Senior Hilltopper Classic

Registration	General information	Files for download	Tournament schedule	Fees	Final results

General information

This information is from a tournament in a past season!

This is a High School tournament in Kentucky.

View manager contact information

Dear Colleagues:

December is fast approaching, and with it comes many exciting and familiar experiences. Homes and shops will start decorating with holiday colors, planning will start for the New Year, and the 2015 Western Kentucky Senior Hilltopper Classic will be held on December 11th and 12th. The tournament will take place on the campus of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY, and a full bevy of forensics fun will be offered, including:

• A Public Forum Debate Tournament
• Congressional Debate
• Novice divisions in debate with sufficient entries
• All Kentucky High School Speech League senior events, including the new POI. Event descriptions and rules found here.
• The lowest I.E. entry fees of any major national tournament at $5

More information is contained within the rest of this invitation regarding entries, hotels, food and scheduling. However, if you have any questions, please contact Chris Chandler by phone at 270.745.6340, or directly 270.202.2771, or by email at christopher.chandler@wku.edu. We sincerely hope if you attended this tournament last year that you will keep us on your travel schedule, and if you did not attend last year please consider adding us to your schedule. See you “on the hill” in December for the Hilltopper Classic!!!

Sincerely,

Western Kentucky University

EVENTS

We will be offering all of the Kentucky High School Speech League senior events, including Programmed Oral Interpretation and Public Forum Debate (no L-D Debate or Policy Debate). Students entering Public Forum may not participate in Congressional Debate. Other students may enter up to three events; however, the schedule will not be adjusted to accommodate students who cannot make it to all of their rounds on time. It is suggested that students in Broadcasting, Extemp, Improv Duo, and Impromptu be limited to two events. You may enter as many contestants as you wish in each category, but only the top three in each I.E. category will earn sweepstakes points. Descriptions of these events and rules regarding them can be found here.

PUBLIC FORUM

We follow the KHSSL rule of using the NSDA monthly resolution.  The December resolution will be posted in November, when it is made available. We will update this page at that time. This information can be found at the following location:http://www.nationalforensicleague.org/aspx/nav.aspx?navid=227&pnavid=175. Competitors in Public Forum must also follow the NSDA guidelines for evidence, the updated guidelines for which are posted at the following URL: http://www.joyoftournaments.com/defn/14/0/140064/Final%20Edit%20Ad%20Hoc%20Rules_VP%20BdMtg14.doc

As for individual event entries, students entering in Public Forum can enter one other non-debate event, but not Extemp or Broadcast Announcing.  The schedule of elimination rounds on Saturday prohibits those two events.

SEMI-FINALS

The top eighteen in each event shall advance to the semi-final round where needed. The top eighteen shall be chosen with the lowest cumulative score and tie breakers shall follow the procedure described in the KHSSL Handbook.

AWARDS

Awards will be presented to the top six in each I.E. category and the top eight in Public Forum Debate. Sweepstakes trophies will be presented to the top five schools in I.E.

NIETOC QUALIFICATION

This is a qualifying tournament for, and WKU is a proud sponsor of, the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions. For additional information on the NIETOC and their qualification process, you can visit their website at www.nietoc.com.

UKTOC QUALIFICATION

We are pleased to announce that the UK Tournament of Champions will invite all finalists in DI, HI, DUO, EX, and OO to compete at the TOC, held at the University of Kentucky  in April.  All finalists in both POE and PRO will receive invitations to compete in Oral Interpretation.  All finalists in either POE or PRO will receive a full invitation on reaching finals in the other event at another TOC Speech Qualifier.

Kentucky Event Rules

Link to Kentucky event rules

WKU FORENSICS TEAM AUDITIONS

Once again, the WKU forensics team will be holding open team auditions prior to the Sr. Hilltopper Classic on Friday, December 11. This year, an extremely limited number of audition slots will be available, and they will be on a first come, first served basis. The first audition will begin at 8:00am and the last audition will conclude at 1:00pm. Due to the tight tournament schedule, this will be the only window of opportunity interested students will have to audition during that weekend. Only seniors may audition at this time. All auditions must be scheduled by Monday, Dec. 7. All students auditioning must either mail ahead of time or bring with them a high school transcript and a list of forensics accomplishments. If you choose to mail these items ahead of time (preferred), send them to:

Ganer Newman
1906 College Heights Blvd. #51084
Bowling Green, KY 42101-1084

For more information, or to schedule an audition, please contact Ganer Newman at ganer.newman@wku.edu, or call 270-745-6340.

We look forward to seeing you on the hill in December!

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

All schools must be registered before 7:30 on Saturday morning as the first Extemp draw and the first debate round begins at that time. Registration is in the lobby of Garrett Conference Center. If you will be arriving on Friday night and would like to register early, please contact us, and we will set up a time to meet you on campus. The schedule is as follows:

Early Registration Thurs. Dec. 10th; 7:00pm-10:00 at Garrett Conference Center

Food will be available in the downstairs area of Garrett Conference Center. Judges will be supplied food in our Judges’ Lounge at no charge.

PARKING

Days before the tournament, the head coach will receive a parking map, which must be followed on Friday. At registration you will receive the same. On Saturday, you may park outside of Garrett in the metered parking lot while you register for the tournament. Parking on Saturday should be no problem, but please observe all restrictions and signs.

More detailed parking maps are available on the Parking and Transportation website at http://parking1.wku.edu/dnn/default.aspx.

