Sunday, March 30, 2008
The Doubles
Thankfully none of us are judging so we're free to watch rounds. Most of the team is with me watching Mo. State OW vs. Towson CL. Lots of the D7 people are here too. It s a huge grudge match - Towson defeated this team at CEDA Nationals. Missouri State won the rematch round at the NDT. So this is big time. We're taping this for those who are at home and wish they could see it. It's been pretty engaging so far. More later
Rnd. 8 Results
Well,
Matt and Kevin lost on a 3-0. We were the pull-up meaning that we debated a team that was already 5-2 when we were 4-3 (for the parents out there). We got a lot of apologies and well wishes from the other team and Wake coaches, as well as the judges. Even when we lose, we win.
Nick and Sean won their last debate ever, we're all really proud of them for the fine career they've had over the last eight years. We defended ourselves against bad disads with no links and even dumber Lacan kritiks.
Thanks for playing at home kids. Look for further guest posts later tonight.
Matt and Kevin lost on a 3-0. We were the pull-up meaning that we debated a team that was already 5-2 when we were 4-3 (for the parents out there). We got a lot of apologies and well wishes from the other team and Wake coaches, as well as the judges. Even when we lose, we win.
Nick and Sean won their last debate ever, we're all really proud of them for the fine career they've had over the last eight years. We defended ourselves against bad disads with no links and even dumber Lacan kritiks.
Thanks for playing at home kids. Look for further guest posts later tonight.
Round the eighth
KS is neg vs. Wake GL with a panel of Strait, Wallace, and Watson
JR is aff vs. Wichita State CR with a panel of Gerber, Hanson, and Tews
I'm juding Samford GR vs. Richmond CS. Wondering when I was going to get around to judging those Richmond guys.
Rounds start at 1:45pm. Here we go again. Time for the big push.....
JR is aff vs. Wichita State CR with a panel of Gerber, Hanson, and Tews
I'm juding Samford GR vs. Richmond CS. Wondering when I was going to get around to judging those Richmond guys.
Rounds start at 1:45pm. Here we go again. Time for the big push.....
Rnd. 7 Results
KS picked up on a 2-1. Texas went for a QPQ K, 2 judges voted on the perm. The pressure is on for next round.
JR unfortunately lost on a 2-1 to their rivals UTD RS. We picked up Dinger, but lost Dallas and Pam. We went for T. Dinger did come up and give the two of them hugs and handshakes afterwards. Not sure what else to say. It sucks, but we'll press on.
Its currently lunchtime. We're trying to narrow down the possibilities of who we could hit in round 8. This round is another 'Must Win' for Matt and Kevin to break. The heat is on...
JR unfortunately lost on a 2-1 to their rivals UTD RS. We picked up Dinger, but lost Dallas and Pam. We went for T. Dinger did come up and give the two of them hugs and handshakes afterwards. Not sure what else to say. It sucks, but we'll press on.
Its currently lunchtime. We're trying to narrow down the possibilities of who we could hit in round 8. This round is another 'Must Win' for Matt and Kevin to break. The heat is on...
Mid round update
While the 2N is prepping what promises to be a rousing Rights Malthus debate against Georgetown's new aff...
UTD RS is reading a new aff against Nick and Sean. They let it slip that its still a Syria aff. We shall see what goes down.
Not sure what Texas will do against Matt and Kevin. We're pretty sure its probably going to be critical. I think we're ready to go on anything they could say, as Clint said, this is where all the work from earlier in the year getting answers to major critical positions will pay off.
UTD RS is reading a new aff against Nick and Sean. They let it slip that its still a Syria aff. We shall see what goes down.
Not sure what Texas will do against Matt and Kevin. We're pretty sure its probably going to be critical. I think we're ready to go on anything they could say, as Clint said, this is where all the work from earlier in the year getting answers to major critical positions will pay off.
Round the Seventh
KS is aff vs. Texas BH with a panel of Atchison, Hamilton, and Hester - no idea. I heard they said Wipeout in front of Judd at Wake.
JR is neg vs. UTD RS with a panel of Bowman, Perkins, and Waldinger - grudge match in a break round!!! I think its a Syria Golan aff.
I'm judging Georgetown HK vs. Iowa SV
By request: KS has 9 ballots, JR has 7
Rounds start at 9. IT'S GO TIME!!! Wish us luck!
