Simon Lono Invitational Tournament
Simon Lono is the founder of the Newfoundland and Labrador Speech and Debate Union. He was an avid supporter of community development and advocated for orphan disease patient care across Canada. At the age of 49, Simon received a diagnosis of Primary Myelofibrosis, a rare disease with no known cure. On May 24, 2019, Simon passed away, leaving behind not only his lifelong partner and family to mourn but also a large debate community that misses him dearly.
Simon consistently donated his time to developing debate and coaching students at any time of the day. Because of Simon’s hard work and generosity, many disadvantaged students attended tournaments, including nationals, worlds, and many other events. Simon fought for the underprivileged in all facets of his life. His deep-rooted belief in the self-sufficiency of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians guided many of his principles in debate.
Quick Links for the Tournament
General HUB - Find links to everything you may need
Judges HUB - Links to everything judges may need (only accessible through NLSDU accounts)
Schedule - Our Schedule in all six Canadian time zones
General Assembly http://meet.google.com/ktq-ipvv-sjn - or Dial-in: +1 613-778-4305 PIN: 367 928 213#
Missing something? Email Info@NLSDU.org
Dates: May 19 - 20
Who: All Canadian Students from Grade 9 - 12 (80 team maximum)
Format: CNDF Format
Price: Free
Platform: Google Meet (no account needed.)
Prepped Motion: This House Supports Space Exploration funded and organized by governments instead of by private organizations
In the spirit of Simon’s legacy of accessibility, this online tournament will be offered entirely free of charge. To ensure that students can compete from coast to coast to coast remotely, the tournament will run on Central Standard Time.
Friday March 19: 7:00pm - 10:00pm NST
Saturday March 20: 12:00pm - 7:00pm NST
The tournament will take place using Google Meet, and students will need access to a computer, internet connection, microphone, and headphones if possible. Students will have access to a central “HUB” document where they will find links to their debate rooms, a streamed general assembly, as well as motion release and other important announcements. For more information and FAQs about online debate, click here
The tournament will be CNDF format, with five rounds of debate plus a semifinals and finals round. Speaking times will be seven minutes, first and last minute protected time, with three minute fully protected reply speeches at the end. For an introduction to CNDF debate format, click here
Inter-school hybrids are permitted for this tournament, but inter-provincial hybrids are not. Students currently in grades 9-12 are eligible to compete. This tournament will be capped at a maximum of 80 teams, registration is not allocated by province.
As we want to see students from across the country, we would also like judges from across the country. Students are encouraged to ask their coaches to register with them to help fulfill this goal.
To register as a debater, click here
To register as a judge, click here
Registration is due by 4:30 AM NST on March 19th (Midnight Mar 18 in BC). Registration should be submitted using the google forms linked above.
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For general questions or concerns please contact us by email at info@NLSDU.org