Thank you for your interest in DebateTracker! If you have questions or want to learn more, please look at the below frequently asked questions. If your question is not answered here, please post your question to our idebate.org discussion board which you can find at: http://www.idebate.org/discussion/view_forum.php?id=18

I registered on the site but never received an email. When I try to register again with the same name it won't allow me to. Where did my email go?
If you are using free web based email like yahoo or hotmail, please check in your bulk folder. The email will come from: register@idebate.org

I am a student who has requested to become a member of a club but have not received an email telling me if I have been approved, what should I do? The listed coach of your club is responsible to approve your membership and points. If you have not heard back from your coach about points or membership, you petition your Association for help.

I am a student who loves debate but there is no club at my school, how do I get points?
Students who are not in a debate club may register on DebateTracker but they cannot receive points. To receive points as a debater, you must be in a club.

How do I enter in my club into DebateTracker?
First the coach of the club must register as a coach and be approved by the Association that you are affiliated with (or by IDEA if you are a club that is not affiliated with an Association). Once you have been approved as a coach you may enter in your club and then your students can register as members of your club.

How do I register as a Debate Association?
You can register as a debate association by going to the Join IDEA section of the website and filling out the online form for Organizational Supporting Member. If you would like to apply to be a Voting Member, please contact Nina Watkins at nwatkins@idebate.org

How do I or my club or association get a certificate? How many points are needed for a seal of excellence?
Your certificate will appear when you login to DebateTracker once you have gotten enough points (and remember, debaters must have both debate and community service points). As you get more points your certificate will contain more and more seals, see the breakdown below:

100 points = bronze seal
250 points = silver seal
500 points = gold seal
1,000 points = double gold seal
1,500 points = triple gold seal

What do you mean by "community service"?
Community service is voluntary (unpaid) work or services that benefit a school, club or wider community. The purpose of community service is two fold: to widen perspectives and knowledge and to provide stronger ties with the environment in which the debate club is functioning as well as in society at large. Community service that is mandated (by the school, for example) is not considered community service is DebateTracker. Community service can include: working for the school, working for the club, participating in non-competitive and public speech and debate events that occur outside tournaments and working in the community by volunteering with community organizations or other institutions.

How many community service points and how many speech and debate points do I need to get a certificate?
To receive a seal of excellence, students must secure points in both categories of judged events and community service ‚ a seal of excellence can only be awarded if no more than 60% of the DebateTracker points come from judged events. Thus for the 100 points required for a bronze seal of excellence at least 40 should be from community service. Students may receive up to 300 community service hours (or 900 points) a year.

What if I realize that a debater in the system has put in points for an event that did not take place or has put in too many points for a particular event?
If you suspect that a mistake has been made with points, please contact the students coach and explain why you think this is a mistake. If the dispute continues, contact the Association Director.

Am I allowed to enter info from before the date of registration in DebateTracker? Or even from before the DebateTracker has been opened?
It was decided that DebateTracker would start at 0 for everyone. The system relies on self monitoring - a debater goes to an event, enters in their points, their coach approves. If someone who was at the event or the organizer of the event notices that a mistake was made, it can be changed. If someone challenges the points, we can get in touch with the coach. This system only works however for things that are recent (by that we mean the 2005-6 school year) which is why we do not have any way for debaters to put in info from their past debate experiences.

However, if you recently went to a debate tournament but were not yet registered when you attended, you are welcome to include those points as long as your coach can verify that you were there and your records are accurate.