SpeechWire Tournament Services - Forensics Tournament Software

In light of Covid19 students and families within the forensics community have been devastated with their seasons cut short. In order to empower and engage our young leaders during this time, the Santa Ana Unified School District, Santa Ana City Council, Advantage Communications, and the United Way are partnering together to give students an opportunity to compete.

This Tournament is open to all 6th through 8th-grade students from California Public Schools, Private Schools and Charter Schools. Students from Academies must enroll under the school they attend.

Judges will only be high school competitors, meaning that no individual that graduated high school can judge. The only adults who will potentially be in rounds are tournament staff who are credentialed teachers, or district employees who have gone through district security processing measures such as background checks, and educational certification.

Deadline: All entries must be in by May 8th, without exception Drops by May 13th

All Semi-Finalists will receive a Bronze Medal and all finalists will be split between Silver and Gold Medals. All trophies will be mailed to the students’ school site.

The Speech is the original work of the contestant. Any appropriate subject may be used, but the contestant must be truthful. Non-factual references, especially personal experiences, should be identified as such. Some direct quotation is allowed, but visual aids are not allowed. NOTE: A solution is not required. The maximum speaking time is 10 minutes with a 30 second grace period. If a student speaks past the thirty minute grace period, they cannot be ranked first in the round.

Selections may be chosen from published stories or monogogues which are serious in nature. Title and author must be included in the introduction. Gestures, pantomime, and singing are acceptable, but should be used with restraint. Students may add appropriate introductory and transitional materials, but they may not change the author’s intent. Sitting, kneeling, and lying on the floor is not permitted. Furniture may not be used. Students may use as much space as they need so long it stays visible to the camera. The maximum speaking time is 10 minutes with a 30 second grace period. If a student speaks past the thirty minute grace period, they cannot be ranked first in the round.

Using a play, short story, or other published work, students perform a selection of one or more portions of a piece up to ten minutes in length. Humorous Interpretation is designed to test a student’s comedic skills through script analysis, delivery, timing, and character development. Competitors may portray one or multiple characters. No props or costumes may be used. Performances will also include an introduction written by the student to contextualize the performance and state the title and author. Humor can be created through strategic choreography, creative characterization, and dynamic non-verbal reactions. Typical selection topics range from light-hearted material including interpretations of comics, children’s literature, plays, short stories, and more. The maximum speaking time is 10 minutes. Students will have a 30 second grace period. If a student speaks past the thirty minute grace period, they cannot be ranked first in the round.

The contestants will enter the virtual room at the same time. The judge will verbally give the quotation or abstract, and will make the quotation visible for a limited time. Two options, not three will be given. Each student will have different quotations or abstracts. It is expected that impromptu speakers stay in the virtual room until everyone in the round has spoken. They have two minutes before they speak to prepare their speech, we ask you to keep track of the two minutes and let the student know when two minutes have elapsed. At the conclusion of the speech, the contestant must remain in the room to observe the other speakers. After drawing, the contestant has TWO minutes to think prior to speaking. Tournament subjects/topics will be as follows: Round 1 - Historical Figures, Round 2 - Quotations, Round 3 - Abstract, Semifinals U.S. History and Finals - Fortune cookie fortune. The maximum time for the speech is five minutes. There is no minimum time.

1. Prose: Prose is writing which expresses ideas, experience, or emotion through the creative writing or non-fictional writing of the author's work. The cutting may consist of a single story. Prose does not allow for multiple selections to be used in one program.

2. Selections: Original work, poetry downloaded from the internet and printed works may be used. No plays or other dramatic material is allowed.

3. Time: The maximum time of presentation is 5 - 7 minutes with a 30-second “grace period.” If there are multiple judges in the round, all must agree that the student has gone beyond the grace period. Should a student go beyond the grace period, the student may not be ranked 1st.

4. Presentation: Performances must be from a manuscript (which should be in a black binder). Reading from a book or magazine is not permitted. The student should be memorized but must make contact with the book at least three times during the performance.

5. The program should be structured as follows: A) Each program must start with a teaser that can range between thirty seconds to a minute in length. B) After the teaser is complete, the student should close the binder and address the audience with their argument and theme, this is called an intro. C) Once a student addresses the audience they are to open their book and continue with the performance. Selections can be of a humorous or serious nature.

