SpeechWire Tournament Services - Forensics Tournament Software

This document represents the best thinking of the Speech Activities Committee in December, 2020, and

is based on input received from coaches across the state during summer meetings, a coach survey, and

our learning experiences from invitational tournaments this season. In all instances, we have made

every effort to consider equity and inclusion, and to create a playing field that allows for the safe

participation of the largest number of students and schools. These rules will be used for the CHSAA

State Festival, Regional Qualifying and State Tournament. As always, invitational directors may choose

which, if any, of these rules to adopt. Please read your tournament invitation carefully.

CHSAA rules require the use of Speechwire for registration and tabulation purposes. We will

use NSDA Campus in conjunction with Speechwire as the platform for synchronous virtual

tournament competition in CX, LD, PF, One-on-One Value Debate, Extemporaneous

Speaking, Impromptu, and Creative Storytelling . We will use Zoom for Congressional

Debate . Asynchronous event links will be available so that students can view the videos

submitted by each competitor in their round. We will have additional backup Zoom rooms

available for emergency use purposes. If your school or district does not allow students to use

Zoom, please contact Bethany Brookens, CHSAA Associate Commissioner.

To ensure that all competitors and coaches can access the necessary features of NSDA

Campus, all students and coaches should test the device(s) they plan to use during competition

from the location that they intend to use to compete in state/regionals by using the test

competition room at https://campus.speechanddebate.org/ . This is especially important for

students/coaches who plan to compete from their school building or who are using a

school-issued device. Instructions will be sent out to all coaches to assist in working with

school/district IT departments to ensure that all firewalls have been disabled to allow student

TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS (adapted from NSDA National Tournament rules):

Competitors and judges are required to have internet access and a device with a microphone

and a webcam throughout the duration of the competition. This could include a smartphone,

laptop, tablet, or desktop computer with an integrated or external microphone and camera.

Judges will be instructed not to allow video/sound equipment quality, physical location, or

other elements not in control of individual students to affect their decisions. Equity is a core

value of the Colorado High School Activities Association. We understand that many students

and judges do not have equal access to the internet and technology.

Competitors and judges should keep their cameras on during each round to create

accountability, immediately notice any connectivity issues, and allow students to monitor

judge reactions to their performances. Competitors and judges are asked not to use virtual

backgrounds as this can negatively impact connectivity.

The 2020-2021, CHSAA State Festival Tournament, Regional Qualifying

Tournaments and State Tournament will be held virtually.

● While having all cameras on during a round represents the ideal situation, we also

understand that connectivity issues may negatively impact a competitor’s and/or

judge’s ability to participate in the round. In the instance that a participant in the round

has ongoing connectivity issues, competitors and judges may turn off their cameras. If

cameras are turned off, competitors should make every effort to turn their camera on

● There will be a designated technology committee made up of coaches for each of the

competitions. This committee shall be responsible for determining the course of action

for tech issues that are not able to be resolved in round.

● There will be emergency Zoom rooms available if needed.

ASYNCHRONOUS EVENTS (DI, HI, Poetry, POI, Duo, OO, Inf)

● Students competing in prepared events (DI, HI, Poetry, POI, Duo, OO, Inf) will submit a

recording by the established registration deadline. This recording will be used for

● Students competing in prepared events must submit a recording of their performance

that has never been submitted for adjudication at a previous tournament.

○ Information will be provided to coaches with a message for the student to say

and/or write on a paper and display at the beginning of their video that will be

used to ensure the recording submitted is new. This information will be shared

with coaches immediately prior to the submission window so that they can

○ Students should ensure that their actual performance does not exceed the

maximum time limit (with grace period) for their event. Verbal or written

documentation that the video is new will not count as part of the student’s

● SUBMISSION WINDOW: Students will submit their recordings sometime during the

submission window (Monday that is a week prior to the Monday of the week of the

tournament - Tuesday of the week of the tournament at 11:59 p.m.)

○ SUBMISSION WINDOW FOR CHSAA STATE FESTIVAL:

Monday, January 18 - Tuesday, January 26 at 11:59 p.m.

○ SUBMISSION WINDOW FOR CHSAA STATE TOURNAMENT:

Monday, March 8 - Tuesday, March 16 at 11:59 p.m.

○ SUBMISSION WINDOW FOR REGIONAL QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT:

● ACCESSIBILITY: The tab committee responsible for each event shall review each

recording that is submitted to ensure that the video is accessible for adjudication.