JR is neg vs. UTD RS with a panel of Bowman, Perkins, and Waldinger - grudge match in a break round!!! I think its a Syria Golan aff.
I'm judging Georgetown HK vs. Iowa SV
By request: KS has 9 ballots, JR has 7
Rounds start at 9. IT'S GO TIME!!! Wish us luck!
Day Three - The morning
Morning. The sun rises. We awake. Drive to campus. We are again the first team here. We won the NDT race. In your face everyone that's not us! Its very quiet. Everyone is doing some sort of work. The only noise is the tap of keyboards and the squeak of highlighting. We're also filling out the elim round strike sheet. Because we plan on being in elims.
Most of us know the 'Break Round' feeling. That sort of permeates the atmosphere right now. Both teams are in a 'Must Win Both Rounds' situation. As previously stated, rounds 7 and 8 are today, followed by the first elim round. Not sure if anybody saw Will's comment on the previous post, but I think it's worthy of being on the front page:
To quote Tim's legendary comment from Clint and Struth's equally legendary 2006 NDT run: "We'll be coming in through the back door."
Tim was right then, and I think Will is right now.
Given the situation, the coaching staff worked late into the night. I'm not sure Adri even slept at all. This is the moment.
To quote John Ashcroft - Let the Eagle soar, like she's never soared before....
Most of us know the 'Break Round' feeling. That sort of permeates the atmosphere right now. Both teams are in a 'Must Win Both Rounds' situation. As previously stated, rounds 7 and 8 are today, followed by the first elim round. Not sure if anybody saw Will's comment on the previous post, but I think it's worthy of being on the front page:
To quote Tim's legendary comment from Clint and Struth's equally legendary 2006 NDT run: "We'll be coming in through the back door."
Tim was right then, and I think Will is right now.
Given the situation, the coaching staff worked late into the night. I'm not sure Adri even slept at all. This is the moment.
To quote John Ashcroft - Let the Eagle soar, like she's never soared before....
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Rnd. 6 Results
real quick becuase I've got work to do -
KS lost on a 3-0 to Emory MS and JR lost on a 3-0 to Texas TW. Both teams are 3-3, so we're just gonna win all four tomorrow.
Maybe more later.
KS lost on a 3-0 to Emory MS and JR lost on a 3-0 to Texas TW. Both teams are 3-3, so we're just gonna win all four tomorrow.
Maybe more later.
Round the Sixth
Ross Smith, the director of debate at Wake Forest, announced that the RAND fellowship went to Debbie Lai from MSU. Congrats to her on the prestigious award - its basically full tuition and stipend to grad school at arguably one of the most prestigious think tanks out there.
For round 6 - thankfully the last round today:
KS is neg vs. Emory MS with a panel of Stables, Vega, and Dinger - another first round team - they won ADA Nats, we've got their number....
JR is neg vs. Texas TW with a panel of Hardy, McCullum, and Sharp - lots of hot air in this debate. This is the aff with the statistics framework contention. Unless they break a new one. We shall see.
I'm judging Binghampton GM vs. Georgetown FM --- I know, I'm as confused as you are.
For round 6 - thankfully the last round today:
KS is neg vs. Emory MS with a panel of Stables, Vega, and Dinger - another first round team - they won ADA Nats, we've got their number....
JR is neg vs. Texas TW with a panel of Hardy, McCullum, and Sharp - lots of hot air in this debate. This is the aff with the statistics framework contention. Unless they break a new one. We shall see.
I'm judging Binghampton GM vs. Georgetown FM --- I know, I'm as confused as you are.
Rnd. 5 Results
JR picked up on a 2-1 - apparently the politics disad isn't intrinsic - you can do both at the same time. Thats truth with a capital T behind that one.
KS dropped on a 2-1 - tough loss. Sorry guys!
I won my debate, it was a 3-0 for the neg from USC JJ.
We're currently waiting for new pairings and debating about such things as who is a better roommate, who did worse at spanish, and something Matt has coercivly censored as an appeal to all the fond memories I have of him. Also, where we should eat dinner, which is arguably the most important.
They're blaring some horrible music over the speakers in an effort to reconcile partner differences because they think its cute or something. Its utterly intolerable. I'm about to pour battery acid in my ears. Round 6 pairings are coming.
KS dropped on a 2-1 - tough loss. Sorry guys!
I won my debate, it was a 3-0 for the neg from USC JJ.
