2022-23
September 18, 2020 Hello Friends, We hope that you are safe and well, and that you, your programs, and all those you are connected to are finding paths through this year’s new landscape that are fruitful (without being impossibly stressful) and invigorating (without being overwhelming). The LPDL board has been meeting throughout the summer months to prepare for the upcoming season, and we are writing to let you know about what we anticipate for the months ahead. Given the travel and financial restrictions that COVID-19 is imposing on all of us, it’s necessary for the LPDL to suspend parts of the Constitution and by-laws for this academic year. The guidelines it provides for the administration of tournaments are simply impossible to follow fully in the online environment, and we must obviously adjust to a new set of conditions never imagined by the founders of our league. However, despite these changes, we will work diligently to maintain the spirit of the LPDL, honoring our organizational legacy as we navigate these new waters. We anticipate that, at least for the foreseeable future, all of our events will take place online. We will use Zoom Meeting technology as our primary online resource. To the right you will find the “Online Procedures” document which the Board has crafted. It provides information on such issues our online platform and general procedures, participant dress and delivery expectations, time guidelines, the handling of technical errors, in-round “strike” and “prep time” procedures, debate procedures, post-round procedures, and ballot submission guidelines. Needless to say, this is a “living document.” It will be modified as necessary as we move forward. One important adaptation we’re making this year is incorporating into our schedule a new type of event we’re calling “Scrimmages.” These will operate under a different philosophy than do traditional tournaments. They are designed to function as “expanded practice sessions.” No win/loss decisions will be rendered, students are encouraged to work with partners from other schools, and the feedback provided at the end of “rounds” will be focused on discussion and educational improvement. The guidelines which have been developed to structure these Scrimmages is attached. All Scrimmages and Tournaments will be hosted online and administrated by one or more members of the LPDL Board. Please save the following dates for these events. Please note that the schedule below provides information only for the Fall Semester. At a later time, once the year starts to sort itself out a bit on the forensics circuit at large, we will send you information on Spring Semester events. The annual LPDL organizational meeting, typically scheduled as part of the first tournament of the year, will be scheduled at a later time. One significant rule change for this year is that students will be allowed to do research (online or otherwise) during the prep time period at the start of each round. This change is necessitated by current conditions, and will be revisited when we are able to resume line-in-person events. Let us know if you have any questions. |
UPCOMING LPDL
FALL 2022-23 TOURNAMENTS October 30 (Friday) LPDLTournament #1 4 Prelims plus Finals, starting mid-late morning) November 20 (Friday) LPDL Scrimmage December 4 (Friday) LPDL Tournament #2 OTHER UPCOMING FALL 2020 DEBATE TOURNAMENTS October 16 (Friday) M. Jack Parker Tournament at NIU (Parli Invitational) October 21 (Wednesday) RAFL #1 (offering one round of IPDA) October 23 (Friday) RAFL #2 (Open IPDA) November 13 (Friday) RAFL #3 (Open IPDA) Friday December 11 RAFL #4 (Open IPDA) Spring Tournaments TBD |