Berea-Midpark Grindstone Invitational

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General information

This information is from a tournament in a past season!

This is a High School tournament in Ohio.

View manager contact information

(DIRECTIONS, PARKING- & HOTEL INFORMATION BELOW!)

Berea-Midpark's 14th Annual Grindstone Invitational Speech and Debate Tournament (aka, "Grindstone XIV")

WHERE: Berea-Midpark High School - 165 E. Bagley Rd., Berea, Ohio  44017

• Although all registration will be at BMHS, for debate competition we will utilize Berea-Midpark Middle School (aka, BMMS) (7000 Paula Drive, Middleburg Heights, OH, 44130).

• As of now, IE will be at BMHS and all debate (PF, LD, 2P, CNG) will be at BMMS.

• You can drop your competitors/judges off at BMMS, but someone will need to register them at BMHS.

DATE: Saturday, January 12, 2019

Live Registration: 8:00 AM till 8:30-45 AM.  Rounds will begin as close to 9:00 AM as possible.  All registration is at BMHS.

A shuttle bus between sites currently is NOT scheduled, mainly because buses should park at BMMS for most of the day--even if you do not have debaters competing.  BMMS has a big parking lot for a student population that doesn’t drive, and there should be significantly fewer vehicles (and much less construction) at the BMMS site.  Thus, please arrange for your buses/transportation to drop off and pick up students/coaches/judges between schools accordingly.  If this information changes, I will let coaches know ASAP.

Cost: $4 per student ($8 per Duo/Policy/PF team).  Checks may be payable to Berea-Midpark High School (Memo: BMHS Forensics or BMHS Speech/Debate).  *If you’re paying with a personal check, and if it is not obvious (on the check) what school with which you’re affiliated, please include that information somewhere on the check (e.g., above the memo line, or along the top).

NOTE: Your team fees will be locked in by 3 PM on Thursday, January 10.

JUDGE COVER FEES: Initially, a charge of $10 will be added for each judge not covered.  If we look sustainable by the "invoice lock" time/date, this fee will be waived.

JUDGE QUOTAS:

* Debate: 1 judge per 2 competitors (PF, LD, 2P)

* IE & Congressional Debate: 1 judge per 4 competitors

COMPETITION DETAILS: IE will take place at BMHS, while LD, PF, 2P, and CNG will take place at BMMS. If this changes, I will let coaches know ASAP.

• IE will run 4 preliminary rounds for most competitors, but 6-7 finalists will compete in a Hidden Power, which will have a 3-judge panel.

• Debate will run 4 rounds (perhaps 5, only if time reasonably permits and no traditional "flighting" is necessary).

• Congressional Debate will be slated for 3-4 sessions, with at least two chambers.

• Policy Debate is set for 3 rounds.

DOUBLE-ENTRY EVENT DECLARATIONS: If you have any students double-entering, contact Carrie Cofer (Cleveland District Chair) to declare the "official event" in which those double-entered competitors will be eligible for a bid.

Food and beverages will be available for judges and competitors at both buildings.  We will do our best, but judges/coaches, feel free to bring your first cup of coffee with you.  Students should avoid bringing $20 bills to pay for $1-$2 items.

***I don't plan to traditionally flight any event at this time, but that may change based on registration numbers/needs.  I will adjust as necessary and keep you in the loop.***

CONTACT PERSON: Ryan Peoples

CELL PHONE: 440-668-9370

NOTE: If you “txt msg” me, please leave your name/school in the message.  Please do the same for e-mails, actually.

E-MAIL: bmhs4n6@gmail.com

Online registration (Adds) will end at 3 PM Thursday, January 10 (or sooner, if the tournament fills capacity before then).  Coaches will be able to drop entries until 7:30 A.M. on Saturday (1/12/19), but teams will be charged for all competitors registered as of 3 PM Thursday, January 10, 2019.  If I need to close registration early (or if I decide to extend the registration deadline), I will notify coaches via SpeechWire email.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

There may be other events taking place in our gymnasium on this day, but I'll try to limit classroom usage near that area.  (My default is to put Humorous Interp in those rooms, as they tend to be loud themselves.) 

Parking at BMMS should be plentiful, especially if you have debaters who can use a ride back to BMHS for the award ceremony.

Due to athletic events likely taking place concurrently at BMHS (as well as construction limitations), please tell your bus drivers to park at BMMS, or at least across the street from the high school at Roehm Athletic Complex (especially the back lot, which can be accessed from Eastland Rd.)  Preferably, buses should park at BMMS, where there is a large, usually vacant parking lot; this option would be handy for transporting debaters back to the high school in the afternoon, too.

I will advise coaches (so that they may alert bus drivers) ASAP if I decide to schedule a shuttle.  However, a shuttle would not change the fact that buses should park somewhere other than BMHS for most of the day.

We hope to see you on the 12th!  In the meantime, have a wonderful rest of your holiday (and tournament-) season.

HOTEL INFO:

Lisa Mancuso, Sales/Catering Manager at the (nearby) Sheraton Cleveland Airport Hotel, reached out to offer special rates for teams traveling to our tournament.  She encourages you to call her at 216-265-3125 to discuss availability and rates.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS (to Berea-Midpark High, not BMMS; use the address listed above to look up directions to that location/program your GPS accordingly):

Again, the following directions are for getting to BMHS (not BMMS):

From EAST:

Take I-480 W or I-90 W to I-71 S.  Take Exit 235 (Bagley Rd. / Middleburg Hts.).  Turn RIGHT (westbound).  From Bagley Rd., turn RIGHT into Berea-Midpark High School.  (This turn immediately follows the Eastland Rd. intersection.)

From WEST:

Take I-480 E to I-71 S.  Take Exit 235 (Bagley Rd. / Middleburg Hts.).  Turn RIGHT (westbound).  From Bagley Rd., turn RIGHT into Berea-Midpark High School.  (This turn immediately follows the Eastland Rd. intersection.)

From NORTH:

Follow local routes, or. . . Find nearest connection to I-71 S, take Exit 235 (Bagley Rd. / Middleburg Hts.).  Turn RIGHT (westbound).  From Bagley Rd., turn RIGHT into Berea-Midpark High School.  (This turn immediately follows the Eastland Rd. intersection.)

From SOUTH:

Though you could access nearby communities via  I-77 to I-80 (turnpike), it is best to find the nearest connection to I-71 N.  Take Exit 235 (Bagley Rd. / Middleburg Hts.).  Turn LEFT (it might be best to stay in middle turning lane on off-ramp).  From Bagley Rd., turn RIGHT into Berea-Midpark High School.  (This turn immediately follows the Eastland Rd. intersection.)

From ANY DIRECTION:

IF YOU MISS THE TURN FROM BAGLEY RD . . . the very next intersection is Tressel/Maple (Tressel on left, Maple on right, it’s the same street divided by Bagley Rd.).  Turn RIGHT onto Tressel/Maple, a small side street, then RIGHT into the main parking lot.

IF YOU NEED TO GO RIGHT TO BMMS:

Plug this into your GPS device, or enter these into some mapping web site beforehand:  7000 Paula Drive, Middleburg Heights, OH, 44130

Manager contact information

Carrie Cofer
Email address: cgrcofer@gmail.com
Phone number: 440-668-9370

Mailing address

165 E. Bagely Rd.
Berea, OH 44017