We're currently waiting for new pairings and debating about such things as who is a better roommate, who did worse at spanish, and something Matt has coercivly censored as an appeal to all the fond memories I have of him. Also, where we should eat dinner, which is arguably the most important.
They're blaring some horrible music over the speakers in an effort to reconcile partner differences because they think its cute or something. Its utterly intolerable. I'm about to pour battery acid in my ears. Round 6 pairings are coming.
Round the Fifth
KS is aff vs. Harvard BP with a panel of Bowman, Mike Davis, and Stevenson - this is Harvard's K team, but we've beaten them before.
JR is aff vs. MSU LM with a panel of Abelkop, Hahn, and Neighbors - probably a big elections DA
I'm judging MSU EL vs. USC JJ
Rounds start at 1:30. GOOD LUCK!
JR is aff vs. MSU LM with a panel of Abelkop, Hahn, and Neighbors - probably a big elections DA
I'm judging MSU EL vs. USC JJ
Rounds start at 1:30. GOOD LUCK!
Rnd. 4 Results
KS picked up on a 2-1 against Weber - take that eschatology!
JR lost on a 3-0 to West GA. Its okay - those two are too old to debate, and Clint's earlier comment definetly applies.
I watched Texas's Famine aff with the statistics good framework. It was quite interesting.
Lunch is now, Rnd. 5 to come....
JR lost on a 3-0 to West GA. Its okay - those two are too old to debate, and Clint's earlier comment definetly applies.
I watched Texas's Famine aff with the statistics good framework. It was quite interesting.
Lunch is now, Rnd. 5 to come....
Round the fourth
UMW KS is aff vs. Weber State CD with a panel of Buntin, Gottbrecht, and Taylor – its likely to be a big K debate about God and the end of the world.
UMW JR is neg vs. West GA LS with a panel of Mike Davis, Souders, and Healther Walters – this is a first round team, its probably a Poppies aff.
Tim and Adri are both judging Miami VW vs. Georgetown FM
I am not judging – sweet!
UMW JR is neg vs. West GA LS with a panel of Mike Davis, Souders, and Healther Walters – this is a first round team, its probably a Poppies aff.
Tim and Adri are both judging Miami VW vs. Georgetown FM
I am not judging – sweet!
Google was down
I’m writing this post in Word and will post it when I get access back to the blog. It seems that most of Google is down at the moment, and the blog site is run by Google. Its currently 6:50 local time. We’re sitting outside the big room, they won’t let us in until 7. We’ve been here for about ten minutes already. We beat pretty much every person but the campus staff doing setup. The guy who run’s CSU Fullteron’s debate team walked in about 5 minutes ago. We’ve set up the printer in the hall and are printing Jim and Jmart’s work from last night. It’s kind of funny, a group of us including me, Nick, Tim, and Jim are all sitting in a row along this stone bench thing, laptops all lined up. I imagine we look neat to the rest of the few people who are just now starting to trickle in.
I think they’re starting to let us into the room now. They’re setting up the projectors that project the pairing onto large screens as the match-ups are announced. Most everyone is furiously at work. Berkeley just rolled in.
Breakfast today is way better than yesterday, where they had gross breakfast food. Now they have delicious cinnamon rolls, crescent rolls, and coffee cake among other things. I’m highlighting cards for Kevin – Jim’s cards which were pretty sweet, especially given the crapiness of the disad they were meant to answer. Thanks Jim!
Seriously, Jim Lyle is a total bro. Most of the last few years he’s come to help out our teams at the NDT. The only time he didn’t was last year when Clarion’s Rob and Tay made school history with a clutch first-time qualifier to the NDT. But this year, with Clarion minus a varsity team, we get the pleasure of Jim’s coaching. The only draw back is that Jim can’t judge you afterwards. It’s a pretty tough trade-off—Jim’s coaching when it REALLY matters, or Jim’s judging during the whole rest of the year? Thankfully he can still judge our younger teams, which benefit from his wisdom at most tournaments they attend. So here’s to Jim Lyle – a dude, a bro, and a friend.
I think they’re starting to let us into the room now. They’re setting up the projectors that project the pairing onto large screens as the match-ups are announced. Most everyone is furiously at work. Berkeley just rolled in.
Breakfast today is way better than yesterday, where they had gross breakfast food. Now they have delicious cinnamon rolls, crescent rolls, and coffee cake among other things. I’m highlighting cards for Kevin – Jim’s cards which were pretty sweet, especially given the crapiness of the disad they were meant to answer. Thanks Jim!
