LP PROMTS are now available at the bottom is this page!

September 2021

 

The Dr. Frank M. Thompson Jr. Crimson Classic Tournament

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

We cordially invite you to attend the Crimson Classic Tournament held virtually by The University of Alabama, named for Dr. Frank M. Thompson, former Director of our program. Dr. Thompson remains one of the great torchbearers of forensics. His name rings synonymous with both excellence and joy in what we do. We, at UA, owe him our deepest gratitude and respect.

 

This year, we are excited to share a new award with the forensics community:

The Holle Award for Excellence in Forensic Competition

The Holle Awards for Excellence in Creativity and Communication at The University of Alabama celebrate and reward student achievement in the areas of book arts, filmmaking, forensics, media writing, public speaking, screenwriting, and sports media. These annual awards include a $10,000 prize for the winner of each category.

Competitors at the Crimson Classic Tournament eligible for individual sweepstakes and who compete in each genre (Limited Preparation, Public Address, and Oral Interpretation) will have the opportunity to win The Holle Award for Excellence in Forensic Competition, which includes a $10,000 prize.

 

We hope that you will attend our virtual asynchronous tournament October 5^th through 8^th. 

Asynchronous Preliminary Rounds will take place Tuesday, October 5^th through Thursday, October 7^th.

Asynchronous Final Rounds will take place Thursday, October 7th through Friday, October 8^th.

 

In the following pages, you will find tournament information for all forensic events. We greatly appreciate each of you for the time and energy you continually put into adapting to this tournament season's changes.  If we can be of further assistance, please contact us.  See you soon!

 

Sincerely,

Ben Pyle                                          Cory Paul Harrison                                                      

Director                                            Assistant Director                           

Alabama Forensic Council               Alabama Forensic Council              

                                                        

The Dr. Frank M. Thompson Jr.

Crimson Classic Tournament

October 5^th – 8^th, 2021

There will be two asynchronous preliminary rounds with synchronous outrounds and finals.  Events that have over 50 entries will go to semis.  A school can have unlimited entries in each event.  The student must not have used the material before September 1, 2021. Due to the virtual format, there are no restrictions on the number of entries per student.

FEES:  $10.00 per covered slot – An additional $15 for judge fees per uncovered slot. One judge covers 6 slots. Teams who have faced significant budgetary reductions or are student-run may reach out to the tournament director to seek a waiver for fees.

JUDGES: All judges must be actively coaching faculty, graduate students, or persons with forensic experience.  All judges will be responsible for judging one round past the elimination of their students -- this means all judges are obligated to judge events in ALL flights that go straight to finals.

PLEASE BRING JUDGES!

REGISTRATION: All entries need to be entered on speechwire.com. All students and judges will need activated Speechwire accounts before tournament registration.

MAKE ALL CHECKS FOR THE DR. FRANK THOMPSON JR. CRIMSON CLASSIC TOURNAMENT TO:  

The University of Alabama

 

Please send your checks to:

Carol Duncan

Communication Studies Dept.

Reese Phifer Hall Room 203

Box #870172

Tuscaloosa, AL 35401

 

DEADLINES: All entries must be received by 5:00 p.m. CST Monday, October 4^th.  Considering the asynchronous prelims format, we do not anticipate drops or changes, as the complete video will be registered by Monday at 5:00 p.m. CST.

Competition will be offered in all 11 AFA – NST events following the AFA – NST rules unless otherwise indicated. (See LP)

 

Competitors will provide videos of their performances which will then be judged asynchronously. Students should record their video, then upload it to their own private (or a team) YouTube channel. Once uploaded, students can adjust the video setting to “unlisted,” making the video unsearchable but still viewable to anyone with the URL.

 

Our tournament will follow the recent AFA – NST changes for the 2021 competitive season. All relevant AFA-NST legislation for regular-season qualifying tournaments will guide the tournament’s policies.

 

When registering for the tournament, Speechwire will provide a space to enter a student name, event, and the URL for their video.

 

The tournament will provide links for judging rounds to judges with their dance cards / eballots. We will also provide these links to other competitors in the round. Due to privacy concerns, only judges and students participating in a specific round will access video links for that round. Please do not share these links with others out of respect for the performers’ privacy.

 

The same video will be used for both asynchronous preliminary rounds and final rounds.

 

Note:

Competitor videos only need to be set on “unlisted” for the duration of the tournament. After the tournament, competitors can adjust their video setting to “private,” ensuring the link will no longer provide access to the video.

 

Asynchronous Preliminary Rounds will be judged on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Asynchronous Final rounds will be judged on Thursday and Friday.

 

A live-streamed awards ceremony will occur Saturday evening. Time: TBD

 

Limited Preparation Instructions:

 

All LP prompts will be released at Noon CST Friday, October 1^st. Videos must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. CST on Monday, October 4^th.

 

Extemp prompts will consist of questions. Students can choose any question from the provided options. From the moment of selection, students will have 30 minutes to prepare and then immediately perform and record their speech. Impromptu prompts will be quotations. Students can choose any quotation from the provided options. From the moment of selection, students will have 7 minutes to prepare, perform and record their presentation. (Prep time does not need to be filmed for either Extemp or Impromptu.) The video URL must be provided (by way of registration on Speechwire) before the 5:00 p.m. CST deadline on Monday, October 4^th.

 

The one provided video will be judged in preliminary rounds 1 and 2 and finals.

 

Judging Expectations:

 

Once we have all entries/videos registered, we will create the tournament Monday evening. All judges should expect their dance cards (links to e-ballots) by Tuesday at noon. Judges are expected to watch their rounds, provide feedback and rankings. We would like for e-ballots to be returned to us as soon as possible. However, judges will have until Friday at noon to complete judging their assigned preliminary rounds. Outround and/or Final Round Breaks will be posted Friday evening.

 

Saturday morning, Judges will receive their Outround and/or Final Round dance cards.

 

We will hold semifinals if numbers necessitate it.

 

AWARDS: Awards will be given to all finalists and semi-finalists, the top novice in each event, and all Quadrathon finalists.  To qualify for the Quadrathon Award, a student must be entered in four events. These events must be a combination of two of the following: oral interpretation, prepared speaking, and limited preparation.  The Quad Awards are based on performance in final rounds. The top three schools will receive a sweepstakes award (based on final round performances), and awards will be given to the Top Junior College.

 

HOLLE AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FORENSIC COMPETITION: The $10,000 prize is awarded annually to the winner of the individual sweepstakes award at the Invitational Tournament hosted at The University of Alabama. This award recognizes excellence across the spectrum of individual event forensic competition as it awards the competitor who performs best in each genre: Literary Interpretation, Limited Preparation, and Public Address. In addition to excellent presentation skills, this award demonstrates a nuanced mastery of critical thinking, persuasion, quick interpretation and dissemination of information, and artistic performance. To qualify for the Holle Award, a student must be entered in four events. These events must be a combination of the three genres: oral interpretation, prepared speaking, and limited preparation.

 

Extemp Questions:

• How can the Quad Countries improve their strategy in the Indo-Pacific?
• what direction will Germany go after the demise of Angela Merkel?
• Did Japan make the right call in ending their COVID state of emergency?

• What is the future of Germany's political coalitions following the recent defeat of Armin Laschet?
• Should the Polish president extend the State of Emergency at the Poland-Belarus border?
• How will Belgium's recent abortion funding initiative increase abortion access in Poland?

 

Impromptu Quotations:

• I can think of no more stirring symbol of man's humanity to man than a fire engine. - Kurt Vonnegut

• I don’t think that loving yourself is a choice, I think that it’s a decision that has to be made for survival. - Lizzo

 

(vr)