** Please populate our waitlists if your event is full. ** 
** We will release more rooms during open registration according to demand. **

CHERRY BLOSSOM CHALLENGE 

April 3rd - 5th

Registration Opens: Monday, February 24th (10:00 am EST)
Registration Closes: Wednesday, March 5th (11:59 pm EST)

Please visit our Payment and Fee tab for important information about fees, payment method, and deadlines.

TOURNAMENT LOCATION
City Gates Church
9401 Little River Turnpike
Fairfax, VA 22031

Debate Check-In: Thursday (12:30 PM)
Speech Only Check-In: Friday (8:30 AM)

PAYMENT INFORMATION
Cherry Blossom Challenge is collecting all fees through PayPal.

Pay all fees via PayPal to:
apexspeechanddebate@gmail.com (Sarah Giddens)
Include the following message with your payment:
 CBC2025 (Your StoaHub Account Name)

PARENT PARTICIPATION
All students must have a parent or adult chaperone present to staff or judge at the tournament.
If a parent cannot attend, prior approval and an alternative contribution must be arranged with the tournament director for the student to participate. 

• Chaperones may only cover 2 students; exception is granted to families with more than two children. Each parent will be responsible for judging at least 6 rounds. (See Parent Page for more details.)
• Parent signatures (or the designated chaperone's signature) will be required at the student check-in for all participants. Parents are expected to remain present throughout the tournament to take ballots.
• 2024-2025 judge training will be available at the tournament throughout the day.
• Every parent should come to the ballot table 30 minutes before each round to ensure sufficient judges are balloted. Although we ask you to sign up for a specific judging time slot, please don't leave the balloting area until ALL the ballots have been distributed. You may be needed for a round outside of your scheduled time.
• Students not fulfilling their judging obligations may be disqualified from the tournament. Thank you for your cooperation.

TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW

Debate Events: 
Parliamentary Debate: $40
Lincoln-Douglas, Team Policy: $40

Speech Events (max. 3 speeches per pattern):
All Stoa Speech Events: $40 for the first event, $15 for each additional event
Apologetic categories: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Extemp topics: International, Domestic, Economic, Cultural
Mars Hill topics: Current Film and Television (last 5 years), Classic Film and Television, Current Music, Classic Music, Literature, The Arts, Current Media Topics

Thursday: Debate only
Friday: Speech and Debate
Saturday: Speech and Debate

Timers:
Debate competitors are expected to self-time their rounds. Please bring a timing device; cell phones cannot be used as timers.

Meals:
Meals can be ordered at registration. No meals will be offered on Thursday during the shortened schedule.