Seriously, Jim Lyle is a total bro. Most of the last few years he’s come to help out our teams at the NDT. The only time he didn’t was last year when Clarion’s Rob and Tay made school history with a clutch first-time qualifier to the NDT. But this year, with Clarion minus a varsity team, we get the pleasure of Jim’s coaching. The only draw back is that Jim can’t judge you afterwards. It’s a pretty tough trade-off—Jim’s coaching when it REALLY matters, or Jim’s judging during the whole rest of the year? Thankfully he can still judge our younger teams, which benefit from his wisdom at most tournaments they attend. So here’s to Jim Lyle – a dude, a bro, and a friend.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Rnd 3. Results, Dinner, and the Aftermath
Matt and Kevin lost a very close debate to Dartmouth KO on a 2-1, the second first round team of the day they’ve debated. But they were excited at least that they picked up Dallas Perkins’ ballot. Nick and Sean won, also on a 2-1, against Pitt KR. Apparently debate is good. Never woulda guessed. They lost James Herndon. I don’t think we made enough (read: any) Packer indicts, against the advice of one of our most distinguished alums, Clint Woods. I think it may have been the round winner, maybe we could have picked up Herdon’s ballot.
I sat out in my round for Georgia DM. But I won a moral victory for myself by voting on Imperialism Good.
After a thorough brow-beating by Tim, we decided to go to an authentic Mexican restaurant. I’m not sure of the name. I was underwhelmed, but other people seemed to enjoy it.
The debaters have gone to bed. Jmart’s cutting some updates and Jim’s working on some disad answers. I’m in for 8 rounds, so I’m going to get some sleep. More to come tomorrow morning, bright and early!
I sat out in my round for Georgia DM. But I won a moral victory for myself by voting on Imperialism Good.
After a thorough brow-beating by Tim, we decided to go to an authentic Mexican restaurant. I’m not sure of the name. I was underwhelmed, but other people seemed to enjoy it.
The debaters have gone to bed. Jmart’s cutting some updates and Jim’s working on some disad answers. I’m in for 8 rounds, so I’m going to get some sleep. More to come tomorrow morning, bright and early!
Round the Third
UMW KS is neg vs. Dartmouth KO with the panel of Arnett, Perkins, and Ramanchandrappa -- this is a first round team.
UMW JR is aff vs. Pitt KR with the panel of Fitzmier, Foster, and J. Herndon -- a district 7 team that says debate bad and a bunch of other stuff.
Adri is juding UTD RS v. Mason HO
I'm judging Georgia DM v. Wake MS
Rounds start at 530. Good luck all!
UMW JR is aff vs. Pitt KR with the panel of Fitzmier, Foster, and J. Herndon -- a district 7 team that says debate bad and a bunch of other stuff.
Adri is juding UTD RS v. Mason HO
I'm judging Georgia DM v. Wake MS
Rounds start at 530. Good luck all!
Rnd. 2 Results
KS won on a 3-0 against Kentucky GG and JR lost on a 3-0 to Missouri State MM. I haven't actually seen Matt and Kevin since before round 1, so I can only imagine that they are pleased thus far. I'm currently with Tim, Jim, and Adri waiting for the two teams to show up for lunch. My debate must have been a quick decision or everyone elses took long because there aren't that many people here yet. Round three will be announced relativly soon. One of the nice things about the NDT is that there are only 3 rounds per day instead of the usual 4. Day three will encompass rounds 7 and 8 and the first elim. It provides a very useful couterpoint to the intensity of the tournament.
My round ended up being a T debate (*rolls eyes*) but at least it was a pretty quick 3-0 for the negative given that the aff was Kansas States Taliban negotiations aff, which isn't all that topical. I'll post the pairings in a bit.
My round ended up being a T debate (*rolls eyes*) but at least it was a pretty quick 3-0 for the negative given that the aff was Kansas States Taliban negotiations aff, which isn't all that topical. I'll post the pairings in a bit.
Round the Second
UMW KS is neg vs. Kentucky GG with a panel of Foster, Hanson, and Pointer -- likely to be an old school policy throw down.
UMW JR is neg vs. Mo. State MM with a panel of Harrigan, Hoe, and Reed -- the Mapes siblings are usually Kritik debaters
I'm judging Kansas State MZ v. MSU AW
Adri is judging UTD AB v. Wayne State NP
rounds start at 12:45 and lunch afterwards. Keep the momentum going!
