2009 National Student Debating Seminar Official Invitation
Dear Provincial/Territorial Debate Coordinators:
Your province or territory is invited to participate in the 2009 National Student Debating Seminar of the Canadian Student Debating Federation in Winnipeg, Manitoba from Wednesday, October 14 to Sunday, October 18 (with Tuesday and Monday as travel days). This year’s host is the Manitoba Speech and Debate Association, with an organizing committee led by Jordan Burg and Allison Stefanyshyn of St. Mary’s Academy.
Seminar Theme and Resolutions:
The theme for this year’s Seminar is Funding of the Arts / Subventionner les arts.
There will be six rounds of debate, two rounds each in each of the following styles:
Cross-examination (prepared) two 2-person teams per room
Parliamentary (prepared) two 2-person teams per room
British Parliamentary (impromptu) four 2-person teams per room
The prepared resolutions are:
BIRT public money should be used to support the arts. (cross-examination style) / QSRQ les fonds publics devraient appuyer les arts. (style contre-interrogatoire); and
This House would abolish copyright. (Canadian Parliamentary Style) / Cette Chambre abolirait les droits d'auteur. (style parlementaire)
Number of Delegates:
Except for QSDA and ADDEQ, the usual size of a delegation to the Seminar is four English debaters, one French debater, one Bilingual debater and one adult delegate. In order to meet our target of 16 French and 16 Bilingual delegates, provinces and territories with the ability to send additional French and Bilingual debaters are invited to do so in consultation with the Seminar Registrar.
Please note the following eligibility and delegate selection requirements:
To be eligible to attend the National Seminar, a debater must:
a) be at least 14 but not yet 20 years old as of January 1st, 2009;
b) not have attended a previous National Seminar as an official delegate;
c) not have debated a National Seminar prepared resolution (or a closely related resolution) in inter-school competition in the 2009-10 school year; and
d) if debating in the English category, be from a different school than all of the other English debaters on the delegation.
When selecting your delegation, please note that CSDF’s National Seminar Regulations (Sections 14 and 15) require that:
a) your province or territory select your student delegates by means of a system of debate competition calculated to achieve the widest possible regional representation;
b) your province or territory, early in the academic year, must have invited each eligible school and student within its borders to take part in the competition to select your Seminar delegates;
c) your delegate selection be conducted through open competition;
d) and that each student delegate have experience in at least Parliamentary and Cross-Examination styles of debate before attending the Seminar.
Registration Deadline and Fees:
Student Delegates $400
Adult Delegates $400 (an official chaperon with supervisory duties, a future National Seminar host, an executive director of a provincial debate association and/or voting delegate)
Adult Observers/Parents $850 (includes single room occupancy for 6 nights, meals and transportation during the Seminar)
Adult Delegates requiring single room occupancy (for 6 nights) + $390
Late Fee (for registrations completed after September 23) + $25
The registration deadline is Wednesday, September 23. Delegates may register online at www.csdf-fcde.ca. For your convenience, CSDF accepts payment of registration fees by PayPal, email money transfer to seminar@csdf-fcde.ca or by cheque payable to CSDF and mailed to:
CSDF, 22 – 2475 Dobbin Rd., Suite #334, Westbank BC V1Z 3Y9.
If you do not register delegates for each of your allotted spots by the registration deadline, the organizing committee will have the option of filling them with their own debaters or cutting them.
Late Fee:
Anyone not completely registered by the deadline will pay a late fee of $25. To be considered completely registered, all information requested in the registration form must be provided and payment of the registration fee must be received electronically or postmarked by the deadline.
Travel:
Please advise your delegates that they should arrange their travel to the National Seminar as soon as possible, unless your organization handles this for them. Delegates are expected to book in plenty of time to ensure they can access the most economical fares.
All delegates are asked to please abide by the designated travel dates and to not arrive unnecessarily early in Winnipeg as this puts additional strain on the organizing committee. If, however, circumstances require that you arrive earlier than anticipated, please make your own arrangements for all travel, accommodations and meals until registration on October 13.
All delegates are expected to attend the entire National Seminar and participate in all scheduled activities.
Travel Reimbursements:
CSDF has applied to Exchanges Canada for a grant to assist with delegates’ travel to the National Seminar and is still waiting to hear if the application has been approved. We hope to be able to reimburse almost all student delegates and one adult delegate per province/territory a significant percentage of their airfare (if not the entire amount) as we have for the past several years. In order for the travel reimbursements to be processed as quickly as possible, please forward all e-receipts/e-tickets with the GST/HST clearly broken out to the Seminar Registrar as soon as the travel arrangements are finalized.
