Dr. J. W. Patterson, Tournament Director for the Tournament of Champions, has released the list of approved tournaments for bids to the 2009 TOC to be held in Lexington, KY on May 2-4.
Automatic Qualifiers
Octafinals at the 2008 TOC
Octafinals at the 2008 NFL National Tournament
Octafinals at the 2008 CFL National Tournament
Octafinal Qualifiers
Yale (CT)
Florida Blue Key (FL)
Emory University (GA)
UC-Berkeley (CA)
Glenbrooks (IL)
Harvard University (MA)
Stanford University (CA)
Princeton University (NJ)
Dowling (IA)
Quarterfinal Qualifiers
Alta (UT)
Apple Valley (MN)
Arizona State (AZ)
Crestian (FL)
Golden Desert (NV)
Manchester-by-the-Sea (MA)
Meyers Park (NC)
Lexington (MA)
Wake Forest University (NC)
Any tournament with 50 teams from 5 or more states
Semifinal Qualifiers
Villager (PA)
Columbia (NY)
University of Pennsylvania (PA)
St. Mark’s (TX)
Ohio Valley (KY)
Bronx (NY)
George Mason (CA)
Harker (CA)
Hendrick Hudson (NY)
Lincoln East (NE)
Any invitation tournament with 40 or more debaters from 15 or more schools
Final Round Qualifiers
James Logan (CA)
Nova Titan (FL)
Valley (IA)
La Costa Canyon (CA)
Grapevine (TX)
Blake (MN)
Indianola (IA)
Miller West (NE)
Cheyenne East (WY)
All 2009 NFL Qualifers (Tournament must be held before March 15)
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
the new octos bids turns the toc into a tournament that everyone who sucks with no bids can go to into a tournament where everyone who sucks can get bids and go to… we shouldn’t legitimize bad tournaments for the sake of making the toc bigger in size. We’re not fooling anyone, just because people who go to the toc will have bids now, they will have gotten them from bad tournaments.
I’m also surprised at the sudden increase in Octos-bid tournaments. For example, while Yale and Blue Key are great tournaments, they are not on the same level as Harvard (with 150+ teams than either Yale or Blue Key) or Emory (where you have to apply or be a member school to attend). I guess it’ll just make it easier for teams to rack up bids.
but it does seem there needs to be some differentiation between the supposed “octofinal qualifiers.” I would say UC Berkeley, Harvard, Glenbrooks and Emory should be in a slightly different class due to the strength of the competition this year. Actually, if you look at strictly the number of teams it should just be Harvard and Berkeley…
If you get an automatic qualifier, is that one bid, or do you automatically get to go to tocs.
and what would constitute as octo-finals at NFL nationals, would it be round 12 or 13, or just the top 16 people, because they are doing double elimination
Thanks for the help, we are just getting into the national circuit.
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