How to host an MHL event

We need schools to host. The benefits to the league are obvious: we get a place to have our tournament. The benefits to your school are less obvious, but they are real nonetheless. You get a chance to become a part of the debate community, for one thing. It says something about your commitment to forensics, both to the debate community and to your own administration and parents. It makes it more real. Plus, it’s not all that hard, provided you’ve got the space. And if you sell concessions, you might even make a few dollars for your team.

1. You need a bunch of rooms, at least 40, and more is better. 30 cuts it a little short, although we have done it. The average event has about 60 LDers (15 rooms), 40 PFers (10 rooms) and 30 policy students (15 rooms). Although numbers vary, we seldom go over this many, except at the First Timers event, which is usually at Bronx Science (they’ve got the space).

2. Coordinate with the MHL staff early on. Your wanting a tournament doesn’t guarantee you’ll get to host. Also, the weekends we have are the weekends we have; there are no extras lying around, waiting to be picked up.

3. The Thursday night before the tournament, when pre-registration closes, we will give you a very good idea of the exact number of rooms we’ll need. Have a list ready for us on arrival Saturday morning of the rooms we can use.

4. Make sure that you have access to all your rooms, either yourself or through your custodial staff. A locked room is the kiss of debate death.

5. Secure a room for tab. It should be close to where everyone congregates. It should be private and quiet. Comfy chairs are nice, but no one has them, so why should you be any different? Access to the internet is highly desirable, but not essential, as we can ad lib if we have to. We need a table outside the room for picking up and dropping off ballots.

6. Having kids to help run the tournament is nice, but not necessary. Your kids can participate in the tournament if they want; we can run the tournament with just the tab staff. If you do have extra kids, however, and they’re not judging, we’ll use them as runners and general gofers.

7. You should have a judge’s lounge with coffee (ready at 8:30 am and throughout the day) and miscellaneous snacks. Don’t kill yourself, though. Most judges at an MHL are kids. You can choose to let kids into the judges’ lounge, or not, as you wish.

8. You do need to provide lunch. The easiest thing to do is call out for pizzas. Start with an obvious number, and order more as needed; you don’t want to end up with too many. If you’re selling the pizza, $2 a slice makes sense in today’s troubled economy.

9. Sell concessions like soda and water and candy, all for $1 a pop. Be judicial in your initial purchase; if you can buy more during the day, that’s better than buying a lot in advance that you don’t sell. Your biggest seller by far will be water.