Google Group

http://groups.google.com/group/bellinghamdebate

Above is the link to our Google Group. I've posted evidence that the cx'ers cut last week. The new T file is also available, and hopefully more clear. You may have to join the group to access the Group, which requires a Google account.

If you are cutting cards over the break, please upload them to the group so we can all share.

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving.

11/16 activities

Policy activity:

http://www.forensicsonline.net/forum/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=30&id=377

LD activity:

http://www.forensicsonline.net/forum/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=29&id=365

Debate evidence resources:

http://www.debatecoaches.org/page/open-evidence-project
http://scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en&tab=ws
http://debate-central.ncpa.org/evidence
http://www.nytimes.com/

Conner dresses the part, while Paul gets it half-right (not pictured: jeans with holes)

I have to take notes??

Mini trial lawyers

Duncan tunes everyone out.

The Lincoln Douglas debaters at the LD seminar, like good students sitting front row and taking notes.


Hello everyone,

While you're enjoying your day of rest, I wanted to share our results from the Whitman tournament. Rose Osborne of Sehome HS was an octofinalist in champ level Lincoln-Douglas debate, and Duncan Ogg from SQHS was also an octofinalist in novice LD. Duncan received a 4th place speaker award, and Marina Rossman (BHS) placed 10th in the same division. Everyone did a great job considering the level of competition at this tournament. We saw teams from Oregon and Idaho, and got a chance to debate teams outside our usual circuit.

Please thank our wonderful volunteers who made it all happen. These people took three days away from family and work to make sure our students had a great experience. Ann Osborne drove and judged for us, and even stayed late for the awards ceremony. Janice Keller also drove and supervised. Dan McShane jumped into judging at his first tournament, which we really appreciate. Mitsu Gunsolus, a Bellingham alum, came from Gonzaga to judge for our team. And lastly, thank you to Lisa McShane for the delicious cookies!

I hope to see students at practice on Tuesday with flows (notes) from the debates. We will be doing rebuttal re-dos (but you already knew that, right?). Also, if you haven't paid your November dues- please pay at your ASB.

Another piece of news: The Auburn tournament scheduled for Dec 3rd and 4th has been canceled. Auburn HS, like many schools, is in a tight budget crunch and was unable to host after 27 years. This leaves a gap in our schedule for December, but count on plenty of practice debates. I will get information about attending Federal Way or UPS instead in January, and let you all know the details. Because of the Auburn cancellation, I will be on vacation November 24th - December 3rd. We will resume practice on December 7th. This means no practice on Nov 24, 30th or Dec 1st.

On Tuesday, Nov 23rd, we will be writing our annual donation request letters. We send out these electronic letters to family, friends, and alumni of debate. In these letters we ask people to sponsor your student in debate, since our season is costly. Whitman alone costs over a $1,000. Some students ask families to sponsor them in lieu of holiday presents. For parents/guardians: please send your students on Nov 23rd with a list of emails for family, friends, co-workers, etc. Anyone that you think would support our team. We use a safe site called Fundbunch (https://www.fundbunch.com/home.aspx) to collect donations, which is also a local business. If you have questions about this fundraiser, please let me know. If a student collects enough donations, they may be excused from paying monthly dues at the end of the season.

Thank you!

Aly Hoover

Gig Harbor Update

Hello Debaters and Families,

Happy Halloween! Hopefully the debaters who attended the Gig Harbor tournament this weekend are awake to enjoy the holiday. We didn't go home empty handed yesterday- out of 112 students in Novice Lincoln-Douglas debate, Duncan Ogg from Squalicum took 3rd place. He was 5th place speaker overall, and was undefeated (breaking a 5 way tie by speaker points). For two of our students it was their first tournament, Katelynn Marshall and Jaime Korner. We hope they had a good time. Will McShane from SHS was the 5th place speaker in Open CX. Great job everyone!

Thank you to some fabulous volunteers for helping us participate. Brock Blatter drove the Sehome van, and even took home students early yesterday. Jeff Bennett and Rose Osborne judged for us, which we really appreciate. Grant Resick hosted an extra practice for LD'ers, too.

If you are attending Whitman, please make sure you've paid your $35 November fee beforehand. Other students will need to do this as well. For Whitman, please make sure your student is at Sehome HS before 7AM. We depart at 7AM from Sehome. Please, please pack light. We will not have a whole lot of space. You will not need sleeping bags, just overnight stuff and nice clothes for the debate. Please bring plenty of flow paper, a timer, and food/money (please see blog for more info). Drivers will be Janice Keller, Dan McShane, and myself. I will have more information for drivers tomorrow.

