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'''The Tournament of Champions''' is a [[high school]] [[debate]] tournament held annually at the [[University of Kentucky]] on the last weekend of April. It is the most prestigious tournament on the "national circuit," representing the most competitively successful debaters from the nation's most prestigious invitational debate tournaments. The tournament was founded by Dr. J.W. Patterson, former director of debate at the [[University of Kentucky]]. The sixteen debaters or debater pairs who reach elimination rounds annually represent the pinnacle of American high school debate.
‘’’The Tournament of Champions’’’ is a national high school debate tournament held at the [[University of Kentucky]] every year on the last weekend in April. The Tournament is the most prestigious high school tournament on the “National Circuit,” with debaters having to apply to compete. The tournament uses a bid system, in which placing high enough in certain, nationally or regionally respected tournaments earns debaters a bid, with at least 2 bids needed to compete. In addition to this, competitors can automatically qualify by placing high enough at last year’s tournament (or one of the two other national tournaments) or by getting accepted as an at large entry.


Since its inception in 1972, the Tournament of Champions has emerged as the premier championship for high school debaters who frequently compete nationally in [[policy debate]], [[Lincoln–Douglas debate]], [[public forum debate]], and [[Congressional Debate]].
The tournament was created by Dr. J.W. Patterson, the former director of debate at the University of Kentucky. Incepted in 1972, it serves as the pinnacle of high school debate, allowing the best debaters in the United States to compete without other, less experienced debaters affecting the rankings. The Tournament currently holds competition in [policy debate]], [[Lincoln–Douglas debate]], [[public forum debate]], and [[Congressional Debate]].


The Tournament of Champions functions as an independent tournament rather than an overarching organization governing high school debate, like the [[National Forensic League]] or [[National Catholic Forensic League]]. As such, the Tournament of Champions does not directly control the dozens of other national tournaments which occur weekly across the [[United States]]. Rather, the Tournament of Champions (or TOC) uses the results of other tournaments to provide the criteria for qualifying to its own event.
The Tournament of Champions is run independently by the University of Kentucky rather than under one of the larger leagues, such as the [[National Forensic League|National Speech and Debate Association]] or [[National Catholic Forensic League]]. However, it does use the rules from the National Speech and Debate Association, as do most of the qualifying tournaments. But the Tournament of Champions is completely independent of such qualifying tournaments. These qualifiers range from major national invitationals like Harvard and Yale to prestigious regional tournaments.


==History==
==History==

Revision as of 23:49, 5 September 2014

‘’’The Tournament of Champions’’’ is a national high school debate tournament held at the University of Kentucky every year on the last weekend in April. The Tournament is the most prestigious high school tournament on the “National Circuit,” with debaters having to apply to compete. The tournament uses a bid system, in which placing high enough in certain, nationally or regionally respected tournaments earns debaters a bid, with at least 2 bids needed to compete. In addition to this, competitors can automatically qualify by placing high enough at last year’s tournament (or one of the two other national tournaments) or by getting accepted as an at large entry.

The tournament was created by Dr. J.W. Patterson, the former director of debate at the University of Kentucky. Incepted in 1972, it serves as the pinnacle of high school debate, allowing the best debaters in the United States to compete without other, less experienced debaters affecting the rankings. The Tournament currently holds competition in [policy debate]], Lincoln–Douglas debate, public forum debate, and Congressional Debate.

The Tournament of Champions is run independently by the University of Kentucky rather than under one of the larger leagues, such as the National Speech and Debate Association or National Catholic Forensic League. However, it does use the rules from the National Speech and Debate Association, as do most of the qualifying tournaments. But the Tournament of Champions is completely independent of such qualifying tournaments. These qualifiers range from major national invitationals like Harvard and Yale to prestigious regional tournaments.

