New York City Invitational Registration Opens 8/1

NEW YORK, N.Y. — The official web site for the fortieth annual New York City Invitational at the Bronx High School of Science is now online. Big Bronx XL will take place on October 15, 16, and 17, 2010.

Registration opens at 12:01 AM EST on August 1, 2010. The tournament has a bid at the octafinal level in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, the semifinal level in Team Debate (Policy Debate), the quarterfinal level in Public Forum Debate, and for the top six competitors in Legislative Debate (Congressional Debate).

The invitation letter is available here on VBD.

The letter follows.

Dear colleague,

The Bronx High School of Science cordially invites you and your team to participate in the fortieth annual installment of the New York City Invitational. We are delighted to continue our tradition of offering a challenging and competitive tournament early in the year. We are proud of our competition’s long history of excellence and look forward to presenting our best tournament yet.

This year’s tournament will once again take place on our traditional weekend, which falls this year on October 15, 16, and 17, 2010.

The New York City Invitational features Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Team Debate, Public Forum Debate, and Legislative Debate. Bronx Science is a qualifying competition for the National High School Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky in all four events. Octafinalists in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, semifinalists in Team Debate, quarterfinalists in Public Forum Debate, and the top six competitors in Legislative Debate will receive bids to the TOC. We anticipate being a maximum-point qualifier for the NDCA Championships in Lincoln-Douglas Debate.

Last year, our tournament included extensive participation from across the country, including teams from twenty states — Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington — and the District of Columbia.

Chris Castillo, Jay Rye, Nicole Serrano, and Joe Vaughan were the recipients of the 2009 Bronx Achievement Awards. They were honored by Jeremy Dudley, Jeff Roberts, David Marks, and Doug Lieb respectively.

Perry Green and Emily Massey of Walt Whitman High School in Maryland were presented with the Richard B. Sodikow Award in Lincoln-Douglas Debate after having closed out the final round of the tournament. Catherine Tarsney of Saint Louis Park High School in Minnesota was presented with the Peter Colavito Award in recognition of her status as top speaker of the tournament.

Max Plithidies and Matthew Pesce of Woodward Academy in Georgia were presented with the Richard B. Sodikow Award in Team Debate after having won the championship. Layne Kirshon and NIkhil Bontha of the Kinkaid School in Texas were the reserve champions. Layne was also the recipient of the Eric C. Raps Memorial Award in recognition of his status as top speaker of the tournament.

Rachel Umans and Sarah Houston of Walt Whitman High School in Maryland were presented with the David Yalof Trophy in Public Forum Debate after having won the final round on a 3-0 decision. Ted Mateoc and Cara Eckholm of Hunter College High School in New York were the reserve champions. For 2010, the Gloria Cabada-Leman Award will be presented to the top speaker of the tournament.

Alex Smyk of Ridge High School in New Jersey was presented with the Joseph Giovannelli Grand Gavel in Legislative Debater after having won the championship. Ross Slaughter of Walt Whitman High School in Maryland was the reserve champion.

Finally, Walt Whitman High School swept the competition to win the top school award: the New York City Invitational Championship.

This year, as in the past, we look forward to hosting a tremendously competitive, educational, and enjoyable tournament.

“Tastes of the World,” our popular hospitality program introduced four years ago, will again allow attendees to be treated to foods from around the globe, in honor of the many cultures upon which our diverse student body is built. We are pleased to announce that a new parent steering committee has been organized to help us make the quality of this food and the ease of its distribution the best yet.

This year, our tournament will feature a mutual judge preference system and mandatory paradigm disclosure in both Lincoln-Douglas Debate and Team Debate. The tournament will also continue to feature an open tabulation room in all events. In celebration of the tournament’s fortieth year, the elite, by-invitation competition of the Bronx Round Robin — which precedes the Invitational — will be expanded to include not only Lincoln-Douglas Debate, but Team Debate, Public Forum Debate, and Congressional Debate as well.

Also this year, we will experiment with a mandatory case list in both Lincoln-Douglas Debate and Team Debate. Recognizing that this is presently a contentiious issue in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, the experiment will be followed by a comprehensive feedback survey to allow for a more meaningful discussion on this issue. Much of this discussion has been occuring in a world devoid of hard data; it is the tournament’s hope that this feedback survey will allow for a more informed dicsussion going forward. We hope that our contestants will approach this experiment with an open mind. Participation in the tournament in these divisions does require adherence to the tournament policy outlined in this invitation.

The considerable strength of both our competitive and judging pools across divisions, as well as our hospitality throughout the weekend, will make this a tournament worth attending in all events. Our gorgeous, high-quality individual and team awards, perpetual trophies, and other special honors guarantee that your experience at the New York City Invitational will be remembered and celebrated.

We encourage you to register early, as we anticipate the tournament will fill very, very quickly. (Indeed, last year, one division filled in under eighteen hours.) With low registration costs, meals provided, and free housing available for students (first come, first served), our competition at Bronx Science is one of the best values on the calendar. You can register online at Joy of Tournaments.

We hope to see you and your team in New York this October.

Jon Cruz
Director of Forensics
The Bronx High School of Science

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