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Third Annual

Individual War of Words (IWOW)

Saturday, February 23rd, 2008

9:00 a.m.

Single Elimination Individual Debate Competition

Tri-County Area League of Debate Clubs.

Master of Ceremony Bob Krug

Moderators: Paul Scott, Candidate for 51st district State Representative

Harry Morgan

Introduction

The Tri-County Area League of Debate Clubs is a private Michigan non-profit Corporation with 501(c)(3) status recognized by the IRS.  The League is composed of middle school debate clubs in the Lake Fenton, Fenton, Linden, Hartland, St. John’s, Whittier Classical and Holly districts of Genesee, Oakland and Livingston counties. The League and its coaches are dedicated to teaching debate techniques only.  Moral, religious and political values are not at all associated with anything the kids have learned from the league. Coaches, staff members and officers are unpaid volunteers.  Facilities for training and debates are provided at no cost through the courtesy of local school boards and governments.  No school funds are received.  Our operating expenses are paid from business, organization and individual contributions.  To make a tax-deductible 501 (c)(3) contribution, contact Lee Martorana, 810-629-9497. Contributors will be acknowledged upon request by posting your logo and a link to your business/organization website.

Board of Directors

President Graham Morgan                              Director Jeff Bean

Vice President Tony Brown                             Director Sonya Brown

Secretary Randall Thompson                          Director Jim Ellis

Treasurer Lee Martorana                                 Director/media relations Bob Krug

Counsel K.C. Baran                                         Director Dave Kuzner             

Director Shari Baran                                        Director Rita Lauer                 

                                                                                   

IWOW (Individual War or Words) Format

The third annual IWOW competition will consist of 19 contestants in a single- round elimination match, meaning if a student loses, they are done competing for the day.  If a student wins, they will advance to the next round.  Unfortunately, not every student will advance to later rounds, however we do hope that all students remain for the day so that they can receive their awards at the end of the tournament.  All students will win an award: they have earned it. 

The individual debates will have the same format as the interscholastic debates held through out the year.  Each student has the opportunity for a 4 minute construction, a 2 minute rebuttal and a final 1 minute rebuttal. 

Judging will be conducted under the same guidelines as the interscholastic debates held through out the year as well.  Students will be judged in 3 categories: Presentation, Construction, and Rebuttal.  There will be 3 judges, one for each category. 

Scoring:  Each judge will award up to 10 points per category.  There are 30 points possible for the entire match, partial points will be awarded.  There will be oral judging critique in Rounds 1 and 2.  Rounds 3-5 will have very limited critique.  At the end of the match, the score keeper will announce the score and the debater that will advance.

Schedule  (Estimated times only)

Opening ceremony 9am Bob Krug

Round 1

Beginning 9:15am promptly,    end time 9:35

Topic: Unless you are going to and from work, you may not be on the road between 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday

 

Round 2    

9:40am start time, end time, 11am approximately

Topic: There should be Mandatory military service for anyone sentenced to jail or prison for any term

 

11am-noon Lunch, courtesy of State Representative David Robertson

 

Round 3     (auditorium only, no band room events from this round on)

Beginning noon, est. ending at 1:15 pm

Topic: Should illegal aliens be afforded the exact same rights granted under the United States Constitution that are afforded to US citizens?

 

Round 4    

Beginning 1:30 pm approx.  est. ending  2:10pm

Topic: There are basic human rights that every government should assure for anyone within their borders.

 

 

Round 5    

Beginning 2:25pm approx.,  est. ending 2:45pm

Topic: The President should be a natural born citizen.

 

Awards Ceremony

2:45 pm until 3 pm

 

Breaking a Tie

In the unfortunate event that a draw is to take place, the score keeper will look at the highest construction score 1st.  If one is higher than other, the winner will be the highest.  If they are the same, the score keeper will look at rebuttal score 2nd.  If one is higher than other, the winner will be the highest.  In the event that both construction and rebuttal scores are the same, There will be a “debate off” using the topic: “Reparations should be made for prior broken treaties of the Federal Government.”  Each debater will hold the same position that they had from the match that needs to be tie broken.  The same sequence will take place here, judges will turn in their scores, highest cumulative total wins.  If this is a tie, we will use the same methodology as above to attempt to break the tie. If we cannot determine a winner using this methodology, the moderator will flip a coin, with the youngest debater choosing heads or tails.

Awards

The top 8 contestants will receive a trophy and a scholarship award.  All others will receive a patch for their efforts and participation in IWOW.  The awards are as follow:

1st place

$3000 Barbara “Bobbi” Tomczak Memorial Scholarship

 

2nd place

$2000 James “Jim” Ellis Leadership Scholarship/ Joseph Auto Group

 

Semi Finalists

$1000 Fenton Rotary Debate Scholarship for Excellence

            $1000 Charles A. Krug Memorial Scholarship for Excellence

 

Quarter Finalists

            $500 Paul Scott for State Representative scholarship

            $500 Gene M. Brown Memorial Scholarship

            $500 Judge Peter Marutiak Memorial Scholarship

            $500 Maurell Products Merit Scholarship

 

Judges and Moderators

Jeff Bean                                               Honorable Duncan Beagle                 Honorable Mark McCabe

Honorable Michael Theile                  Honorable David Newblatt                Honorable Jennifer Barkey

Brian Barkey, Attorney                       Score/Time keepers:  Jim Ellis / Rita Lauer

Moderators: Paul Scott / Harry Morgan          Bracket Master Graham Morgan

Alternate judge/moderator John Tucker

 

 

Breaks and Lunch

There will be a 10 minute break between each round.  A one hour lunch period will be held immediately after the 2nd round of debates.  Food will be served for the kids, coaches, judges, moderators and helpers, courtesy of State Representative Dave Robertson.

 

Scholarship Rules:

A meeting will be established in May 2008 for the parents/guardians of the scholarship winners to discuss how and when the awards will be dispersed.  However, the amounts of the awards will be announced at the closing awards ceremony of IWOW.

 

Contributors as of 02/15/08

Maurell Products/ Crest Pontoon Boats           Joseph and Linda Tomczak    

Bostwick Excavating                                        Lawrence Engineering                                               

Law Offices of Patrick Marutiak                       Joseph Auto Group                                         

VG’s                                                                 Cheryl Brown

Fenton Rotary                                                  Paul Scott

Tony and Sonya Brown                                   The Krug Family

Questions or Help starting a program

If you are a middle school student or middle school representative and would like to inquire about or join a League Debate Club in your area, please contact Mr. Bob Krug, 810-629-8614.  If you are an adult and would like to help coach one of our middle school debate teams, please contact Mr. Bob Krug, 810-629-8614.

The League extends a special thank you to Alice Bristle for her help with the High School's facilities.  Thanks Alice!!!

A special thanks to Tim Horton's for coffee and morning snacks!