History

Origins

The Tournament of Champions was developed by J.W. Patterson, who has since performed the duties of tournament host. Patterson explained the idea, "When I became Director of Debate at the University of Kentucky in 1971, I raised the possibility of hosting a high school debate tournament. Thus, I spent several months exploring this possibility. I asked several questions. First, was there a need for another high school tournament and, if so, what kind? What time of year should it be held and how big should it be?".[1] Indeed, Patterson's experience in coaching high school policy debate at Muskogee Central High School in Oklahoma prior to accepting a position in the Communications Department at the University of Kentucky provoked Patterson to consider creating a new national championship.[1] However, when considering the need for another national championship tournament, he came to the conclusion that the major national tournaments in the early 1970s had three major problems. Patterson explains, "First, debaters overwhelmingly were crying out for flow-sheet judges. Many of them were being trained at institutes to argue before flow judges but most of them said they received very few such judges, either at Catholic or NFL Nationals and almost never at invitational tournaments. Second, both teachers and debaters complained overwhelmingly about the politics involved in high school tournaments. Many said that up to 75% of the time they were either judged by incompetent people or people with a strong political bias.Third, I heard a major complaint from those going to Catholic and NFL Nationals that there was much too much lag time between their district tournaments and NFL".[1] Thus, Patterson created the tournament with the hope that his competition would redress the major flaws with other national championships like those administered by the National Catholic Forensic League and the National Forensic League.

In its first competition, the 1972 Tournament of Champions was received by highly regarded policy debate teams positively. Patterson explains, "The first TOC was received very well. We had teams from coast to coast. As far as I could tell, there were a few qualified teams who refused to come but most did attend. At that time, most people in the know seemed to think that the top two teams in the country were from Toledo, Ohio, and Milwaukee. These two teams met at the TOC as well as the NFL final the same year".[1]

Advisory Committee

The Tournament of Champions continued to host the nation's best in policy debate following the 1972 tournament. However, after the first eight tournaments, Patterson recognized that the "national circuit" influence of the tournament required that the event adapt. Consequently, Patterson began to formalize a system of "Tournament of Champions Advisory Committees." Patterson said, "After the first few years, I began to realize the importance of seeking high school coaches’ advice on the TOC. Although it was, and still is, a Kentucky invitational tournament, I obviously recognized the importance coaches and debaters place on the TOC. I, therefore, leaned heavily on coaches advice in helping me keep the TOC as a major culminating event".[1] However, while the influence of the committee in making decisions regarding the administration of the TOC did begin in 1980, official formal committees were not established until 1990.[1]

Addition of Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Another major development in the Tournament of Champions' structure was the addition of Lincoln Douglas Debate. "LD" first appeared at the National Forensic League National Championship in 1980, but was not included in the TOC until 1986. Despite Patterson's efforts to include the event as early as 1983, strong opposition from the Advisory Committee prevented Patterson from adding Lincoln-Douglas.[1]

Addition of Public Forum Debate

The next event added to annual Tournament of Champions competition was Public Forum Debate. However, unlike Lincoln-Douglas Debate which boasted support by its proponents for inclusion into the Tournament of Champions, Public Forum Debate faced strong opposition against joining TOC competition from supporters and opponents of the event alike. On one hand, Public Forum structurally was created to rectify the "national circuit" idiosyncrasies like jargon and the extreme workload necessary to compete effectively that plagued Lincoln-Douglas and, on a greater scale, policy debate. Thus, as an event meant to be engaging for laypersons and experts on the event alike, the Tournament of Champions, an event celebrating the national circuit culture, seemed incompatible. Despite this argument, Public Forum was included in Tournament of Champions competition in 2004, but took place as a round robin unlike its peer events. In 2007, Public Forum debuted as a full fledged event with a full field and non-round robin pairings. To aid in eliminating the "national circuit" qualities of the competition in Public Forum, the Tournament of Champions utilized lay judges from the University of Kentucky to adjudicate rounds at the 2008.[1]

Addition of Congressional Debate

Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, Congressional Debate was added to the TOC after three years as an independent event.

Addition of Speech Events

In 2012, the TOC added two Speech Round Robins—in Extemporaneous Speaking and Original Oratory. In 2012 and 2013, admission to the Round Robins was by application, and the events featured strong but small pools. For 2013-2014, invitations to compete in the two Round Robins will be extended to the finalists of a number of strong national and regional tournaments; the champions of select other tournaments will be invited to compete. An application process for other strong competitors is in the process of being established.