UMW JR is neg vs. Mo. State MM with a panel of Harrigan, Hoe, and Reed -- the Mapes siblings are usually Kritik debaters
I'm judging Kansas State MZ v. MSU AW
Adri is judging UTD AB v. Wayne State NP
rounds start at 12:45 and lunch afterwards. Keep the momentum going!
Rnd. 1 Results
Matt sent out results to the team, but for those following along:
UMW KS vs UCS JJ: 2-1 UMW - I've been asked to make a Trojans reference, but in the interest of good taste....I'm gonna have to decline.
UMW JR vs Miami GV: 3-0 for UMW - now that's Miami Ohio, not Miami Florida. I'm not sure what their mascot is, so I can't really make a joke.
So they won both the first rounds -- GO EAGLES!
The coaches are waiting in the big room for Dr. Fritch to announe Round the Second (I'm not being weird, that's what they've traditionally been called at the NDT). Hopefully the debaters show up soon. Both teams are due neg...
UMW KS vs UCS JJ: 2-1 UMW - I've been asked to make a Trojans reference, but in the interest of good taste....I'm gonna have to decline.
UMW JR vs Miami GV: 3-0 for UMW - now that's Miami Ohio, not Miami Florida. I'm not sure what their mascot is, so I can't really make a joke.
So they won both the first rounds -- GO EAGLES!
The coaches are waiting in the big room for Dr. Fritch to announe Round the Second (I'm not being weird, that's what they've traditionally been called at the NDT). Hopefully the debaters show up soon. Both teams are due neg...
Round the First
Dr. Fritch, the tournament director is about to take the podium once the tournament host from CSU Fullerton finishes announcements.
UMW KS is aff v. USC JJ with Decker, Harrigan, and Newnam in the back.
UMW JR is aff v. Miami VW with Brooks, Galloway, and Mannino in the back.
I'm judging Kansas BJ v Whitman CM
Tim is judging Mo. ST OW v Georgia DM
Not sure if Adri is judging.
Rounds start at 9am, rnd 2 pairings at 11:45. GOOD LUCK KS AND JR!!!!
UMW KS is aff v. USC JJ with Decker, Harrigan, and Newnam in the back.
UMW JR is aff v. Miami VW with Brooks, Galloway, and Mannino in the back.
I'm judging Kansas BJ v Whitman CM
Tim is judging Mo. ST OW v Georgia DM
Not sure if Adri is judging.
Rounds start at 9am, rnd 2 pairings at 11:45. GOOD LUCK KS AND JR!!!!
The Man Scout
This is a little bit about Jmart's role in this weekend's proceedings. In addition to cutting updates and other assorted files over the last few days and highlighting blocks - he is also an official tournament scout. The Man Scout if you will. The tournament gets a bunch of people to watch rounds and make reports about what went down in the round and take some cites and everything. Jmart is one of those people. He preformed these functions last year, and as a result is a big man on campus in the scouting league, as one of the only returning scouts. In addition, we may have him man the camera and record some of the rounds he watchs for future posterity. We still want to capture some of the elims, so we'll have to be spares on what we tape, but it should still promise to be a great show. Also, the tournament scouting people vote on who the most helpful scouts are (the coveted Super Scout designation), which Jmart got cheated out of last year due to bad internet and other barriers to turning in scouting reports (according to Jmart). We shall see if this year is the one that Jmart transforms into the Super Scout
PS - Jmart has given up his time to come out here and help the four debaters. Coming out for basically a week, missing class, doing lots of work, and scouting for the tournament. Just because he could. Its definetly worth it to take a sec and thank him for his tireless devotion to the success of team. Thanks Jmart!
PS - Jmart has given up his time to come out here and help the four debaters. Coming out for basically a week, missing class, doing lots of work, and scouting for the tournament. Just because he could. Its definetly worth it to take a sec and thank him for his tireless devotion to the success of team. Thanks Jmart!
Calm Before the Storm?
The title of this post is somewhat misleading, as its not that calm. Its quiet because until about a few minutes ago when Emory rolled in, we were the only sqaud here. That's how we are. KS and JR are highlighting up a storm while the coaches try and navigate the internet situation - which is not cooperating at the moment. I'm on Guest Access so that I can bring you all the blow-by-blow. Jim and Adri have turned out some choice args this morning, so we had to make sure those were printed and distributed. MSU also just showed up. Everyone on the squad is hard at work sharpening the knives, so to speak.