● TIMING: The tab committee responsible for each event shall check each video

submitted to determine whether it meets the time requirements for the event on the

Wednesday prior to the tournament. For performances that exceed the maximum time

limit, the tab committee will attempt to contact the coach and provide an opportunity

for the student to resubmit a video that fits within the allotted time. This video must be

resubmitted no later than the Thursday prior to the tournament at 11:59 p.m.

○ When determining whether a student performance exceeds the maximum time

(with grace period), tournament officials will determine when the student

performance of their piece begins and ends, not the length of the entire video

recording that is submitted. Time spent identifying the performance as unique

to the competition and/or time spent turning the camera on/off will not count

toward the performance time. Any student whose final performance exceeds

the maximum time (with grace period) will be ranked last in each round.

EXAMPLE: Student A submits a video that is 11:00 long. The student presses play on their

camera, walks to their spot, identifies the video as unique to this tournament, takes a deep

breath and begins their oration :24 into the video. At the end of the oration, the student walks

back to the camera to turn it off and this takes 10 seconds. Although the video appears to be

11:00 long, the student performance is only 10:26. Thus, the student has not exceeded the 10

minute maximum with a :30 grace period and there is no penalty.

● Students competing in Duo Interpretation will be required to submit a split screen

recording of the performance for adjudication.

● Students must be in separate locations as opposed to being in the same room as one

another when recording their Duo Interpretation

● Students in Interpretation events (DI, HI, PO, POI, DUO) must be able to provide the

○ Original source material must be publicly accessible throughout the duration of

the tournament.Digital printed publications such as web pages and PDFs

retrieved or purchased from web pages are permitted as long as the web page is

publicly accessible throughout the duration of the tournament. Digital

unprinted publications such as videos, audio files, and films are permitted as

long as the original source is publicly accessible throughout the duration of the

tournament and the competitor can obtain an official transcript of the original

source. (See 2d. for official transcript details.)

a. For print publications such as novels, short stories, plays, or poetry, the original

source is the physical book or e-book. Photocopies of original literature are not

acceptable. Presenting the physical book or e-book is sufficient to prove that a printed

b. For digital printed publications such as web pages, original source material is no

longer required to come from online publishing sources listed on the NSDA Approved

Websites List. The original source must be publicly accessible for viewing or purchase

by a simple internet search or by a URL not requiring passwords or access codes.

Competitors must also present a printed manuscript to be used in the case of a protest,

but presenting a printed copy of a website is not alone sufficient to prove that a digital

c. PDFs are permitted as long as the website from which the PDF is retrieved or

purchased is publicly accessible for viewing or purchase by a simple internet search or

by a URL not requiring passwords or access codes. Competitors must also present a

printed copy of the PDF to be used in the case of a protest, but presenting a printed

copy of the PDF is not alone sufficient to prove that a PDF is publicly accessible.

d. For digital unprinted publications such as videos, audio files, and films, the original

source must be publicly accessible for viewing or purchase by a simple internet search

or by a URL not requiring passwords or access codes. Competitors must also present a

printed official transcript of the original source to be used in the case of a protest, but

presenting an official transcript is not alone sufficient to prove that the original source

is publicly accessible. An official transcript is one approved by the original source’s

producer, licensing agent, or copyright holder. As long as approval has been granted, an

official transcript may be obtained through the aforementioned parties or through an

official transcription service such as TranscribeMe, Scribie, or iScribed, which use

○ A PDF that contains a photocopy or printed screenshot of every page of the

original source from which any line of the cutting was taken.

■ Pages are to be placed in the order in which they are performed (e.g., if

text from one page is used more than once within the cutting, that page

should be copied again with those words highlighted and reinserted

where it is used in the cutting). Students are not required to photocopy

or print pages that are not used in their cutting.

■ All words used from the script should be highlighted (any words/lines

■ Any word changes (to eliminate profane language) and/or additions (for

transition) must be indicated clearly in ink. Failure to clearly indicate the

addition of words will be subject to disqualification.

