Hello Coaches, 

You and your team are invited to the Penn High School World Schools Invitational Tournament to be held on April 19th, 2025. Registration will run from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m., with a judges’ meeting at 8:30, and Rd. 1 starting at 9:00 a.m. Penn High School is in the Eastern Time Zone. 

Deadlines: The entry deadline is 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 16th. Entries are to be made through Speechwire. Please try to have your judges in by Thursday afternoon. Drops will be available through Saturday morning so feel free to process those on your own during the bus ride. 

Note: This tournament only offers World Schools Debate, and is intended to be a low-key, end of the year bash featuring four straight impromptu rounds. I’m hoping this will be a good opportunity to throw some of your kids together and serve as a team building experience and also remind all the kids that debate is something that we do for fun. 

Additionally, this could be a great tune up for any of your kids competing at the last chance qualifier or going to nationals this summer. We’ll also allow hybrid teams to compete if anyone is interested. Whichever team submits the entry is required to fulfill the judging obligation. 

Topics: All four rounds will be impromptu

All rounds will follow National Speech and Debate Association rules and restrictions. No electronics allowed for prep or during rounds. Students should write out notes and speeches on paper. They should use printed copies of speeches in prepared rounds. Students may use two reference books for impromptu rounds. Students will have 1 hour prep per impromptu round. 

Judging Requirements: One judge for every two entries. 

Hospitality: Pizza will be available for students during lunch. In addition, there will be snacks and drinks available for purchase. There will be a coaches'/judges' lounge with complimentary lunch and snacks available. We ask that you strongly encourage your students to make purchases from the concession stand, as this will help us cover the cost of speechwire services. 

Questions? If so, contact Jeremy Starkweather- Jstarkweather@phm.k12.in.us, or via my cell phone (574) 370-4758.