In which we think about the baby

I’m interested to see what will happen with Baby Bump.

I think I’ve admitted here that Bump was becoming untenable for me. The lack of a broad pool of alums to draw into the judging pool makes things pretty dicey. Back in the day, one of the reasons we dropped Policy was precisely because we had to entirely rely on outside judges. Occasionally I could dig up a hire or two, but mostly we were beholden to the people who showed up. One year I was lucky to beg a lone, lorn, single judge to adjudicate the final round. That was the final coffin nail. Last year I had to hire judges ad hoc to stay beyond their commitment to make things work. A little of that goes a long way.

Beyond the judging issue, there are all the various moving parts to a tournament that I was getting tired of moving. Some of these are fun, and I continue to help other people move them, e.g., tabbing and organizing registrations and juggling rooms. But actually getting the rooms in the first place, or signing contracts on the buildings that have me accountable for everything that goes wrong, or doing tax forms on the concession sales? You’ve lost me there, brother.

I managed to fill Bump up to the max for 20 years. We ran what I think was a fun tournament, even as the nature of tournaments was changing. There was something new every year, as we learned what worked and what didn’t, or we experimented with different approaches. For instance, we eliminated elimination rounds for the novices. That early in the season, what they needed was more rounds for all, not just for some. (And also I’m a believer that novice success is only partially a predictor of the future, so aren’t we better encouraging everybody at the beginning? Someone will still win, but at least this way everyone will debate.) We became famous for crappy prizes, and I always loved handing them out—“Chosen at random especially for you”—not to mention relating the elaborate tale of the traveling (fruit) cup. All tournaments have a personality; I think Bump had an especially nice personality, as tournaments go.

My recommendation to my successors was to try a one-dayer. If I was thinking pretty grim thoughts about pulling it off, I couldn’t imagine how they could. If there were a seasoned debate coach in my place, I’d feel differently, but the coach now is speech-oriented with virtually no tournament-running experience. Why not design a tournament that could work, rather than one with a big possibility of failure?

I used Wee Sma Lex as the general outline. One day, four rounds. I set it up for novice and Academy, on the assumption that we’d be hard-pressed to get meaningful numbers in varsity divisions. Keep in mind that Papa Bump had TOC bids; with Baby Bump you’re just in it for the rounds.

At the moment, we’re pretty much filled up. The administration found some extra rooms in the high school (where were these rooms when I was running things, you might ask, as I assure you I did), so the divisions are pretty substantial. Of course, it’s only local schools, but there’s enough of them to fill up the place. I assume we'll get a little shrinkage when the deadline approaches, but we should still be in good shape. And as long as the weather holds out, it will be a fine event. And best of all, I’ll be able to clear out all the medals and mugs in my basement. And, of course, pass along the traveling (fruit) cup.

There’s still time to sign up, if you’re interested.

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