Fines and Deadlines

How to Pay Us

Please make all checks payable to Columbia University Parliamentary Debate Team.

Dropped Competitor Fines

Competitor and judge names can be changed without penalty.  Please inform us of these changes early.  Judge name changes in VLD may jeopardize your strikes, however.

Please email changes to columbia@tabroom.com until 10 AM on the 24th; after that point we do not check our email regularly and need to be told of changes in person or over the phone.

A nuisance fee of $10 applies to drops made after Thursday Jan 21st at midnight, and to adds made after January 19th at 9PM; this is in addition to the registration fees that cover our fixed tournament costs.

Judging Fines

Failure to Pick-Up Ballots

All judges must be available to judge one round beyond the last round in which their students compete. This means that if a school has any competitors in a Student Congress or speech event or if any student from a judge’s school advances to L-D Double Octofinals, judges from that school must be present for Sunday outrounds.  Notifying us politely on Saturday evening that you’re not showing up on Sunday does not excuse you from this obligation; the tournament cannot run if your judges aren’t available.

Judges will be fined $50 for every judging assignment that they miss. Judges who pick up others’ ballots will be paid that same $50.

Failure to Return Ballots On Time

You’ll have to listen to our explanation of what “on time” means.  You do not want to, I assure you.

Judges Dropped After 9PM January 18th and Before January 23rd

Lincoln-Douglas: $100 per uncovered entry
Individual Events & Congress: $75 per uncovered entry

Judges Dropped on January 24th

Lincoln-Douglas: $150 per uncovered entry
Individual Events & Congress: $100 per uncovered entry

We really don’t want this money.  Please, for the love of God, do not drop judges late.  We may require you drop competitors to compensate.