The Hornet Cup Nicholas F. Burnett Classic Debate Tournament
The Sacramento State University debate team and the Department of Communication Studies invite you to participate in the 2020
"Hornet Cup" Nicholas F. Burnett Classic Debate Tournament to be held at Sacramento State March 7-8, 2020
This tournament is named to honor Professor Emeritus Dr. Nicholas F. Burnett, who was the Director of Forensics at Sacramento State from 1987 to 1996. Dr. Burnett coached Sacramento State teams to consecutive quarter-finals appearances at CEDA Nationals in 1988 and 1989 in addition to leading the team as it won many regional and national debate awards. After his nearly 10 years coaching the Sac State team, Dr. Burnett served as chair of the Communication Studies Department for five years and finally retired as the Associate Dean for the College of Arts and Letters in 2012. Dr. Burnett has been a major supporter of this great activity and has touched the lives of many college debaters through the years. He had an enthusiasm for nurturing novices while at the same time coaching varsity debaters as they sought national titles. And as an administrator, he was a staunch supporter of the debate program, ensuring continued funding through the years of economic strain that hurt so many programs in the CSU. To recognize him for his dedication and service to debaters across the nation, we rechristen this tournament in his name. The top speaker award in both novice and varsity divisions will also be named after Dr. Burnett.
"The Hornet Cup" itself is the sweepstakes award for the top team at the tournament. The points are described below.
This tournament will feature six preliminary rounds of NFA-LD debate in both varsity and novice divisions. We will have the appropriate number of elimination debates so that we can break all winning records.
This will be the fourth year of the Hornet Cup and we look forward to hosting teams from all over the country! Please join us this year and help us to grow the tournament in the future. It is our intention to run a paperless tournament with electronic ballots and postings through tabroom.com. If you need help in this regard, do not hesitate to ask.
"Hornet Cup" Nicholas F. Burnett Classic Debate Tournament to be held at Sacramento State March 7-8, 2020
This tournament is named to honor Professor Emeritus Dr. Nicholas F. Burnett, who was the Director of Forensics at Sacramento State from 1987 to 1996. Dr. Burnett coached Sacramento State teams to consecutive quarter-finals appearances at CEDA Nationals in 1988 and 1989 in addition to leading the team as it won many regional and national debate awards. After his nearly 10 years coaching the Sac State team, Dr. Burnett served as chair of the Communication Studies Department for five years and finally retired as the Associate Dean for the College of Arts and Letters in 2012. Dr. Burnett has been a major supporter of this great activity and has touched the lives of many college debaters through the years. He had an enthusiasm for nurturing novices while at the same time coaching varsity debaters as they sought national titles. And as an administrator, he was a staunch supporter of the debate program, ensuring continued funding through the years of economic strain that hurt so many programs in the CSU. To recognize him for his dedication and service to debaters across the nation, we rechristen this tournament in his name. The top speaker award in both novice and varsity divisions will also be named after Dr. Burnett.
"The Hornet Cup" itself is the sweepstakes award for the top team at the tournament. The points are described below.
This tournament will feature six preliminary rounds of NFA-LD debate in both varsity and novice divisions. We will have the appropriate number of elimination debates so that we can break all winning records.
This will be the fourth year of the Hornet Cup and we look forward to hosting teams from all over the country! Please join us this year and help us to grow the tournament in the future. It is our intention to run a paperless tournament with electronic ballots and postings through tabroom.com. If you need help in this regard, do not hesitate to ask.
Hotel Information
We will not have a reserved block, but the following hotels are nearby and should offer a reasonable rate.
Hotel options:
Hampton Inn & Suites Sacramento @ CSUS (closest to campus): (916)451-1135
Larkspur Landing Sacramento (about 1 mile from campus): (855)304-7816
Fairfield Inn Sacramento Cal Expo (about 2 miles from campus): (916)920-5300
TownePlace Suites Sacramento Cal Expo (about 2 miles from campus): (916)920-5400
Hampton Inn & Suites Sacramento @ CSUS (closest to campus): (916)451-1135
Larkspur Landing Sacramento (about 1 mile from campus): (855)304-7816
Fairfield Inn Sacramento Cal Expo (about 2 miles from campus): (916)920-5300
TownePlace Suites Sacramento Cal Expo (about 2 miles from campus): (916)920-5400
Travel Information
The Sacramento Airport is about a 20 minute drive from campus and the tournament hotel. There are plenty of rental car companies in the airport. To get to campus or the hotel from the airport, take I-5 south, then merge onto highway 50 east towards South Lake Tahoe. Exit at Howe/Power Inn Road and follow the signs to campus.
Sac State’s address is 6000 J Street, 95819. No parking permit is needed on the weekend. Most rounds and registration will be in Mendocino Hall, so parking in Lot 2 is the best option. Due to numerous construction projects on campus, parking may be difficult and unpredictable. Please plan accordingly.
Sac State’s address is 6000 J Street, 95819. No parking permit is needed on the weekend. Most rounds and registration will be in Mendocino Hall, so parking in Lot 2 is the best option. Due to numerous construction projects on campus, parking may be difficult and unpredictable. Please plan accordingly.
Tournament Procedures
We will use the current NFA-LD topic and adhere to NFA rules.
Divisions may collapse if necessary, but we will make every effort to preserve a novice division. This may mean that we don't break brackets and students from the same team may debate each other. There will be no breaking of brackets in elimination rounds. We will, if necessary, have partial-elimination rounds in order to break all winning records.
We will utilize the RKS Decimal scale for speaker points; points are awarded in one-tenth increments and no ties are allowed.
Tie breakers - All winning records will break, power-matching and seeding will be determined by opponent wins, starting at the break line.
Filming/Streaming - We will also have one room set up with a camera where all debates in that room will be recorded. Teams have the ability to opt-out if they would like, and will be coded off of that room for the tournament. You must let tab know by registration.
Awards:
In addition to awards for all elimination round participants, we will have awards for the top 5 speakers in each division. The Hornet Cup will be a sweepstakes award recognizing the top team based on the results of the top 3 participants from each team (.5 points for each prelim win, 1 point for first elim win, 2 points for subsequent elim wins). Sac State debaters will compete but will NOT be eligible for sweepstakes awards.
Divisions may collapse if necessary, but we will make every effort to preserve a novice division. This may mean that we don't break brackets and students from the same team may debate each other. There will be no breaking of brackets in elimination rounds. We will, if necessary, have partial-elimination rounds in order to break all winning records.
We will utilize the RKS Decimal scale for speaker points; points are awarded in one-tenth increments and no ties are allowed.
Tie breakers - All winning records will break, power-matching and seeding will be determined by opponent wins, starting at the break line.
Filming/Streaming - We will also have one room set up with a camera where all debates in that room will be recorded. Teams have the ability to opt-out if they would like, and will be coded off of that room for the tournament. You must let tab know by registration.
Awards:
In addition to awards for all elimination round participants, we will have awards for the top 5 speakers in each division. The Hornet Cup will be a sweepstakes award recognizing the top team based on the results of the top 3 participants from each team (.5 points for each prelim win, 1 point for first elim win, 2 points for subsequent elim wins). Sac State debaters will compete but will NOT be eligible for sweepstakes awards.
Hospitality
We will offer snacks throughout. A long break is provided on Saturday to get lunch off campus. There are numerous excellent places to visit for food in the Sacramento region. There are also some very interesting historical sites that you may want to take your team to, particularly if you have never been here. If you are traveling from outside the region, please don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss any help you need to make the trip easier.