SpeechWire Tournament Services - Forensics Tournament Software

Eric Schaefer

Cell = (219) 983-2781

Email = eschaefer@plymouth.k12.in.us

We would like to welcome you to another edition of the Plymouth Fall / Early Winter Speech Tournament . The goal is to start the year off by focusing on providing positive and constructive feedback. This tournament is both a Varsity & Novice competition. Since our tournament will occur toward the beginning of the year we ask that all necessary Speechwire accounts for any new students and/or judges on your team are created ahead of time. Practicing logging in / accessing these accounts before the tournament date will be extremely helpful. Registration Deadline: Please submit your entry no later than Monday, November 11th, 2023 by 5:00pm (EST) on Speechwire.

We will offer a team total of 40 entries for sweepstakes with a cap of 5 entries in all categories. Please email if you have questions as accommodations might be possible. The varsity division will be on an 8 point scale with 1st receiving 8 points, 2nd receiving 7 points…down to 8th receiving 1 point. The novice division will be on a 5 point scale with 1st receiving 5 points, 2nd receiving 4 points…down to 5th - 8th each receiving 1 point.

Novice = Any student in their first season of high school competition. (In Duo, both students must be novices to be entered in Novice.)

Varsity = Students in their 2nd year (or more) of competition. (If a varsity and a novice are paired in a Duo, enter them in Varsity.)

Drama, Humor, POI, Prose, Poetry, Original Oratory, Informative, Declamation, Original Performance, DUO, Combined Extemp, Impromptu, Discussion, and Broadcasting.

Remember Duo and OP = Duo doublers must maintain the same partner if choosing to enter multiple Duo events.

We will follow all ISSDA rules as posted with some points of emphasis and minor adjustments.
The following exception to the ISSDA Rules will apply

Impromptu = Topics will be in the form of a word, a quote, a current event, and a “miscellaneous” category. We will once again use the Flex Prep method. Students will have seven total minutes for preparing and speaking. It is each student’s choice on how to utilize their prep time.

Discussion = We will release 4 Discussion Artifacts on Monday evening prior to the tournament. Driving Questions will be released the day of the tournament. They will be revealed by the judges during each round at the tournament.

Combined Extemp = For each of the two draws we will have an equal number of IX and USX questions in the selection pool. Also, we are planning on using Speechwire for the Draw, so please have your extemp students ready for this type of draw.

Rounds 1 - 3 = News Program (5 minutes total) including news stories from the week prior to the day of the tournament.

As well as the following…Music Intro / Outro (20 - 30 seconds each end) students should reference songs & artists from TWO of the following genres…Classic Rock, Country, R&B, or Pop. Commercial (45 - 60 seconds) write an advertisement for any type fitness related product / equipment. Finals - Breaking News (2 minutes)To get accustomed / practice new ISSDA rules…Radio finals will consist of a “Breaking News” Cold Read. Students will be given a short news story. Each finalist will have 2 minutes to look over this “Breaking News Update”. After the 2 minute prep is over, students will read off the paper and be judged on their ability to deliver the cold read smoothly.

We reserve the right to combine divisions and/or events if low entry numbers require this for the efficient running of the tournament. Divisions and events will be separated for awards.

We will need 1 judge for every 5 entries plus a fraction based on the entry total. If a school has 6 entries they will be expected to provide 2 judges. If you do not have enough judges to cover your entry PLEASE remove the appropriate number slots until you have 1 judge for every 5 entries.

We will be using on-line balloting for the tournament. Coaches should register judges along with their email addresses and have an electronic device to use for completing ballots. While phones can work, it is recommended to use laptops, ipads, or their equivalent. Judges will be asked to write constructive critiques with a reason for rank along with returning scores for each speaker in their section.

All judges are expected to write constructive critiques. To facilitate and encourage effective critique writing, we will have a meeting for all judges prior to Round 1 of the tournament. All judges will need to attend this meeting.

We will have food available for purchase at the tournament for competitors. We will also have a judge lounge available for your judges. We cannot necessarily accomodate all possible dietary restrictions, but we will do our best to see what we can do and continue to live up to our past food service tradition.

Individual disqualification may occur if a student is caught ordering food to our campus. Team disqualification may occur when a judge or coach is caught ordering food to our campus. Please respect the need for concessions to cover the costs of the tournament. Also, not allowing building doors to be opened throughout the day will improve the safety of our tournament!

If any students, judges, or coaches, do have dietary restrictions, we certainly understand that they may need to bring their own lunch to the tournament.

We will be awarding ribbons to the top 8 speakers in all events, and both Novice & Varsity divisions, even if we have to combine divisions to run the tournament. We will also be awarding team trophies to the top 8 teams at the tournament.

Eric Schaefer
Email address: eschaefer@plymouth.k12.in.us
Phone number: 219-983-2781

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