In which we look forward to States

And what about States this coming weekend, you ask.

Well, first of all, it looks pretty big. 140 or so LDers, 250 or so PFers, both across three divisions. That’s a bit bigger than last year, which while problematic when it comes to finding tournament spaces, is good news for debate in the region. Keep in mind that there is plenty of debate in addition to those who have States on their calendars, and overall I think we’re in good shape. If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times, debate is the best thing to happen to education since the invention of the pencil box, and the more of it, regardless of predictably differing views on its execution, the better. Of course, all those debaters puts a little pressure on the tab room, but once again Kaz will be onboard with me, so things should move smoothly. 

Most of what we do is straightforward according to Hoyle. Saturday prelims, Sunday elims. 5 double-flighted prelim rounds, 2 presets and 3 hi-los. Breaking roughly a third of each field, which is more than fair. Nothing unusual so far. In fact, the only unusual thing is that, if you have teams in semis, you are eliminated from that judging pool. (Judges are obligated for the whole tournament.) This rule goes back to the Pleistocene, and it’s not terribly problematic tabbing-wise, but it is on the books until the regional directors remember to remove it. More importantly, we do try to free up judges with no one in the late elims if they travel a long distance, from either the frozen Albanyish north or the remote verges of Long Island. If you have a long trip home, we’ll try to make it happen. It’s the locals who will get the final round nod.

To be honest, I can’t remember anything, well, memorable, from recent States. (Stateses?) It was nice when we were down at Hofstra, which was very good with its support of the league, but we lost that over the pandemic. Since then the Bronx has picked up the goodness reins, and I don’t know how we could do it without them. But the tournament itself tends to run fairly hitchless. We pair, we post, we chase down the usual judges who are allergic to Acknowledge buttons, we pair again… With 6 debate divisions, not to mention all the action with Congress and Speecho-Americans, it’s a busy weekend. But I know from my own experiences back in the day, a rewarding one for the students. They have made it to a selective culminating event. They rub elbows with their peers from across the state. They have a good experience and maybe even win a prize. And the tournament is generous to the students, allowing at-larges and not charging an arm and a leg, since all we have to do is cover the usual costs. What better way to end a debate season?