Please note:
- Only travel directly from home to the Seminar and from the Seminar directly home is eligible for reimbursement. Any decision to make other arrangements would terminate the delegate’s participation in the National Seminar and neither the Crown nor the CSDF can be held responsible for any injuries or damages occurring after the delegate’s departure.
- Delegates who delay booking tickets and who pay increased costs due to late booking (based on comparison to ticket prices from city of origin to Winnipeg prior to September 23, 2009) may not be reimbursed for the full amount of their ticket and will instead receive reimbursement based on average ticket prices prior to September 23. We therefore strongly urge early selection of National Seminar delegates, as this policy will apply regardless of when the delegate becomes aware of his/her selection for the National Seminar.
- If a late fee is owed and is not included in the original payment of registration fees, it will be deducted from the delegate’s travel reimbursement.
Accommodations:
Student delegates will be accommodated with billets.
Adult delegates will be accommodated (double occupancy) at Place Louis Riel Suite Hotel in downtown Winnipeg. Single rooms may be requested on the Adult Delegate Registration Form at an additional cost of $390 subject to availability. Due to hotel policies requiring confirmation of block bookings by certain dates, adults who do not register by the deadline may have to make their own arrangements for accommodations.
Summary of Registration Process:
1. Once you have selected your National Seminar delegates, please direct them to the CSDF website at http://www.csdf-fcde.ca to register online for the National Seminar. (Registration deadline: September 23)
2. The registration fee (cheques payable to CSDF) must then either be mailed to the Seminar Registrar or paid by electronic money transfer (to seminar@csdf-fcde.ca) or by PayPal. Please remember that the $25 late fee applies after September 23.
3. In order for the travel reimbursements to be processed as quickly as possible, delegates must forward a copy of their travel receipts to the Seminar Registrar as soon as the travel arrangements are finalized. Generally this can be done easily during the booking process by including the National Seminar email address and is the simplest way to ensure we receive the proper documentation to issue the reimbursements. The receipt must clearly show the amount of the GST/HST paid.
4. Finally, each delegate must download the CSDF Handbook of Debate Rules and Formats and become familiar with the appropriate rules of debate for his or her category of debate as well as the appropriate scripts and judging materials.
The Seminar Registrar will issue confirmation emails to acknowledge all registrations as they are received. Please notify the Registrar immediately of any changes and, as a courtesy, please keep the Registrar apprised of any delays.
Additional Instructions for Adult Delegates:
At least one adult delegate per province/territory must be identified as the “Official Provincial Chaperon” and must be duly authorized to be traveling with students.
In addition to supervising their student delegations while at the National Seminar, adult delegates will also be required to participate in the Annual General Meeting of the CSDF. Please have your adult delegate download a copy of the Federation’s constitutional documents from the CSDF website to bring to the meetings.
Also, please arrange for the preparation of a brief written report on debate activities in your jurisdiction this school year. It would be very helpful if you could include statistics on numbers of schools, debaters, events and coaches involved in your programs. The reports may also include new ideas to share and particular needs that you have experienced. These reports should be emailed to the National Seminar address by September 23.
Additional Instructions for Provincial/Territorial Debate Coordinators:
Delegate Selection Reports - As soon as you know the composition of your delegation to the National Seminar, please submit your Provincial/Territorial Delegation Selection Report to the Seminar Registrar certifying that your organization has complied with the conditions of this invitation.
Membership Fees - Please note that each province or territory must have paid its 2009-10 Membership Fee to the Federation to be eligible to participate in the National Seminar and vote at the AGM. Payment can be made to the Seminar Registrar along with submission of the 2009-10 Application for Membership form.
Opportunities Fund Reports / Willis S. McLeese Awards - Reports on how your organization spend last year’s Opportunities Fund grant are now due and we are also accepting nominations for McLeese awards. These can be emailed to seminar@csdf-fcde.ca.
Seminar Website:
For all information relating to the 2009 National Student Debating Seminar, please visit the CSDF website at www.csdf-fcde.ca. The website will be updated as new information becomes available.
We look forward to seeing you in Winnipeg!
Sincerely,
Tanya Sturgeon
Past-President and Seminar Registrar