All non-graduating Semifinalists and Finalists in these events who competed (in Extemporaneous Speaking and Original Oratory) at the 2013 National Forensic League's National Speech & Debate tournament received invitations to compete at the 2014 TOC.

Tournament procedure

Elimination procedure

In Lincoln-Douglas debate and policy debate, the TOC employs seven preliminary rounds and clears to octafinals. All entries with a 5-2 record have the opportunity to advance into the outrounds; as such, when more than sixteen entries have at least a 5-2 record, the Tournament of Champions holds the appropriate number of run-off rounds to determine which of the lower-seeded debaters will advance. For the first three years of its existence, the Public Forum division of the TOC was conducted in a Round Robin format.

In the 2011 TOC, a change was made such that LD employed 8 preliminary rounds. All entries with a 5-3 record can advance into outrounds; runoff rounds are held. This change was made because that way, each debater can debate on each side 4 times.

Lincoln-Douglas Debate debates the January–February National Forensic League topic. Public Forum Debate debates the April National Forensic League topic. Policy Debate teams debate that season's national high school topic.

Speech Round Robins

In 2014, the Speech Round Robins will each feature six rounds of competition. Competitors may end up competing against students from their own schools, as the first four rounds will be randomly sectioned, while the last two will be 'snake-paired' based on the composite scores earned by the competitors in previous rounds. Each RR will clear to a final round (or perhaps a semi-final round if turnout is particularly strong).

Location

Since its inception, the Tournament of Champions has been held on the campus of the University of Kentucky and at other locations in Lexington, Kentucky near the campus.

The Main Building in the foreground and the Patterson Office Tower in the background.

Currently, preliminary rounds of Lincoln-Douglas, Policy, Public Forum, and Congress are held directly at the University of Kentucky. However, after competition on Saturday and Sunday, the tournament moves to a central location to conduct its annual "Breakfast of Champions" ceremony as well as the elimination rounds. Since the 2007 Tournament of Champions, the final day of competition has taken place in conference rooms at the Downtown Hilton in Lexington, Kentucky.

Tournament of Champions Qualifying Tournaments

In order to qualify to the Tournament of Champions, competitors in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Policy debate, Public Forum Debate, or Student Congress must earn two "bids" at designated qualifying tournaments. "Bids" may be attained by reaching the "bid round" at certain tournaments (for instance, a quarterfinal bid gives bids to the top eight competitors, a finals bid gives bid to the top two competitors), which are given different bid statuses based on the strength, size, and geographic diversity of the tournament.[2] All competitors who have received two bids to the Tournament of Champions may apply using the regular application. Historically, every competitor with at least two bids has been accepted. However, the Tournament of Champions only guarantees that debaters receiving three or more bids will be accepted as it would be mathematically possible for the bid distribution to be so diverse that more debaters with two bids exist than spots available.

In the event that there are fewer than 70 fully qualified entries in an event, the Tournament of Champions then proceeds to admit "at-large applicants." A debater is entitled to consideration as an at-large applicant if he or she has acquired one bid during the season. Following the at-large application process, the TOC Advisory Committee in given the responsibility of ranking the applications, which are then combined to fill the remaining slots for the TOC.

Approved Qualifying Tournaments for Policy- 2013-2014

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIER- Octafinals at the 2013 TOC (when competing with same partnership)

The following Policy debate tournaments are OCTAFINALS qualifiers for 2013-2014:

  • Berkeley (CA)
  • Blake (MN)
  • Emory University (GA)
  • Glenbrooks (IL)
  • Greenhill School (TX)
  • Harvard University (MA)
  • Montgomery Bell Academy (TN)
  • St. Mark's School (TX)
  • University of Michigan (MI)

The following Policy debate tournaments are QUARTERFINALS qualifiers for 2013-2014:

  • Alta (UT)
  • Bronx Science (NY)
  • Dowling (IA)
  • Georgetown University (DC)
  • Golden Desert (NV)
  • Grapevine (TX)
  • Lexington (MA)
  • Meadows (NV)
  • New Trier (IL)
  • Notre Dame/Harvard Westlake (CA)
  • Ohio Valley (KY)
  • University of Texas at Austin (TX)
  • Wake Forest University (NC)

The following Policy debate tournaments are SEMIFINALS qualifiers for 2013-2014:

  • Arizona State (AZ)
  • Colleyville (TX)
  • University of Georgia (GA)
  • Gonzaga (WA)
  • Homewood Flossmoor (IL)
  • Houston-Memorial (TX)
  • Iowa Caucus (IA)
  • Lakeland (NY)
  • Scranton (PA)
  • Stanford (CA)
  • Valley (IA)

The following Policy debate tournaments are FINALS qualifiers for 2013-2014:

  • Bingham (UT)
  • Capitol Classic (MD)
  • Chattahoochee (GA)
  • Crestian (Pinecrest) (FL)
  • Fullerton (CA)
  • Heritage Hall (OK)
  • Kansas City Community College (KS)
  • La Costa Canyon (CA)
  • Long Beach (CA)
  • Niles Township (IL)
  • Omaha-Westside (NE)
  • Pennsbury (PA)
  • Samford University (AL)

Approved Qualifying Tournaments for Lincoln Douglas- 2013-2014

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIER- Octafinals at the 2013 TOC

The following LD debate tournaments are OCTAFINAL qualifiers for 2013-2014:

  • Apple Valley (MN)
  • Bronx Science (NY)
  • Glenbrooks (IL)
  • Greenhill (TX)
  • Harvard (MA)
  • St. Mark’s (TX)
  • Valley (IA)
  • Victory Briefs (Archer) (CA)

The following LD debate tournaments are QUARTERFINAL qualifiers for 2013-2014:

  • Alta (UT)
  • Berkeley (CA)
  • Blake (MN)
  • College Prep (CA)
  • Crestian (Pine Crest) (FL)
  • Emory (GA)
  • Lexington (MA)
  • Meadows (NV)
  • Stanford (CA)
  • Sunvitational (University School) (FL)
  • Yale (CT)

The following LD debate tournaments are SEMIFINALS qualifiers for 2013-2014:

  • Beltway/Capitol Classic(MD)
  • Dowling Catholic (IA)
  • Golden Desert (NV)
  • Grapevine (TX)
  • Hendrick Hudson (NY)
  • Iowa Caucus (IA)
  • Isidore Newman (LA)
  • Myers Park (NC)
  • Ohio Valley (KY)
  • Presentation HS (CA)
  • Princeton (NJ)
  • University of Puget Sound (WA)
  • University of Southern California (CA)
  • UT (TX)

The following LD debate tournaments are FINALS qualifiers for 2013-2014:

  • Brophy Prep (AZ)
  • Colleyville Heritage (TX)
  • Columbia (NY)
  • Federal Way (WA)
  • Houston-Memorial (TX)
  • Strake Jesuit (TX)
  • Newark (NJ)
  • Omaha Westside (NE)
  • Ridge (NJ)
  • Saint James (AL)
  • Scarsdale (NY)
  • University of Pennsylvania (PA)
  • Vestavia Hills (AL)
  • Wake Forest (NC)
  • Whitman (WA)
  • Winston Churchill (TX)

Approved Qualifying Tournaments for Congress- 2013-2014

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS:

  • Debaters who broke (semifinals or finals) at the 2013 TOC
  • Final Session at the 2013 NFL National Tournament
  • Top Six at the 2013 NCFL National Tournament

The following Congressional Debate tournament is a QUARTERFINAL round qualifier for 2013-2014:

  • Harvard University (MA)

The following Congressional Debate tournaments are SEMIFINAL round qualifiers for 2013-2014:

2013 NFL National Tournament

  • Berkeley (CA)
  • Emory University (GA)
  • Florida Blue Key (FL)
  • Glenbrooks (IL)
  • Yale (CT)

The following Congressional debate tournaments are FINAL round qualifiers for 2013-2014:

  • 2013 NCFL National Tournament
  • Bronx Science (NY)
  • Cypress Bay (formerly the Crestian Classic) (FL)
  • George Mason (VA)
  • Grapevine (TX)
  • Myers Park "Laird Lewis" (NC)
  • St. Joseph's Univ. "Villiger" (PA)
  • University of Texas - Austin (TX)
  • Winston-Churchill (TX)

The following Congressional debate tournaments are TOP SIX placement for 2013-2014:

  • Apple Valley (MN)
  • Arizona State University (AZ)
  • Bear Brawl (WA)
  • Blake (MN)
  • Brophy (AZ)
  • Clear Lake HS (TX)
  • Illinois Congressional Debate Association Tournament (February) (IL)
  • Isidore Newman (LA)
  • Katy Taylor(TX)
  • La Costa Canyon (CA)
  • Nova Titan (FL)
  • University of Pennsylvania (PA)
  • Pennsbury (PA)
  • Salina (KS)
  • University HS “FoleyTournament” (WA)
  • Wake Forest (NC)
  • Walt Whitman (MD)

Approved Qualifying Tournaments for Public Forum- 2014-2015

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS

  • Octafinals at the 2014 TOC
  • Octafinals at the 2014 CFL National Tournament
  • Top 14 at the 2014 National Speech & Debate Association National Tournament


OCTAFINALS

  • Apple Valley (MN)
  • Arizona State (AZ)
  • Berkeley (CA)
  • Blake (MN)
  • Bronx Science (NY)
  • Dowling (IA)
  • Emory (GA)
  • Florida Blue Key (FL)
  • Glenbrooks (IL)
  • Harvard (MA)
  • Myers Park (NC)
  • Princeton (NJ)
  • Stanford (CA)
  • Yale (CT)


QUARTERFINALS

  • Alta (UT)
  • Bellaire (TX)
  • Columbia (NY)
  • Cypress Bay (formerly Pine Crest) (FL)
  • George Mason (VA)
  • Golden Desert (NV)
  • Grapevine (TX)
  • Harker (CA)
  • James Logan (CA)
  • Lexington (MA)
  • Manchester-by-the-Sea (MA)
  • Nova Titan (FL)
  • University of Pennsylvania (PA)
  • University School "Sunvitational" (FL)
  • Villiger- St. Joseph's (PA)
  • Wake Forest (NC)


SEMIFINALS

  • Bingham (UT)
  • Carrollton (GA)
  • La Costa Canyon (CA)
  • Millard North (NE)
  • Millard West (NE)
  • Ridge (NJ)
  • Valley (IA)


FINALS

  • Beltway/Capitol Classic (MD)
  • SWSDI @ Horizon (aka Brophy) (AZ)
  • Central Valley “Bear Brawl” (WA)
  • Charlotte Latin (NC)
  • Cheyenne East (WY)
  • George Washington (CO)
  • Hendrick Hudson (NY)
  • The Hockaday School (TX)
  • Holy Cross (LA)
  • Isidore Newman (LA)
  • Lincoln-Southwest (NE)
  • Middleton (WI)
  • Plano West (TX)
  • Presentation HS (CA)
  • Scarsdale (NY)
  • Spain Park (AL)
  • St Andrew’s (MS)
  • University of the Pacific (CA)
  • Whitman (WA)
  • Winston Churchill (TX)