6. Students are allowed to look at their book. Students should be memorized and give the illusion of reading. A student must look down at least once before turning a page. It is expected that the student makes eye contact with the book throughout the performance. Students should not simply read from the text in the binder.

1. Poetry: Poetry is writing which expresses ideas, experiences, or emotions through the creative arrangement of words according to their sound, their rhythm, their meaning. Poetry may rely on verse and stanza form. The cutting may consist of a single work or collection of poems on a common theme.

2. Selections: Original work, poetry downloaded from the internet, published poetry, and printed works may be used. No plays or other dramatic non poetry material is allowed. A student may not use the same source they used in Duo, Dramatic, or Humorous at any tournament.

3. Time: The maximum time of presentation is 5 to 7 minutes with a 30-second “grace period.” If there are multiple judges in the round, all must agree that the student has gone beyond the grace period. Should a student go beyond the grace period, the student may not be ranked 1st.

4. Presentation: Performances must be from a manuscript (which must be in a black binder). Reading from a book or magazine is not permitted. The student should be memorized but must make contact with the book at least three times in a performance. Students may use one entire poem or multiple poems to reinforce the student’s theme. Pieces may be inter-spliced, and must have page turns when moving from one poem to the other.

5. The program should be structured as follows: A) Each program must start with a teaser that can range between thirty seconds to a minute in length. B) A student can perform one poem or multiple poems in the teaser. C) After the teaser is complete, the student should close the binder and address the audience with their argument and theme, this is called an intro.

7. Students are allowed to look at their book. Students should be memorized and give the illusion of reading. A student must look down at least once before turning a page. It is expected that the student makes eye contact with the book throughout the performance. Students should not simply read from the text in the binder.

1. This contest shall comprise an informative speech. No Visual Aids are permitted.

2. Subject: Any appropriate subject may be used, but the orator must be truthful. Any non-factual reference, especially a personal one, must be so identified. A student may not reuse the same speech topic from any competition in a previous academic year, or in Original Oratory.

3. Length: Delivery shall remain between 5-10 minutes with a 30-second “grace period.” Judges are not to judge on the length of the speech but the quality of the speech and performance. If there are multiple judges in the round, all must agree that the student has gone beyond the grace period. Should a student go beyond the grace period, the student may not be ranked 1st. There is no other prescribed penalty for going over the grace period. The ranking is up to each individual judge’s discretion. Judges who choose to time are to use accurate (stopwatch function) timing devices.

4. Quotation: Not more than 150 words of the speech may be direct quotation from any other speech or writing.

5. Script: The coach of record at the tournament should have a complete copy of the student’s manuscript speech, should a question arise. The manuscript should identify the quoted materials and clearly state the number of quoted words.

7. The structure of the speech should be as follows: Students begin with an attention getter, better known as an introduction. Next, the student should provide the audience with an explanation of what they will discuss. This is also known as a sign post; for example – Today, we explore aliens in our universe. I will first give a brief history of alien sightings, second, discuss alien abductions and finally, examine alien life forms in our oceans today.

After the sign post they move into their first point, followed by the second and the third point. After they have performed the body of the speech they move into the review and conclusion. All speeches are written similar to a five paragraph essay.

1. Length: Declamation is a 8-10 minute event with a 30-second “grace period.” If there are multiple judges in the round, all must agree that the student has gone beyond the grace period. Should a student go beyond the grace period, the student may not be ranked 1st. There is no other prescribed penalty for going over the grace period. The ranking is up to each individual judge’s discretion. Judges who choose to time are to use accurate (stopwatch function) timing devices.

2. Source: The speech must have been delivered in public and available in print or internet. (Copies from a publicly available website will also be sufficient).

3. The speaker should present an introduction that states the title, author, and date of the speech they are reciting.

Students select a published story that meets a designated theme. Themes range widely and may include mysteries, heroism, or fairy tales. Students select a story that would be appropriate for young children and tell the story as if presenting to that audience. This event is five minutes with a 30 second grace period. If the student exceeds the grace period, they cannot be ranked 1st. Students may use a chair. Manuscripts are not permitted.

Using selections from Prose, Poetry and Drama students create a ten minute performance around a central theme. Program Oral Interpretation is designed to test a student’s ability to intersplice multiple types of literature into a single, cohesive performance. A manuscript is required (the use of a black book is required) and may be used as a prop within the performance if the performer maintains control of the manuscript at all times. Performances must also include an introduction written by the student to contextualize the performance and state the title and the author of each selection.

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