Westfield Middle School Rock Talk Tournament

January 22, 2022

8:00 am - 1:30 pm

Greetings Coaches and Competitors,

You are invited to Westfield Middle School’s Rock Talk Tournament on January 22, 2022. We will be competing in person at 345 W. Hoover St, Westfield, IN 46074 from 8:00 am to 1:30 pm.

AWARDS - Double ribbons will be awarded to the top eight places in each event (16 entries). Team trophies will be awarded to the top three schools in both large and small divisions for Team Sweepstakes. WMS will not participate in Team Sweepstakes.

CATEGORIES - We will be offering all 13 Indiana Middle School Speech & Debate Events, including IN MS Debate format (26-minute rounds).

DEBATE - MS Debate Resolution for 2021-22: 

In United States courts, victim impact statements ought to influence sentencing.

DISCUSSION - MS Discussion Theme for 2021-22: What role should the United States play in global affairs?

Round 1: How should the U.S. respond to COVID beyond U.S. borders?

Round 2: Should the U.S. intervene in international conflicts (e.g. Afghanistan)?

Round 3: How should the U.S. contribute to reforming the Olympics?

DOUBLING - Doubling will be allowed (and encouraged) in all categories with three exceptions. These three specific combinations will not be available:

DEBATE + BROADCAST

DEBATE + EXTEMP

DEBATE + DISCUSSION

 

ENTRY DEADLINE, FEES, & CAPS - Entries are due on Tuesday, January 19, at 5:00pm. Each entry is $2 and will offset the costs of ribbons and trophies. Make checks payable to WMS and mail to Christine Shepard, 345 W. Hoover St., Westfield, IN 46074. Each school is limited to 50 entries. Late additions are discouraged but may be permitted on a case-by-case basis. (If costs are prohibitive, please let us know. We want more students competing, not fewer.)

DROP DEADLINE - The drop deadline is Saturday, January 22 6:00am, after which you will need to text Stephanie directly to make drops. There is a $2 drop fee. 

JUDGES - Each school is responsible for bringing one judge for every five entries or fraction thereof (6 entries = 2 judges). Judges need to bring a laptop for scoring. We will score online through SpeechWire (instead of paper ballots).

SPEECHWIRE REGISTRATION & ENTRIES - Please remember that in order to enter students and judges in the tournament, you must first collect email addresses from them, set up SpeechWire accounts for them, and remind each of them to activate their accounts. Participants cannot share the same email address. 

NSDA POINTS - If you intend to record NSDA points, sync your students' NSDA and SpeechWire accounts prior to the tournament; this allows for auto posting of points--a huge time saver for you!

MASKS - All participants and attendees must wear a mask at all times except when seated alone or with their own team to eat or when actively presenting their piece so long as they are more than 6 feet away from any other person.

COACHES’ MEETING - There will be a meeting for coaches and judges on Wednesday, January 19 at 4:45pm via Zoom: WMS Rock Talk Coaches’ Meeting 1/19 Zoom Link

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE - The schedule is tentative, but we will start at 8:00 am. There will be three speech rounds and four debate rounds. 

HOSPITALITY - Our Westfield S&D families are collaborating to provide some drinks, snacks, and soups for the judges and coaches who attend our tournament. Students still need to provide their own food and drinks. Please be mindful to wear your mask whenever you are not actively eating. A Keurig with basic coffee and some creamer/sugar will be available - BYOM.

GETTING UPDATES - In order to get updates on tournament plans, log into SpeechWire and click "Yes" (or "Maybe") you are attending. If you no longer wish to receive invitations from SpeechWire, then please update your information on the SpeechWire website.

QUESTIONS - If you have any questions about this tournament, please contact Christine Shepard and Stephanie Hodge at shepardc@wws.k12.in.us, hodges@wws.k12.in.us.

 

(vr)