Results

Past Policy Debate Championship champions and runners up

Past Policy Debate Top Speakers

Past LD Debate Championship champions and Runner Ups

  • 1986: Hee-Sun Hong - The Bronx High School of Science (NY) ; Greg Hewett - Jenks High School (OK)
  • 1987: Scott Tucker - Twin Lakes High School (FL) ; Craig Tinsky - Miami Palmetto High School (FL)
  • 1988: Jonathan Koppell and Peter Colavito - The Bronx High School of Science (NY) - Close-out
  • 1989: David Kennedy - Regis High School (NY) ; Amy Forsee - Homewood High School
  • 1990: Chris Kellner - Tampa Jesuit High School (FL) ; Arthur Chu - Albuquerque Academy (NM)
  • 1991: Jeff Marcus - Miami Palmetto High School (FL) ; Bill Harrington - Regis High School (NY)
  • 1992: Michael Erickson - La Cueva High School (NM);Jason Baldwin - Vestavia Hills High School (AL)
  • 1993: Jason Baldwin - Vestavia Hills High School (AL) ; Carlos Gonzales - Christopher Columbus High School (FL)
  • 1994: Ann Miura - Palo Alto High School (CA) ; Claire Carman - Vestavia Hills High School (AL)
  • 1995: Greg Goldfarb - Miami Palmetto High School (FL) ; Tyrenda Williams - Vestavia Hills High School (AL)
  • 1996: Courtney Balentine - Valley High School (IA) ; David Singh - Apple Valley High School (MN)
  • 1997: Hetal Doshi - Vestavia Hills High School (AL) ; Brian Fletcher - Valley High School (IA)
  • 1998: Ari Simon - Valley High School (IA); Anna Manasco - St. James School (AL)
  • 1999: Tom Zimpleman - Valley High School (IA); Ben Davidson - Vestavia Hills High School (AL)
  • 2000: Seamus Donovan - Edmond North High School (OK); James Scott - Katy High School (TX)
  • 2001: Tom Pryor - Hopkins High School (MN); Tommy Clancy - Westwood High School (TX)
  • 2002: Jenn Larson - Millard West High School (NE); Kelsey Olson - Apple Valley High School (MN)
  • 2003: Andrew Garvin - Mission San Jose High School (CA); Tom Evnen - Lincoln Southeast High School (NE)
  • 2004: John McNeil - Edina High School (MN); Tim Hogan - Apple Valley High School (MN)
  • 2005: David Wolfish - Greenhill School (TX); Hirsh Jain - Mission San Jose (CA)
  • 2006: Stephen Hess - Mountain View High School (CA); David Weeks, Highland Park High School (TX)
  • 2007: Patrick Diehl - Lynbrook High School (CA); David McGough - Greenhill School (TX)
  • 2008: Chris Theis - Apple Valley High School (MN); Becca Traber - Kinkaid HS (TX)
  • 2009: Chris Theis* - Apple Valley High School (MN); Daniel Moerner - Mountain View / Los Altos (CA)
  • 2010: Catherine Tarsney - Saint Louis Park High School (MN); Ross Brown - Valley High School (IA)
  • 2011: Larry Liu and Jeffrey Liu - Indian Springs School (AL) - Close-out
  • 2012: Noah Star - Lexington High School (MA); Bob Overing - Loyola High School (Los Angeles) (CA)
  • 2013: Rebecca Kuang - Greenhill School (TX); Richard Shmikler - Saint Louis Park High School (MN)
  • 2014: Danny DeBois - Harrison High School (NY); Chris Kymn - Loyola High School (CA)

Past Lincoln-Douglas Debate Top Speakers

Since 1992, the top speaker in Lincoln Douglas Debate has received the Walter Alan Ulrich award. The perpetual trophy is named in the memory of a past director of debate at Northern Iowa University and member of the TOC Hall of Distinguished Service who helped shape the theory and practice of value debate. Furthermore, Lincoln Douglas debate is often referred to as the philosophical debate.

  • 1992: Josh Sheptow - South Plantation High School (FL)
  • 1993: Jason Baldwin - Vestavia Hills High School (AL)
  • 1995: Jonathan Carr - Saint James School (AL)
  • 1996: Jonathan Carr - Saint James School (AL)
  • 1997: Hetal Doshi - Vestavia Hills High School (AL)
  • 1998: Alex Gomez - Miami Palmetto High School (FL)
  • 1999: Tom Zimpleman - Valley High School (IA)
  • 2000: Noah Grabowitz - Hendrick Hudson High School (NY)
  • 2001: Tom Pryor - Hopkins High School (MN)
  • 2002: Josh Anderson - Sehome High School (WA)
  • 2003: Satyan Gajwani - Miami Palmetto High School (FL)
  • 2004: Eric Palmer - Howland High School (OH)
  • 2005: David Wolfish - Greenhill School (TX)
  • 2006: Jacob Levi - Berkeley Carroll (NY)
  • 2007: Patrick Diehl - Lynbrook High School (CA)
  • 2008: Daniel Moerner - Los Altos High School (Los Altos, California) (CA)
  • 2009: Jake Nebel - Trinity Preparatory School (FL)
  • 2010: Pat Donovan - Glenbrook North High School (IL)
  • 2011: Dylan Scher - Berkeley Carroll School (NY)
  • 2012: Jacob Pritt - New Orleans Jesuit High School (LA)
  • 2013: Michael Harris - Marcus High School (TX)
  • 2014: Ram Prasad - La Jolla High School (CA)