○ A PDF that contains the final cutting performed by the student

RULES FOR RECORDINGS (adapted from NSDA National Tournament rules):

Competitors may not use green screens, virtual backdrops, on-screen text, or professional

equipment enhancements such as professional lighting kits or professional grade camera

recording and audio devices (including things like softboxes or using an auditorium’s lighting

system) during their performance in any event. Submissions or recordings may not be edited

using any software; all submissions must be non-stop footage of the entire performance done

through the permitted submission platform. The camera being used must remain stationary

throughout the entire performance, and no zooming or panning is permitted. Other

individuals may be present while filming, but audience interaction (laughing, applause, etc.)

must not be included in the performance. Competitors may determine how close or distant

the camera is set up in order to maximize both verbal and nonverbal communication. If

possible, it is recommended that students and judges remove items that may be distracting in

the background. Backdrops of a solid color with no special markings may be used by

● Students in draw events (Extemporaneous Speaking, Impromptu, Creative Storytelling,

One-on-One Value Debate) will participate in a live draw prior to each round of

competition and will perform live (synchronously) for the judge.

● Rather than presenting the judge with their topic slip, students will be expected to type

their question/prompt into the chat prior to their performance.

● Debaters are expected to follow all team, school, district, local, state and national safety

guidelines when determining whether partners will be in the same room as one

another during their debate round or whether they will use technology to

communicate with one another during their round.

● Debaters may use technology (cell phone, Google meets, Discord, etc) to communicate

● A reminder from the Rules Regarding Laptop Usage: “ Computers or other electronic

devices may not be used to receive information for competitive advantage from

non-competitors (coaches, assistant coaches, other students). Information that would

be restricted would include but not be limited to coach/non-participating competitor

generated arguments, advice on arguments to run, questions to ask during cross

examination and other information not generated by the participating competitors.”

DEBATE EVIDENCE EXCHANGE RULES (adapted from Public Forum Tournament of

Due to the online format there will be some requirements to allow what has traditionally

occurred in a face-to-face debate round to occur online.

1) Evidence exchange will ONLY occur in the email chain established at the beginning of the

round. The judge should be included on the email chain.

2) Evidence is sent in the email chain when requested.

3) Be specific about the evidence you are requesting and what you want

A) A cut card, then the team can send the cut card inside of an email or in attached

B) A cut card and the PDF - send the cut card in the email body and attach the PDF

C) If you paraphrase then you send an email with the paragraph you are paraphrasing

in the body of the email and the attached PDF

CHSAA evidence rules indicate you must point to the specific words you are paraphrasing --

"The new language forces teams to point to specific lines from the original source from which the

paraphrased argument is pulled, in contrast to the old language that would allow a team to point to an

entire book or article as their original source".

4) Sending website links -- This doesn't work. Paywalls stop students from accessing evidence.

Links are not copied correctly or wrong. You should attach the PDF to the email or if the PDF is

too big for an email then you should save it in a Google Drive and send a link to the article in a

5) Students are not required to use their personal email addresses. It might be a good idea to

set up a team Gmail account that partners can share for the purposes of the tournament.

6) Computers or other electronic devices may not be used to receive information for

competitive advantage from non-competitors (coaches, assistant coaches, other students).

Information that would be restricted would include but not be limited to coach/

non-participating competitor-generated arguments, advice on arguments to run, questions to

ask during cross examination and other information not generated by the participating

● Questioning: Students should raise their hand close to the camera so that it can be

seen to ask a question and wait to be recognized by the Presiding Officer. Students who

are unable to turn on their camera, should use the hand raise feature on Zoom. All

Congressional Debate competitors are encouraged to make sure that they know how to

● Chamber size: Chamber sizes will be 12-16 students.

○ Each session will be a minimum of two hours and a maximum of two and a half

hours to allow for election of presiding officers. If no presiding officer elections

are needed, the session will be two hours long.

○ Once the presiding officer has been selected, the parliamentarian will announce

the end time for the session. If time permits, there will be two hours for debate

once the presiding officer has been selected.

● The chair of Congressional Debate in conjunction with the tournament director shall

have the ability to adjust chamber size and session length if the number of competitors

● Recency will be randomly set prior to the first session and each subsequent session to

ease the process of determining who should speak.

Please review the Festival and/or Tournament Handbook that is posted on the CHSAA website

(www2.chsaa.org) for rules governing each event and scheduling and tabulation rules as these

rules are still in effect to the extent that they are relevant in the virtual setting.

In the event that the rules for virtual competition conflict with the rules for live in person

competition, these rules for virtual competition shall be the ones that are followed. While we

have made every effort to identify rules that need to be adjusted to accommodate the virtual

format, there may be unanticipated conflicts. If a rule conflict that was not identified arises,

the tournament director and co-director will make a ruling as to how to proceed.

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