Dear Forensics Coach:

It is with great pleasure that we invite your school to compete at the 29th Annual Union Catholic Forensics Tournament held on Monday, May 19, 2025.

TOURNAMENT REGISTRATION
We will be using the platform Speechwire.com for tournament registration. Additionally, all judging will be conducted through Speechwire.

Coaches will be able to register their team and access student ballots. Additionally, all email communication/updates will be sent through Speechwire.

Every school must have a Speechwire account. It is necessary for one coach from each school to create an account.

Please click on the link for instructions on how to create a Speechwire account: https://www.speechwire.com/c-account-create.php

After your account is set up, you can find the 29th Annual Union Catholic Forensics Tournament by clicking on the “Tournament calendar” link on the left side of the website.  You will then be able to register your team and enter judge information.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Monday, May 19

12:00 – 12:30     Registration
12:30 – 1:00       General Meeting and Judges Meeting
1:00 – 1:45         Round One
1:45 – 2:30         Round Two
2:30 – 3:00         Snack Break
3:00 – 3:10         Announcement of Semi Finalists
3:15 – 4:15         Semi Final Round
4:30 – 4:40         Announcement of Finalists
4:45 – 5:45         Final Round
6 – 6:30              Awards Ceremony

CATEGORIES
This year we will be offering five categories: Reading, Declamation, Drama, Duo, and Humor. Please refer to the following link for a description of the categories, as well as an explanation of judging protocols: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PjUti0jdh-ASjQO9mYeYmW8BgLvJbna-

TIME LIMITS
2:00 to 5:30. Students cannot be awarded first place in any round if their presentation is not within the time limit. 

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY
Students in grades 4th through 8th can compete.

STUDENT ENTRY QUOTA
20 entries per school. If you have more than 20 entries, a second team entry is allowed. This would mean a 2nd Speechwire account would have to be created.

JUDGING QUOTA
Each school will be responsible for providing judges for the tournament. Judges will be responsible for judging preliminary rounds. Please see the quota requirements below:

1 – 5 entries           1 judge
6 – 10 entries.        2 judges
11 – 15 entries.       3 judges
16 – 20 entries.     4 judges

Judges will use Speechwire to judge their rounds, write their critiques, and submit ballots. This link offers information on how to use online ballots (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJXxeVS-KgM).

REGISTRATION FEE
The registration fee is $10 for each student entry. Please make all checks payable to Union Catholic High School. When sending the checks, please use the following mailing address:

Union Catholic High School
Attn: Forensics Team
1600 Martine Ave, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076

QUESTIONS
Please contact either Dr. Reagan jreagan@unioncatholic.org or Dr. Sagendorf esagendorf@unioncatholic.org.

We look forward to welcoming your team to our tournament this year!

Sincerely,
Jim & Edward