Palm Beach Middle School Forensic League Tournament Invitation

Virtual All Congress Tournament

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

 

This is an ALL CONGRESS tournament.

There will be a novice division (House) and a varsity division (Senate).

All schools must register via Speechwire in order to legitimately participate in this competition.

The legislation is available on Speechwire.

 

ENTRY PROCEDURES and REGISTRATION INFORMATION

 

You may register up to six students per congress chamber.

There will be no adds after registration closes.

Double-check your registration for accuracy.

 

OBSERVERS

No observers allowed.

 

PREPARATIONS BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT

Because full-text legislation will be online, it is each school's responsibility to access legislation in advance.

Print out your website registration/confirmation from Speechwire.

DOUBLE-CHECK your entries. If a student is not listed on your registration they will NOT be added on the day of the tournament.

Make sure your student judges are marked as "Student Judge."

Make sure you have verification of NSDA points for your junior/senior student judges.

 

REGISTRATION ON TOURNAMENT DAY

Arrive online no later than 4:15 p.m.

Online registration closes at 4:30 p.m. Students/programs that are late may be dropped from the tournament by league officers.

Take attendance. Check your registration carefully; there will be a "hidden drop fee" for any drop that is not reported at registration.

Refer to the chamber breakdown list in order to ensure all competitors know where to report.

DO NOT CHANGE a student's room without direction from the league director. Any student who competes in the wrong chamber will not receive points for any speeches given in the wrong chamber.

Make sure all judges report online via Speechwire to await instructions.

Legislators must use their school code, NOT school name, for the chamber.

 

Varsity will set an agenda on the day of the tournament; the novice chambers will have pre-set randomized agendas set by the PBMSFL.

 

CHAMBER REMINDERS

 

There may be a 5-10 minute recess midway through the two hour online session.

Extending the questioning period is not allowed, nor are two-part questions.

All sponsorship and first-negative speeches have a mandatory two-minute questioning period. All other speeches have a mandatory one-minute questioning period.

Each legislative item must go through at least one complete cycle (three speeches).

Two hours of the debate must take place during the session. The 2 hours begins once the first speech of a session begins. The competition session has 2 hours designated.

 

JUDGING

 

Two judges and a presiding officer will be assigned to every chamber. A student judge is permitted to judge at the tournament.

Student judges are qualified to judge NOVICE EVENTS ONLY if they are a junior or senior in high school with AT LEAST 150 NSDA honor points on record. The coach will be responsible for providing the NSDA points upon registration.

HS student judges will be allowed to sign up for a presiding officer position simultaneously. 

PLEASE ENTER YOUR JUDGE CELL PHONE NUMBERS AND EMAIL ADDRESSES INTO SPEECHWIRE (they all need to have an individual Speechwire account to access and submit electronic ballots).

 

JUDGE QUOTAS:

1 judge per every 5 entries or fraction thereof

Register ALL judges on Speechwire.

Make sure you distinguish any student judge from adult judges when registering on Speechwire.

ENTRY FEES

 

Each school's PBMSFL league registration forms must have been received by PBMSFL Treasurer PJ Samorian by Tuesday, October 6, 2020 in order to compete at the tournament. 

 

$10 per student for all events.

 

DROP FEES

 

Sunday, October 4, 2020, at 5 pm is the deadline for registering students.

Monday, October 2, 2020, at 3 p.m. is the last opportunity to drop students before the website shuts down. At this time, schools are responsible for the $10 entry fee and a $10 drop fee ($20 total per student).

 

$25 - judge drop fee for any no-show judge on the day of the tournament. In addition, you will be required to drop students until the team meets the judge quota.

(vr)