Past Congressional Debate Champions and Runner Ups

  • 2002: Kristen Soltis - Cypress Creek (FL)
  • 2003: Jack Soltysik - Adlai E. Stevenson High School (IL)
  • 2004: Matt Turetzky - Nova High School (FL)
  • 2005: Matt Cynamon - Nova High School (FL); John Scuito - Christian Brothers Academy (NY)
  • 2006: Cameron Secord - Brookwood High School (GA); Jared Sonnenklar - Western High School (FL)
  • 2007: Michael Educate - Lake Forest High School (IL); Herschel Patel - Myers Park High School (NC)
  • 2008: Ben Berkman - Nova High School (FL); Kevin Eaton - Duncanville High School (TX)
  • 2009: Joseph Perretta - Christopher Columbus High School (FL); Robert Colonel - Winter Springs HS (FL)
  • 2010: Alex Smyk - Ridge High School (NJ); Anna Tsiotsias - Nova High School (FL)
  • 2011: Rylan Schaeffer - Mountain View High School (CA); Frances Rodriguez - St. Thomas Aquinas (FL)
  • 2012: Gregory Bernstein - Nova High School (FL); Diego Henriquez - St. Thomas Aquinas (FL)
  • 2013: Gregory Bernstein - Nova High School (FL); David Jakubowicz - Nova High School (FL)
  • 2014: William Mascaro - Hawken High School (OH); Joe Russell - Brophy Prep (AZ)

Past PF Debate Championship champions and runners up

  • 2004: Jay M. Robinson HS (NC) - Erin Lopez/Jordan Myers; Nova HS (FL) - Alexandra Wall/Natalia Rigol
  • 2005: Albuquerque Academy (NM) - Hollie Putnam/Heather Campbell; Torrey Pines (CA) - Eric Carino/Ian Hampton
  • 2006: Manchester-Essex' (MA) - Runners up: James Pates/Dan Cellucci; '; Champions- Manchester-Essex (MA) - Ross Cowman/Ryan Swanzey.
  • 2007: Lexington (MA) - Chrissy Kugel/Garth Goldwater (commonly referred to as "Team Scorpion"); Durham Academy (NC) - Patrick Toomey/Katherine Buse
  • 2008: North Allegheny (PA) - Naz El-Khatib/Claire Kairys; The Collegiate School (NY) - Charles Giardina/Jonathan Yip
  • 2009: The Harker School (CA) - Kelsey Hilbrich/Kaavya Gowda; Walt Whitman High School (MD) - Alex Edelman/Aaron Schifrin
  • 2010: George Washington High School (CO) - Gabe Rusk/Brendan Patrick; Ridge High School (NJ) - Brian Moore/Tejus Pradeep
  • 2011: The Harker School (CA) - Aakash Jagadeesh/Frederic Enea ; Lake Highland Preparatory School (FL) - Grant Sinnot/Jake Bayer
  • 2012: Florida University School (FL) - Dalton Feeley/Daniel Rego ; Walt Whitman High School (MD) - Fionn Adamian/Ben Zimmermann
  • 2013: Pine View School (FL) - Arjun Byju/Mark Allseits ; Ransom Everglades School (FL) - Jacob Stern/Megan Mers
  • 2014: Walt Whitman High School (MD) - Fionn Adamian/Ben Zimmermann; Walt Whitman High School (MD) - Samuel Arnesen/William Arnesen (close-out)

Past Public Forum Debate Top Speakers

  • 2010: Zaki Aizaz - Desert Vista High School (AZ)
  • 2011: David Walchak - New Trier High School (IL)
  • 2012: Ethan Goldstein - American Heritage High School (FL)
  • 2013: Mark Allseits - Pine View High School (FL)
  • 2014: Justin Katz - Durham Academy (NC)

Past Extemporaneous Speaking Round Robin champions and runners up

  • 2012: Brandon Slotkin - Nova High School (FL); Bill McDonald - Brophy College Preparatory (AZ);
  • 2013: Lily Nellans - Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA); Carolyn Evans - Des Moines Roosevelt High School (IA);

