CMSDL 2012/13 Argument Limit Changes

We’ll soon post detailed minutes from our very productive 1st semester CMSDL Coaches’ Council meeting yesterday evening, but our four elected coach leaders helped clarify a couple of important policies and determined our Argument Limits for the year. Among the most important changes:

• New off-case positions will no longer be allowed in the 2NC this year. Students may extend 1NC positions by refuting the 2AC or read new on-case attacks on Solvency and Harms but may not read Topicality, Disadvantages, or Counterplans for the first time in the 2NC. As with other Guidelines violations, only coaches can bring them to the Tournament Director after the debate has concluded, who will then talk to the judge and gather information – teams found to have read new off-case positions in the 2NC will be given a loss by the Tournament Director. It is not up to the judge to determine whether the team violating the Guideline should lose and debaters should not stop the debate – debaters should debate out the round and have their coach bring it to the Tournament Director’s attention after the debate.
• Our Coaches’ Council representatives determined that 4 Core Files affirmatives were too many – therefore, we will not use the NAFTA affirmative that was in the original version of the CMSDL Core Files. We have edited the CMSDL Core Files to reflect this, but coaches who ordered Files already don’t need to worry – we kept the page numbering the same, just skipped those pages that dealt with arguments about NAFTA to keep the overall page count the same. The overall page number typed in outline at the top of each page will still line up exactly.
• Previewing (researched new affirmatives) will be allowed for Varsity/JV prior to T4 – these affirmatives can then be used at T5, the Chicago Middle School Debate Championship – and will be open to new researched plan ideas, not limited to plans in the Core Files.

You can find the Argument Limits on our CMSDL Core Files page.

You can also find there a link to our CMSDL Core Files Labels and outlines of both the on-case and off-case arguments in the CMSDL Core Files.

Please let us know if you have any questions.