Make sure you register yourself BEFORE tomorrow if you are judging/attending. Students, follow the link on the blog to become registered (meaning, you read the rules). Please bring your flows from the tournament to Tuesday's practices for rebuttal redos.

Thank you and hope you have a good Halloween!

Aly Hoover
(360) 620-9664.

Whitman Tournament Information

Hello debaters and parents/guardians,

Because the Whitman tournament requires more planning on my part, I also need to have students reserve their space on the trip by this Friday. I need to make sure I have enough drivers, vans, judges, hotel rooms, etc. Please note that any cancellations after I reserve a spot on the trip will result in a fee assigned to your student account.

The vans will leave the school at 7am on 11/4. I will send out a van roster so each student knows which school they will depart from. We will be staying at the Super 8 motel in Walla Walla Thursday and Friday evening. We will return late on Saturday, and will let parents know when we depart for home.

Students will need to...
*Get all assignments ONE WEEK ahead of time from teachers. The activities office will excuse their absence, but students are still responsible for classwork.

* Be at practice before the tournament

* Have November dues paid for debate ($35 to ASB office at their school) and paperwork turned in

* Bring food or money for three days. The tournament will provide breakfast and lunch on Friday/Saturday only. For $5 each on Friday and Saturday, the tournament will provide a pizza/salad dinner. Thursday night students will need to either bring food or wait til the rounds are over to get food with an adult. We will stop during our drive for food breaks on Thursday and Saturday.

* Bring plenty of paper for flowing, evidence/cases, toiletries for two nights, dress for warmth, etc.

* Register themselves for the tournament by following this link: http://www.whitman.edu/rhetoric/hstourn/505student.htm

If you wish to see the schedule/read more about the tournament, see this link: http://www.whitman.edu/rhetoric/hstourn/000inviteintro.htm

I will have a list of drivers and chaperons once I have a total count of students attending. This is a fun tournament, and we hope to have a good group of students attending this year. Again, you must let me know by THIS FRIDAY if you intend to participate in the Gig Harbor and/or Whitman tournament. Thank you,

Aly Hoover
(360) 620-9664

Gig Harbor Tournament Info

Hello Debaters and Supporters of Debate,

After each debate tournament I will give an update on how the team performed. Yesterday we had the Kamiak HS novice tournament, just for first year debaters. Delaney and Paul, from Sehome HS, took second place at the tournament in policy debate. Everyone did a great job, including the Lincoln Douglas debaters who had a last minute change to the topic.

Thank you to fellow driver, Sophia Morales. She pitched in last minute to drive students to Mukilteo, for which we are grateful. Thank you also to returning debaters who came along to judge: Rose Osborne, Emiliana Morales, Will McShane, and Gordon Friedman.

Now onto information for Gig Harbor. Please speak with your student ASAP about attending this tournament on the 29th/30th. Students need to confirm with me by Friday, Oct 22nd if they intend to participate. They will need to have all paperwork/fees paid, pass grade checks, and attend practice the week of the tournament. We will depart at 12:30 on 10/29, and return late on 10/30. We will be staying overnight at the Westwynd Motel: 6703 144th St. NW, Gig Harbor. Students should bring sleeping bags if possible, food for Friday afternoon/evening, and all day Saturday. We may have time to go off campus for meals, so students may bring money. Parents signed up to drive are: Valerie Richardson and Sally McColloch. Jeff Bennett is signed up to judge. Please let me know if there are any changes.

Thank you for reading and I hope see everyone this week!

Aly Hoover
(360) 620-9664

10/16 Kamiak tournament- final roster

Hi everyone,

Emiliana's mom will be able to drive this weekend, so fortunately we are able to bring everyone who signed up. Please note you cannot board the van on Saturday if you have not:

* attended at least one practice this week
* paid your ASB card
* paid your $35 October debate fee
* turned in your Activity Form to your activities office

We are leaving at 7AM sharp! Please do not be late, as we have a tight schedule and we will have to leave the school without you. Please note which van you are in for Saturday:

Van departing from BHS @ 7AM:
- Duncan
- Marina
- Katie
- Emiliana
- Gordon
- Chloe
- Connor

Van departing from SHS @ 7AM:
- Paul
- Delaney
- Claire
- Rose
- Devon
- Zoe
- Will

Please call me with any issues. Remember to pack food for the day, wear nice clothes, bring legal/paper to flow, your cases (LD) and evidence (CX). Thanks guys,

Aly Hoover
(360) 620-9664