Friends and Colleagues:

 

The University of Illinois Chicago and Northwestern University are pleased to invite you to the Chicago Swing the week of October 21st thru October 26th a hybrid swing; October 21st-October 25th will be held asynchronously. On October 26th join us in Chicago for the in-person half “Chicago Swing: Windy City Ghosts and Ghouls”.

 

We are pleased to offer all 11 AFA Events. A novice division will be offered for any events with sufficient entries. Novice is defined for this tournament as a competitor in their first year of competition. Semi-finals will be held in events with 40 or more entries. Awards will be presented to the top six speakers in each event, top five speakers in individual sweepstakes, and the top five schools in team sweepstakes. We will also offer a combined swing sweepstakes awards for the top school and individual speaker.

 

We are also excited to offer International Public Debate (IPDA) style debate for the first time. It will be offered at the in-person portion of the tournament. There will be one division with three preliminary rounds and a final round. Awards will be presented to the top 6 speakers determined by speaker points and both finalists. IPDA points will not be included in team sweepstakes points. One judge will cover two debaters.

 

Please enter the tournament by using speechwire.com:

 

Asynchronous- Entries & Videos-Before 9pm CST -Monday, October 21st, 2024

 

In-Person Entries-Before 5pm on Tuesday, October 22nd, 2024

 

One judge will be required for every six entries. Schools should cover 50% of their entries.

 

Fees are $8 per IE entry and $25 per IPDA entry. Uncovered entries are each an additional $10.

 

Drop fees will be assessed after 5pm on Wednesday, October 23rd. 

Add/drops on Thursday, October 24th: $10 per change plus entry fee 

Drops on/after Friday, October 25th incur a $15 per drop plus entry 

Dropped judges are $50

 

If you have questions, feel free to contact Vance by email (vpierce4@uic.edu) or phone

(309.648.7605).

 

These fees will apply each day as each day is a separate tournament. A final invoice including dropped fees will be shared for each tournament.

 

Student run teams will not be charged for entries covered by judges. Any teams in need of entry fee discounts will be given support if asked.

 

We look forward to seeing you in Chicago soon!

 

Vance Pierce

Director of Forensics University of Illinois Chicago vpierce4@uic.edu

 

Sophie Stern

Advisor

Northwestern University st.stern@northwestern.edu

 

Asynchronous Tournament Video Standards:

 

- Students are only allowed use of one microphone and one speaker.

- Duo partners ARE allowed to perform in the same room for filming.

- Physically present audiences (aside from the camera operator) are not allowed. - Masks are not required to be shown in videos.

- Prep time in impromptu is not required to be shown in videos.

- The same video will be used for all rounds: 2 preliminary rounds and finals.

 

Asynchronous Tournament Schedule:

 

Friday, October 18th @ 12pm: Limited preparation prompts are released on speechwire Monday, October 21st @ 9pm: Entries & Videos due on speechwire

Wednesday, October 23rd @ 9pm: Prelim Ballots due on speechwire

Thursday, October 24th @ 9pm: Final Ballots due on speechwire

Results will be posted to speechwire ASAP!

 

The tournament will use e-ballots.

We will also provide these links to other competitors in the round if they would like to observe

 

In-Person Tournament Schedule:

 

October 26th, 2024 8:30am - Registration

9:30am – Extemp Draw

10:00am – Round 1A (EXT, PERS, DUO, PRO, POI, CA)

11:15am – Round 1B (IMP, ADS, INF, DI, POE), IPDA Round 1

12:30pm – IPDA Round 2, Break for Lunch (Lunch Provided) 1:15pm – Extemp Draw

1:45pm – Round 2A (EXT, PERS, DUO, PRO, POI, CA)

3:00pm – Round 2B (IMP, ADS, INF, DI, POE), IPDA Round 3

4:15pm – Extemp Draw for Finals

4:45pm – Finals A (EXT, PERS, DUO, PRO, POI, CA)

6:00pm – Finals B (IMP, ADS, INF, DI, POE), IPDA Finals (we will collapse finals if possible)

Immediately Following – AWARDS

 

Lunch:

 

Students- Join us for a Ghoulish Gameshow over lunch

 

Coaches- In this facilitated discussion, Aimee Miller (Ferris State University) and Ryan Rigda (Saginaw Valley State University) will briefly share about their recent qualitative interview study, entitled, "Burnout and Boundaries: A Qualitative Analysis of Emotional Labor in Collegiate Speech and Debate." This study explored the connection between interpersonal relationships, emotional labor, and burnout in coaching forensics. They will then facilitate a conversation with lunch-and-learn participants centered around this topic.

 

IPDA Rules

 

Students will be assigned an opponent at the beginning of prep. They will be presented with 5 resolutions and will have 2 minutes to strike topics, beginning with the negative. Once a resolution is chosen, students will have 30 minutes to prep. They can use the internet, printed resources, etc., and can consult with their teammates (but not coaches).

 

Speaking times:

o 5 minutes – Affirmative constructive o 2 – Cross examination

o 6 – Negative constructive

o 2 – Cross examination

o 3 – Affirmative rebuttal

o 5 – Negative rebuttal

o 3 – Affirmative summary

 

Judges will choose a winner between the two speakers, then assign them a rate (speaker points). The scale is 1-30. Unlike in IEs, you can rank a student who didn’t win higher than the student that did (called a low-point win).

 

We invite you to read the Preamble of the Constitution of the International Public Debate Associate. It’s a quick read to understand the philosophy of the event. http://www.ipdadebate.info/constitution--bylaws.html

 

Reminders:

- Students can be entered in flight B events without restriction. They should complete their debate before heading to their IE round and indicate this upon signing in to the round.

- Students will be prepping and competing during the lunch hour. Let us know if you need accommodation.

- Please be on time to prep! The tournament running on time depends on the timeliness of students and judges of debate rounds.

 

Sweepstakes Points Individual Sweepstakes:

 

All students entered in IE’s will be entered in individual sweepstakes. Students will earn points toward individual sweepstakes for any entry reaching open or novice finals

 

Team Sweepstakes:

 

Team sweepstakes will be awarded to the top five teams at the tournament each day based on

final round points.

 

Individual and team sweepstakes points will be awarded as follows: 12 Points – 1st Place in final

10 Points – 2nd Place in final

8 Points – 3rd Place in final

6 Points – 4th Place in final

4 Points – 5th Place in final

2 Points – 6th Place in final

1 Point – 7th Place in final (or Non-advancing Semifinalist)

 

*Events advancing to finals will also score 2pts for each 1st place in prelims and 1 pt. for each 2nd place in prelims

 

-Semi-finals can be held for events with 40 or more competitors

-We will also offer exhibition finals for non-advancing novice competitors for additional feedback if the entries allow. These rounds will not score sweepstakes points

The scores from both Saturday and Sunday will be totaled to determine overall swing sweepstakes.

 

Awards:

 

The top six finalists in each event will be recognized.

The top five schools in team sweepstakes (each half) will be recognized with an award.

   

We will also offer a combined swing sweepstakes (top team and individual speaker).

Designate each competitor as novice or varsity when registering. We will recognize TOP NOVICE in each event

 

Awards will be awarded to the top 6 speakers (determined by speaker points) and the finalists in IPDA. IPDA points will not count towards team sweepstakes points.

(vr24)