SpeechWire Tournament Services - Forensics Tournament Software

Dear Colleagues,

Bradley University eagerly invites you to the 73rd Annual L.E. Norton Memorial Tournament, which is a virtual hybrid tournament from November 3-8, 2020. We are attempting to make an accommodating, exciting and fun virtual experience to be had by all. Our preliminary rounds will be asynchronous, meaning teams will submit videos via Speechwire during registration. The judging of prelims will take place during the week with elimination rounds taking place on the weekend. The Norton is well known for its competitiveness, along with a rich tradition of hospitality; this year will be no different. Our Assistant Coach Tia Collins, student tournament directors Haleemah Na’Allah, Connor Sears, along with the rest of the team, are excitedly preparing for your Norton experience!

We will offer novice and open divisions for all 11 AFA events. We will continue to award 2-year team and individual sweepstakes as well. Additionally, as customary, we’ll be honoring someone with the L.E. Norton award, who embodies the leadership, devotion and passion for college forensics exemplified by Dr. Norton. Congratulations to last year’s recipient, Stephen Hagan, from McKendree University.

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out. We hope you’ll join us virtually to celebrate our activity and our tournament namesake, Dr. L.E. Norton.

Sincerely,

Andrew Eilola

Director of Forensics

(309) 677-2439

aeilola@bradley.edu

L.E Norton Memorial

Rules and Guidelines

1. The L.E. Norton Memorial will follow the ethical standards, rules, and event descriptions of the American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament. They can be accessed online at afa-niet.org. All judges and competitors are expected to be knowledgeable of these standards prior to the tournament.

2. An Impromptu addendum – Impromptu prompts will be quotations, questions, proverbs, and an ethical dilemma in the final round.

Registration

1. Novice divisions will be offered in events with at least 30 varsity entries. Novice categories are reserved for students competing in their first year of intercollegiate forensics competition, or for any two year/community college student.

2. Students may double-enter in each pattern:

Flight A

Duo Interpretation

Extemporaneous Speaking

Informative Speaking

Flight B

Prose Interpretation

Persuasive Speaking

Program Oral Interpretation

Impromptu Speaking

Flight C

Dramatic Interpretation

Poetry Interpretation

Communication Analysis

After Dinner Speaking

3. Semi-Finals and Finals will happen in all events, both open and novice. Quarterfinals will be offered for all open events with at least 40 entries. Given we have asynchronous prelim rounds, we are trying to allow more opportunities for people to compete on the weekend so we'll be flexible with some of the entry expectations.

4. Entries must be submitted via Speechwire.com. Entries must be received by 6pm CST Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Drop and judge fees will be assessed at 9am CST on Wednesday, November 4th.

*Please contact us immediately if there are extenuating circumstances or life events that occur with students. We’ll be accommodating as best we can. Prelims are asynchronous. Thus, rounds/videos need to be sent to judges ASAP on Wednesday, hence the earlier time.

Awards

1. The top six competitors in both open and novice will receive the well-known pottery mug trophies. We will send these out in the mail sometime later in November.

2. Team sweepstakes awards will be given to the top 5 open and 2-year universities and colleges.

3. Individual Sweepstakes will be awarded to the top five speakers of the tournament in both novice and open categories. Students with at least 4 events will be eligible for individual sweepstakes. Two duos will count as two events.

4. Team sweepstakes will be calculated according to the following point scale:

12 points: 1st place – open 6 points: 1st place – novice

10 points: 2nd place – open 5 points: 2nd place – novice

8 points: 3rd place – open 4 points: 3rd place – novice

6 points: 4th place – open 3 points: 4th place – novice

4 points: 5th place – open 2 points: 5th place – novice

2 points: 6th/7th place – open 1 point: 6th/7th place – novice

2 points: non-advancing semi-finalists (open and novice)

1 point: non-advancing quarter-finalists (open)

Fees

1. Each entry for the tournament will cost $10.

2. For each judge provided, six entries will be covered. Judges may be hired at an additional $10 per slot not covered by your program. Hired judges will be paid $10 per round. Note: Schools bringing a Bradley alum as a judge will cover 10 entries.

3. Penalties for late drop fees will be:

- Drops after 12:00pm noon CST, Wednesday October 30th will result in $15 drop fee in addition to the initial entry fee. Judge drops or new uncovered slots will be $15 as well.

- After 5:00pm Wednesday, November 4th, 2020 judge drops will result in a $75 penalty and student drop fees will be $25 per slot.

4. Checks should be made out to: Bradley University Speech Team.

Mailing Address---

Andrew Eilola

Communication Department--GCC 313

1501 W Bradley Ave.

Peoria, IL. 61625

Tournament Notes

Content Warnings

We recommend the use of content and/or trigger warnings when possible for competitors who may be performing sensitive material. This can be done in the chat or said verbally before a performer begins.

Judge Concerns

Please contact the tournament director if you have concerns about being judged by someone at the tournament. Blocks can be put in place if you have a problematic history with someone or simply are uncomfortable with them judging your round.

73rd Annual L.E. Norton Memorial Tentative Tournament Schedule\

Wednesday-Friday: Asynchronous Prelim Rounds

Saturday, November 7, 2020

9:00am Quarters Postings

9:30am EXT Draw

10:00am QF A (DUO, EXT, INFO)

11:30pm QF B (IMP, PERS, POI, PRO)

1:00pm QF C (ADS, CA, DI, POE)

3:00 SEM A/B Postings

3:30 EXT Draw

4:00 Sems (A/B)

6:00 Sems C Postings

6:30 SF C

8:00/8:30pm Final Round Postings

Sunday, November 8, 2020

11:00 Finals A

1:00 Finals B

3:00 Finals C

6:00 Awards

Andrew Eilola
Email address: aeilola@fsmail.bradley.edu
Phone number: 309-677-2439