Dear Fellow Debaters and DANEIS Members,

The Hopkins School Debate Society invites you to participate in our Parliamentary Debate Tournament (Straight Resolutions) on Sunday, February 26, 2012. There will be both Novice and Advanced divisions. The resolutions will be "straight" policy-oriented resolutions, and new resolutions will be provided for each of the three rounds. Each school may enter up to two four-person teams in each division, and must also provide one judge for each four-person team.  Judges at the advanced division must be adults and may not be a close relative of an advanced debater at the tournament. The top teams in the Advanced division will conduct an exhibition debate for the Hopkins Debate Tournament Championship in Heath Commons after the three rounds have been completed. All schools are expected to have briefed their judges thoroughly on the rules, format, and the scoring techniques of debating. Schools are invited to bring additional students as observers.

Registration on the day of the debate will be held from 10:30 to 11:30 A.M in Heath Commons. Judges' and debaters’ briefings will follow the registration. In addition, brunch and snacks will be served throughout the day in the Heath Commons Dining Hall. The debate will conclude no later than 5:00 PM.

The format will be as follows (with 10 minutes to prepare an argument):

Prime Minister:	5 minute constructive
Member of the Opposition:	8 minute speech
Minister of the Crown:	8 minute speech
Leader of the Opposition:	8 minute speech
Prime Minister's Rebuttal:	3 minute rebuttal

Preparing cases before the debate is strictly prohibited. Teams may not consult any reference materials of any kind during their preparation time. Teams that violate these rules will be disqualified from the tournament.  Teams are not allowed to “redefine” the resolution in a straight resolution debate. Judging will occur on a 100-point scale.  Prizes will be awarded based on individual speaker scores, two-person team records and scores, and four-person team records and scores.

There is a sixty-five dollar ($65) entry fee for each four-person team and an additional ten dollar ($10) entry fee for each observer in order to offset tournament costs. You may either send your entry fee to us with your entry form or you may bring it with you to the tournament. Please make your checks payable to Hopkins School. Please submit your registration by email to Thom Peters at tpeters@hopkins.edu by February 22, 2012.  If you have any questions, you may send an email to the same address, or you may also call 203-397-1001 (x 175) at school.

We look forward to seeing you in February!

Very sincerely,

Nicole Gorton	Lucian Wang	Thom Peters
Captain	Captain	Adviser