Come back to Port Washington for Year 6! 

PIRATE INVITATIONAL

January 16, 2021

Port Washington High School

GENERAL INFORMATION

2021

1. Our tournament this year is a virtual, asynchronous tournament run through Speechwire.com. Registration will be done through www.speechwire.com When you register, please enter a link to the unpublished Youtube video of the contestant’s performance. All events (including limited prep events) will be done with one video for all rounds with the exception of storytelling and OIL, which will require videos for each story and for both the prose and poetry selections.  Please have all entries and videos submitted by January 13--no late entries will be accepted.

2. Fees (registration and judges) will be assessed based on your entries on January 13. Fees are $10 per individual and $15 for group entry.  The judging requirements for speech entries is 1 judge for every 5 competitors (or fraction thereof). If you cannot meet your judging requirement, independent judges may be hired by the tournament at a fee of $150. Judge requirements will increase with added students.

3. Rules: This tournament is run according to the rules of the Wisconsin Forensics Coaches Association.  We will offer all WFCA categories; in addition, we will offer Oral Declamation and Extemp Reading (OD will follow NCFL rules; Extemp Reading rules are attached). We will also offer NOVICE events in poetry, prose, and informative to students in their first year of competition. To accommodate the category differences between WFCA and WHSFA, Public Address competitors may enter as Oratory entries and 4-Minute competitors may enter Informative Speaking.  We will advise judges not to penalize speeches in those categories that resemble their WHSFA time approximations.  Notecards/notes may be used in any events, but those who are memorized in oratory, solo acting, playacting, and duo may get preference in ranking. 

4. Entries: You may enter up to 10 students in each event. We are not capping events this year, so if you need to go beyond 10 entries, please contact the tournament director.  The top 25 entries will be counted toward team awards. Students may double in any events, including limited prep events. 

5. Videos: Videos must be uploaded to YouTube as UNLISTED and the links added with the entry. All videos should be named with the student’s LAST NAME ONLY and EVENT: Uttke, Solo Serious. For OIL, Extemp Reading, and Storytelling, also include whether the video is prose, poetry or the story that they are telling: Uttke, OIL, Prose. This will make it easier for judges to know which video they are watching while judging. Please advise your students that the background, lighting, and sound quality will not be judged; however, they should try to find a quiet place to record. All videos must be done in a single take with no editing. The same video performance will be used for all rounds, including finals. Please enter storytelling videos in the following order: Rd. 1: A story about finally being heard, Rd. 2: a fable, Rd. 3: a story of the undead. Power round will be the student's choice. Please put their finals choice in the entry notes. Enter OIL as Rd. 1, 3: poetry, Rd. 2, Finals: prose. Enter Extemp Reading as Rd 1, 3: Poetry, Rd. 2, Finals: Prose. 

6. Limited Prep videos: The limited prep events of impromptu and extemp reading must record the full time allotted; this includes record the prep time and the speaking time. Limited prep events of Radio and Extemp should record their video within a 45-minute time frame to allow for prep time and speaking time. Students should upload videos within 45 minutes. Topics for limited prep events will be released on Wednesday, January 6, 2021,  so students have 1 week to record their videos.

7. Group and partner events:In order to create fairness for everyone, including those schools that are full virtual, all duo, playacting and group interp entries must be recorded in split screen similar to the NSDA nationals videos. 

8. Judging Schedule: All preliminary rounds will be pushed out simultaneously on Friday, January 15 at 3 p.m. Judges should complete their judging of all prelim rounds by 11 a.m. January 16. Final round postings will be done through a live-stream Zoom meeting (links will be sent to coaches) at 1 p.m. on January 16 as well as posted on the Speechwire website. All final rounds will be available to competitors and coaches in those events. Awards will be presented in a Zoom meeting (a link will be sent to coaches) that will be recorded at 4 p.m. on Saturday, January 16. The recorded awards will be posted on the Port Washington Forensics Facebook page after the tournament. Please make sure to enter email addresses for all judges. 

9. Ballots and trophies: Ballots will be available on Speechwire after the tournament and the results packet will be emailed to coaches. Trophies will be sent out within a week of the end of the tournament.

10. Here is a link to the guidelines for recording split screen (Duo, Playacting, Group Interp) from the NSDA: https://www.speechanddebate.org/duo-interp-split-screen-demo-nats-2020/