Pairings come out at 8am (our time) so we've got some time to finish up what we're doing. There's also a breakfast being served in 20 mins, which I'm lookign forward to, Sean probably is too. Jmart is highlighting some ev, before he gets taken and assigned to official scouting duties. More on that later I think.
I'll post the pairings when they happen. It is now most certainly GO TIME.
Pairings come out at 8am (our time) so we've got some time to finish up what we're doing. There's also a breakfast being served in 20 mins, which I'm lookign forward to, Sean probably is too. Jmart is highlighting some ev, before he gets taken and assigned to official scouting duties. More on that later I think.
I'll post the pairings when they happen. It is now most certainly GO TIME.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Nick and Sean
One more thing I wanted to do before the tournament actually begins in earnest tomorrow, is briefly throw the spotlight on Nick and Sean. These two are finishing off their debate careers at this NDT. Both had competetive and successful careers for four years in high school and are each rounding out their eight consecutive year in the activity. Both of them were nominees for arguably the most prestigious award in the ADA, the Julia Burke award - a testament to the outstanding character each brings to the team and to the community. I can say that both of them have had an impact on my debate career, how I view the activity, and my life in general (after having lived with them my senior year). I know many of the underclassmen feel the same way I do about these two. The team will certainly miss their unique characters. We wish you both good luck at the end of your careers!
The Banquet
So we just got back from the dinner I mentioned previously. For those hanging in suspense, Berkeley won the Copeland, as expected. The keynote speech was too bizarre to really get in depth about. Some people retired, some awards were given...I wasn't really engaged. The important thing is that we had fun and nobody got hurt. We'll be doing some last minute printing - especially the file that other distinguished alums Will Collins and Clint Woods collaborated on. And by collaorated, I mean...well I'll let Will's email speak for itself:
Incomplete transcript of Clint's promises to "contribute" to the file:
Last week - "Yeah, I got this on lockdown."
Tuesday - "Yeah, we'll collaborate on this bad boy."
Wednesday - "I'll send what I have along as soon as possible."
Thursday, noonish - "You got this on lockdown, right? I should be able to handle at least some of it."
Thursday evening - "I'll send my stuff over as soon as possible."
Still waiting....
Thank you Larry Kudlow. You know who you are...
Either way, I'd like to take this time to recognize the great work being done by those of you playing along from fabulous Fred Vegas. The rest of the squad has been cranking out cards, and I can't go for more than 10 minutes without a new email in my inbox. Due to the time difference, while it is barely 9:30pm here its nearly 12:30am back home. I'm sure I speak for Matt, Kevin, Nick, and Sean - as well as the coaching staff - when I say thank you all! I'll also apologize in advance for the late nights you'll probably get when we need last minute late night updates. I know you'll come through, you always do.
Back to the grind....
Incomplete transcript of Clint's promises to "contribute" to the file:
Last week - "Yeah, I got this on lockdown."
Tuesday - "Yeah, we'll collaborate on this bad boy."
Wednesday - "I'll send what I have along as soon as possible."
Thursday, noonish - "You got this on lockdown, right? I should be able to handle at least some of it."
Thursday evening - "I'll send my stuff over as soon as possible."
Still waiting....
Thank you Larry Kudlow. You know who you are...
Either way, I'd like to take this time to recognize the great work being done by those of you playing along from fabulous Fred Vegas. The rest of the squad has been cranking out cards, and I can't go for more than 10 minutes without a new email in my inbox. Due to the time difference, while it is barely 9:30pm here its nearly 12:30am back home. I'm sure I speak for Matt, Kevin, Nick, and Sean - as well as the coaching staff - when I say thank you all! I'll also apologize in advance for the late nights you'll probably get when we need last minute late night updates. I know you'll come through, you always do.
Back to the grind....
The First Two Days
Since I got a late start on this thing, I'm going to condense the first two days we've had here. First off, where here is. This year's NDT is held in sunny California - Fullerton to be specific. The tournament is hosted by CSU Fullerton. Its low to mid 70s here and sunny. I’m wearing shorts and a T-Shirt. Be jealous.
