Westfield Middle School Rock Talk Tournament

November 9, 2024

8:00 am - 2:00 pm

 

Greetings Coaches and Competitors,

 

You are invited to Westfield Middle School’s Rock Talk Tournament on November 9, 2024. We will be competing in person at 345 W. Hoover St, Westfield, IN 46074 from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm.

 

AWARDS - Single ribbons will be awarded to the top eight places in each event. Team trophies will be awarded to the top three schools in both large and small divisions for Team Sweepstakes. WMS will not participate in Team Sweepstakes.

 

CATEGORIES - We will be offering all Indiana Middle School Speech & Debate Events, including Indiana Middle School Lincoln-Douglas Debate (traditional format).

 

DEBATE

Debate Resolution

Electric vehicles are a net positive.

 

DISCUSSION - Middle School Discussion Theme: Health

Rock Talk Subtopic: Healthy Teens 

Round 1. Junk Food: What are the long-term effects of junk food on health? Look into how processed and fast foods contribute to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

Round 2. Teen Sleep: Why is sleep important for teenagers? Explore the effects of sleep on growth, learning, and overall health.

Round 3. Health Education: How important is health education in schools, and how likely is a course in middle school health going to contribute to students' overall well-being and future lifestyle choices into adulthood? Discuss the long-term impact of learning (or not learning) healthy habits in school on a person’s long-term well-being, including exercise, diet, and self-care.

 

DOUBLING - Doubling is encouraged in all categories with these exceptions. These specific combinations will not be available due to scheduling conflicts:

DEBATE + DISCUSSION

DEBATE + EXTEMP

DEBATE + BROADCAST

BROADCAST + EXTEMP

 

ENTRY DEADLINE, FEES, & CAPS - Entries are due on Wednesday, November 6, at 12:00 pm. Each entry is $2 and will offset the costs of ribbons and trophies. Make checks payable to WMS and mail to Angela Hoffman, 345 W. Hoover St., Westfield, IN 46074. (If costs are prohibitive, please let us know. We want more students competing, not fewer.)

 

SWEEPSTAKES - Schools with 25 or more entries will be entered as large schools. Schools with 24 or fewer entries will be entered as small schools. As the host school, Westfield will not be entered into Sweepstakes.

 

DROP DEADLINE - The drop deadline is Saturday, November 9, at 6:00 am, after which you will need to text Stephanie directly at 317-374-5858 to make drops. 

 

JUDGES - Each school is responsible for bringing one judge for every five speech entries or fraction thereof (6 entries = 2 judges) and 1 judge for every 2 debate entries. Judges need to bring a laptop for scoring. We will score online through SpeechWire.

 

SPEECHWIRE REGISTRATION & ENTRIES - Please remember that in order to enter students and judges in the tournament, you must first collect email addresses from them, set up SpeechWire accounts for them, and remind each of them to activate their accounts. Participants and judges cannot share the same email address. 

 

COACHES’ & JUDGES’ MEETING - There will be a meeting for coaches and judges beginning promptly at 8:30 am in the media center.

 

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE - The schedule is tentative, but we will start with check-in at 8:00 am. There will be three speech rounds and four debate rounds. 

 

 

HOSPITALITY - Our Westfield S&D families are collaborating to provide drinks, snacks, and soups for the judges and coaches who attend our tournament. Coffee and creamer/sugar will be available.

 

CONCESSIONS - Cash-only concessions will be available all day including breakfast and lunch options.

 

QUESTIONS - If you have any questions about this tournament, please contact Stephanie Hodge and Angela Hoffman at hodges@wws.k12.in.us or hoffmana@wws.k12.in.us.

COACHES

 

Please remind your students to clean up after themselves in their competition rooms and in the cafeteria.

 

Drops/adds/changes need to be reported to Stephanie at 317-374-5858. Please include as much information/detail as possible when texting (student name, coach name, school name, category, etc.). The more information we have, the faster we can make changes.

 

Day-of issues can also be reported to Stephanie at 317-374-5858. Text is faster, but calls are fine, too.

 

Please prep your judges by sharing the Indiana MS Speech & Debate Rules with them.

 

JUDGES

 

WiFi: guest_secured (shamrocks23)

 

To stay on time, please start rounds within 5 minutes of their start time.

 

If you are missing a competitor, text Stephanie at 317-374-5858. Please include as much information/detail as possible when texting (student name, coach name, school name, category, room number, etc.). The more information we have, the faster we can find out what’s going on and report back to you. If they do not arrive within 5 minutes, go ahead and start without them, but they can still come late. Only record someone as a drop/no-show once you’ve confirmed with Stephanie.

 

Submit all rankings at live.speechwire.com before moving on to the next round. PLEASE include comments for every competitor. These comments can be added during the afternoon break before awards if you don’t have time to submit them before a round ends.

 

COMPETITORS

 

Be courteous in the hallways - others are performing in classrooms - don’t run or yell.

 

Do not go into the gymnasium area.

 

Clean up after yourself. Don’t leave trash behind. Keep your belongings in a neat pile so you don’t leave anything behind.

 

Be early to your rounds.

 

Wait outside the classroom before your round. Students are not allowed into a classroom without an adult in the room.

 

Thank the judges before you leave each round; they are volunteers.

 

Judges are volunteers. They may be new to judging your event. If you think they may be misjudging or don’t quite know the rules accurately, speak politely to them about it as soon as possible, but remember to be polite. In the end, what the judge in your room says is the final decision for that round, and your being graceful about it will do more for you than being contemptuous (angry). Take it up with your coach after the round ends if you feel something is unresolved.

 

If you don’t know where to go or need to drop, ask an adult (preferably your coach) for help; don’t just skip a round.

 

If you are waiting for a long time for a judge or feel like you are maybe in the wrong place, quickly ask an adult for help (preferably your coach). 

 

Be aware of the many ears around you. Talk kindly about others. If you have something negative to say, keep it to yourself or wait until you get home.

 

Be confident (not arrogant). Your confidence level comes through in your performance and can help you place higher. Judges don’t know what your speech was “supposed” to say, so just keep moving forward if you stumble.

 

Have fun and get to know new people. Compliment competitors when you notice something they have done well. It feels good to be kind to others and to hear compliments. If you continue in S&D next year or in high school, many of these same people will be there with you.

 

 

COACHES

 

Please remind your students to clean up after themselves in their competition rooms and in the cafeteria.

 

Drops/adds/changes need to be reported to Stephanie at 317-374-5858. Please include as much information/detail as possible when texting (student name, coach name, school name, category, etc.). The more information we have, the faster we can make changes.

 

Day-of issues can also be reported to Stephanie at 317-374-5858. Text is faster, but calls are fine, too.

 

Please prep your judges by sharing the Indiana MS Speech & Debate Rules with them.

 

JUDGES

 

WiFi: Guest_BYOD (no password) or WWS_Devices (password: perseverance).

 

To stay on time, please start rounds within 5 minutes of their start time.

 

If you are missing a competitor, text Stephanie at 317-374-5858. Please include as much information/detail as possible when texting (student name, coach name, school name, category, room number, etc.). The more information we have, the faster we can find out what’s going on and report back to you. If they do not arrive within 5 minutes, go ahead and start without them, but they can still come late. Only record someone as a drop/no-show once you’ve confirmed with Stephanie.

 

Submit all rankings at live.speechwire.com before moving on to the next round. PLEASE include comments for every competitor. These comments can be added during the afternoon break before awards if you don’t have time to submit them before a round ends.

 

(vr24)