focuses on the Potential Topics for the Sept.-Oct. LD Topic.  Listed Below are the seven potential topics.  I am quite out of the loop on LD camp topics – if some one could provide a list, that would be swell.  

Potential Topics:

The US should accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

A just government should provide health care to its citizens.

Gender categorization ought to be deemphasized in schools.

A victim’s deliberate use of deadly force is a just response to repeated abuse.

School administrators are justified in exercising editorial control over secondary school publications for reasons other than legal liability.

In matters of family planning, the autonomy of the adolescent should outweigh the competing interests of the parent/guardian.

Mandatory term limits for elected officials are antithetical to representative democracy.

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Lessons Learned from Minnesota: Suggestions to Improve WI LD

Wissconsin Forensics Daily's lead up to the Debate Season – Gearing Up – continues today with a guess column focusing on the one person debate – Lincoln/Douglas Debate.  Fresh after a year of coaching in Minnesota, former WDCA LD State Champion Liz Vieira returns to the state of LD debate in Wisconsin with fresh eyes.  In a spirit of community building and improving LD debate, Liz has written the following article on how to foster competition and education in Wisconsin.

Check the full article out below the break.  If other coaches and judges are interested in writing similar guest columns, please contact Nick Bubb through our contact form. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Columns, Gearing Up | 13 Comments »

Gearing Up: WDCA Announces Novice Case Limitations

The novice case limitations appear below the main topic.  I offer a few observations, following the WDCA 's Executive Committee meeting: the first limitation incorporates the topic selected by the new Milwaukee Debate League (an urban-area education program of the National Debate Project), the second topic is an acknowledgement of the military draft, the third topic appreciates the runner-up topic (Africa) for the 2006-07 season, and the fourth topic involves an issue "close to home" for many current high school and college students.  Special thanks to (in no particular order): Jason Chapman, Thomas Noonan, Michael Traas, Cheryl Bachtell, Neil Young, Kristi Plamann, Nick Bubb and Laura Maly for their input and discussion at this year's meeting.  

Resolved: The United States federal government should establish a policy substantially increasing the number of persons serving in one or more of the following national service programs: AmeriCorps, Citizen Corps, Senior Corps, Peace Corps, Learn and Serve America, Armed Forces.

1. By increasing armed forces recruitment incentives for college students and graduates.
2. By instituting compulsory enlistment in the armed forces.
3. By expanding the Peace Corps in Africa.
4. By requiring service learning for graduation.

Posted in Gearing Up, News | 5 Comments »

Gearing up for Debate: Novice Topics

This brand, spanking new WFD column will offer articles as students prepare for the upcoming debate season.  Today's Gear Up takes a look at a perennially controversial issue in Wisconsin Debate – the Novice Topics.  Each year, I have heard endless complaints about the topics chosen by the organization.  For example, Vouchers not being included in the education topic, or potentially non-topical novice topic areas.  This discussion attempts to pre-empt the groan.  If we all can talk through a series of topics, then hopefully we'll end up with a more agreeable and educational set.

Posted in Gearing Up | 8 Comments »