Anyway, we flew out at 7am Eastern from Dulles – we left fabulous Fredericksburg around 4am. We flew jetBlue which was totally sweet – they have cable TV and lots of leg room. We arrived at Long Beach airport around 9:45ish Pacific. We spent most of the rest of the day checking in, setting up, and doing work. Everyone here has been cutting cards, highlighting ev, filing blocks, and just generally getting in the groove.
It’s been kind of the same story for most of today. We got up on tournament time, got a team breakfast and had a rousing conversation about thresholds for sending food back at restaurants for wrong orders. We also took the team picture today. Thankfully, Jim Lyle arrived just minutes prior to the picture, and we were all glad to have him both in the picture and here in general. Hopefully I’ll get a hold of the team picture and post it here, provided I figure out how.
We’re about to go to the pre-tournament dinner thing where they have food and give out the big awards. The big buzz is the Copeland Award - the award given each year to the top team coming into the tournament as voted by the NDT committee. Our distinguished coach Adrienne is one such honoree. I hear Berkeley is probably the favorite, but Emory and Harvard are also close contenders. We’ll just have to wait and see who it is. I think it’s also neat that UMW knocked that Berkeley team out of the Wake Forest tournament earlier in the season in the doubles, and we’ve also got multiple wins against that Emory team as well.
So, we've made an impressive little niche for UMW debate on the national circuit - to say the least.
Anyway, we flew out at 7am Eastern from Dulles – we left fabulous Fredericksburg around 4am. We flew jetBlue which was totally sweet – they have cable TV and lots of leg room. We arrived at Long Beach airport around 9:45ish Pacific. We spent most of the rest of the day checking in, setting up, and doing work. Everyone here has been cutting cards, highlighting ev, filing blocks, and just generally getting in the groove.
It’s been kind of the same story for most of today. We got up on tournament time, got a team breakfast and had a rousing conversation about thresholds for sending food back at restaurants for wrong orders. We also took the team picture today. Thankfully, Jim Lyle arrived just minutes prior to the picture, and we were all glad to have him both in the picture and here in general. Hopefully I’ll get a hold of the team picture and post it here, provided I figure out how.
We’re about to go to the pre-tournament dinner thing where they have food and give out the big awards. The big buzz is the Copeland Award - the award given each year to the top team coming into the tournament as voted by the NDT committee. Our distinguished coach Adrienne is one such honoree. I hear Berkeley is probably the favorite, but Emory and Harvard are also close contenders. We’ll just have to wait and see who it is. I think it’s also neat that UMW knocked that Berkeley team out of the Wake Forest tournament earlier in the season in the doubles, and we’ve also got multiple wins against that Emory team as well.
So, we've made an impressive little niche for UMW debate on the national circuit - to say the least.
The Intro
This if the official blog chronicling the run that two UMW teams make at the 2008 National Debate Tournament. My name is Scott, one of the distinguished alums from the UMW debate program. I help out with the team from time to time, and am most honored to be bringing an account of how this tournament goes.
For those of you who are following who may not be debaters, or who aren’t as plugged into the community – This year’s resolution is: The United States federal government should increase its constructive engagement with the government of one or more of: Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and the Palestinian Authority, and it should include offering them a security guarantee(s) and/or a substantial increase in foreign assistance.
This year, for the third year in a row, we have two teams in attendance here. Matt Struth ( a junior from VA) and Kevin Kallmyer (a sophomore from MD) make up one team and our other team consists of Sean Jansen (a senior from VA) and Nick Ryan (a senior from IA). The support staff consists of: Tim O’Donnell (Director of Debate at UMW), Adrienne Brovero (UMW Debate Coach), Jim Lyle (Director of Debate at Clarion University in PA), Jason Martin (current debater at UMW, a junior from TX), and myself.
For those of you who are following who may not be debaters, or who aren’t as plugged into the community – This year’s resolution is: The United States federal government should increase its constructive engagement with the government of one or more of: Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and the Palestinian Authority, and it should include offering them a security guarantee(s) and/or a substantial increase in foreign assistance.
This year, for the third year in a row, we have two teams in attendance here. Matt Struth ( a junior from VA) and Kevin Kallmyer (a sophomore from MD) make up one team and our other team consists of Sean Jansen (a senior from VA) and Nick Ryan (a senior from IA). The support staff consists of: Tim O’Donnell (Director of Debate at UMW), Adrienne Brovero (UMW Debate Coach), Jim Lyle (Director of Debate at Clarion University in PA), Jason Martin (current debater at UMW, a junior from TX), and myself.
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