CHECKLIST FOR JUDGES

1. Become familiar with the rules for all events.
2. Make sure you code yourself against any student from another school you should not be judging.
3. Make sure you let the tournament officials know the events you cannot judge. Do not wait until the day of the tournament to do this, as assignments will have to be switched to accommodate your needs. This information should be on the entry form from the school.
4. You will need a pen/pencil and a stopwatch or a digital wristwatch that shows seconds as well as minutes.
5. Never switch judging assignments with anyone. This can cause problems when replacing judges in later rounds and for finals.
6. Pick up all ballots at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the round.
7. Make a list of all drops (if available) and check against your section.
8. Make sure you have a complete list of the performers for your section and do not allow any student not listed for your section to compete.
9. Never switch students from your room to another. Let the tournament officials make all changes.
10. Do not switch rooms for any reason. Instead, report any locked room or other room problem to the tournament officials and let them make the change.
11. Do not ask students to identify themselves by schools.
12. Remove any disruptive audience members from your room.
13. Make sure all the information/comments on the student ballot is correct and can be easily read by tab room officials.
14. Always write comments on the ballots during the performance. There is no time to write a critique at the end of the performance or round.
15. As speakers perform, shuffle your ballots in order of how you intend to rank them. When the last speaker performs, you should have ballots in order and simply need to put ranks/rates for each student and transfer this information to the speedy ballot.
16. Do not leave the assigned room early. Instead wait for students double entered and/or contact the ballot table to find out if a student may be an unreported drop. Leaving prior to the end of the round often creates problems if a student has not yet performed and has no idea where to find you.
17. Make sure you sign your ballot and double check to make sure the information on the student ballots matches the information on the speedy ballot-if a speedy ballot is being used.
18. Return your completed ballots to the ballot table and wait until they are checked. Putting the speedy on top and the ballots in order of rank will enable those checking the ballots to move quickly through your packet. Be sure and report any "unreported drops" or "no shows" to the person checking your ballots.
19. If you are listed as "stand by" for any round, always wait close to the ballot table until all ballots have been assigned.

EXTEMP PREP

Extemp prep will take place in the Faculty House, next door to Garrett Conference Center. The use of computer files is allowed; however, the use of internet for research during prep time is strictly prohibited. Western Kentucky University is not responsible for any damage or theft of personal/team property left unattended in the Extemp prep room or anywhere else on campus.

FEES

I.E. and Congress entries are $5.00 per entry ($10.00 for each Duo Acting and Improv Duo team) and $25.00 for each judge you cannot provide (one judge covers six I.E. entries or fraction thereof). Public Forum entries are $10.00 each and $25.00 for each Public Forum judge you cannot provide (one judge covers two Public Forum entries or fraction thereof).  Please make this check payable to WKU Forensics. A $5.00 per I.E. entry and $20.00 per Public Forum entry drop fee will be charged for all drops after the December 8 deadline. A $50.00 drop fee will be charged if you drop a judge after the deadline. All entry fees, judging fees, and drop fees must be paid at or before the time of registration. Registration is held at the ballot table, in the lobby of Garrett Conference Center.

JUDGES

An IE critic covers 6 slots. If you do not bring enough judges, there is a hefty uncovered judge fee. In other words, please attempt to fulfill your commitment. If your school can supply judges beyond your commitment we will be happy to discuss possible reductions in entry fees.

SUBMITTING YOUR ENTRY

We must receive your entry by 4:00 PM Central Time on Monday, December 7, 2015. Entries after that deadline will likely be accepted, but if you manually drop a student after erroneously adding them, it is counted as a drop. That is our penalty for what is effectively late registration. We reserve the right to deny late registrations should it get out of hand. All entries must be made online, via joyoftournaments.com.

HOTELS

We have reserved a block of rooms at the Holiday Inn, University Plaza and the Staybridge Suites for the evenings of December 10 and 11. We use these hotels because of their great customer service, but you are of course free to reserve rooms wherever you wish.

Please contact the Holiday Inn at 270-745-0088 or Staybridge Suites at (270) 904-0480.

Holiday Inn, University Plaza
3.7 miles from campus
1021 Wilkinson Trace
Bowling Green, KY 42101

Staybridge Suites
2.2 miles from campus
680 Campbell Lane
Bowling Green, KY 42101
 
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Alternate Hotels
Bowling Green has many hotels should Holiday Inn or Staybridge Suites not work out for you.

Microtel Inn - 1-270-745-9922

DIRECTIONS

1. Take Exit 26 off of Interstate 65.
2. Turn toward Bowling Green onto Cemetery Road.
3. Continue straight for three miles. Cemetery Road becomes Fairview Avenue. Continue going straight across 31-W Bypass. You will pass a fire station on your left. After passing the fire station, go through one traffic light and a stop sign, then turn left at the second stop sign onto College Street (this is a one-way street).
4. Stay on College Street through downtown Bowling Green and continue until you reach the top of the hill. College Street will dead-end at College Heights Boulevard at a statue of Henry Hardin Cherry.
5. Turn right onto College Heights Boulevard and stay in the right-hand lane. Veer left up the hill as you pass Cherry Hall and Gordon Wilson Hall. Veer left again after you pass Van Meter Auditorium (driving between Van Meter and Potter Hall).

Tournament Registration

Having now read the invitation, you should be ready to register online above.

Manager contact information

Chris Chandler
Email address: christopher.chandler@wku.edu
Phone number: 270-745-6340

Mailing address

WKU Forensics
1906 College Heights Blvd. #51084
Bowling Green, KY 42101