Other awards

Julia Burke award

The Julia Burke Award is presented each year, in memory of Julia Burke, a debater at The College Preparatory School who was killed in a car crash in 1998. The purpose of this award is to recognize a "policy debater who achieves competitive excellence in high school policy debate on the national circuit, and who demonstrates goodness of heart despite the pressures of competition at the highest level." The award is accompanied by a $1000 scholarship and $1000 to donate to the charity of the recipient's choice. Nominations can be submitted by any debater attending the TOC. They are then narrowed to a list of three or four debaters by a selection committee chosen by the Julia Burke foundation. The winner is chosen by a vote of all the attendees and coaches at the TOC.

Past Julia Burke winners

  • 2000: Centerville - Henry Liu
  • 2001: Blake - Maggie Berthiaume
  • 2002: Marquette University High School - Manav Bhatnagar
  • 2003: Tampa Prep - Noah Chestnut
  • 2004: Glenbrook North - Michael Rosecrans
  • 2005: Glenbrook South - Elizabeth Kim
  • 2006: Lexington - Will Sears
  • 2007: Centerville - Eli Jacobs
  • 2008: Colleyville - James Hamraie
  • 2009: Bishop Guertin - Katryna Cadle
  • 2010: Whitney Young - Misael Gonzalez
  • 2011: Damien - Nadeem Farooqi
  • 2012: Edina - Mimi Sergent-Leventhal
  • 2013: Whitney Young - John Vitzileos
  • 2014: Notre Dame High School - Aron Berger

Coaches Hall of Fame

The coaches inducted into the Tournament of Champions Coaches Hall of Fame are selected from those program directors who have given of their time and energies in helping to maintain the high competitive standards of the TOC and whose students have distinguished themselves in competition at the TOC. This award, awarded irregularly, does not necessarily mean "Coach of the Year."[3]

Team Excellence Award

Beginning with the 2012 TOC, the National Forensic League helped conceive and sponsor the Team Excellence Award, a type of sweepstakes award. In 2013, the award was renamed the William Woods Tate, Jr. Award, after longtime TOC supporter and TOC Advisory Committee member Billy Tate, former Director of Debate at Montgomery Bell Academy. A school’s best-performing entry in each division (CX, LD, PF, and Congress) shall count toward that school’s Team Excellence Award (TEA) calculation. TEA points shall be determined by each entry’s seed rank at the end of preliminary rounds, based on the seed rank as determined within each division. Only schools and entries that are current, paid members of the National Forensic League are eligible for this honor, as well as the runner-up and third place awards.[4]

  • 2012: Nova HS (FL), coached by Lisa Miller
  • 2013: Bronx Science HS (NY), coached by Jon Cruz
  • The Tournament of Champions was both a prominent subject and setting for the 2007 HBO documentary Resolved. Director Greg Whiteley initially followed the Policy debate team of Sam Iola and Matt Andrews of Highland Park High School throughout their season until their loss in semifinals of the 2005 Tournament of Champions. After the defeat, Whiteley focuses the film's attention on the pursuit of qualifying to the tournament by the Long Beach Jordan team, which presents a kritik in an attempt to be successful and reform debate practices. While the film shifts focus to the Long Beach Jordan pair, it still makes mention near the end of the film that Matt Andrews (then with Greenhill School) won the 2006 TOC without losing a ballot, taking first place with a ballot record of 22-0 (the second team to do so, Pace Academy (Allen/Smith) being the first in 2002).[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Good Evening Mr. and Mrs. North and South America and All Ships at Sea, Let's Go to Press". Victory Briefs Daily. 2008-03-10. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  2. ^ "Tournament of Champions". Archived from [http://www.uky.edu/Provost/ChellgrenCenter/Debate/champions.htm publisher=University of Kentucky the original] on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-06-22. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing pipe in: |url= (help); line feed character in |url= at position 64 (help)
  3. ^ http://wiki.victorybriefsdaily.com/index.php/TOC_Coaches_Hall_of_Fame
  4. ^ From https://ci.uky.edu/debate/sweepstakesaward
  5. ^ "Resolved". One Potato Productions. Retrieved 2008-06-22. [dead link]
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