October 2022

 

Dear Colleagues, 

 

Bradley University eagerly invites you to the 75th Annual L.E. Norton Memorial Tournament, which will be in-person from November 5-6, 2022. 

The Norton is well known for its competitive spirit, along with a rich tradition of hospitality; this year will be no different. Our new Assistant Director of Forensics, Dr. Bill Heinze, Assistant Coach Tia Collins, along with Team President David Daye and Team Vice President Kaity Johnson, and the rest of our staff and 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. Congratulations to the last year’s open team sweepstakes champions, the University of Alabama, and their student Anna Kutbay, for winning individual sweepstakes. 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, Kelly Jo Wright, from the University of Wisconsin, Eau-Claire. 

 

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

 

Sincerely,

 

Andrew Eilola

Director of Forensics 

(218) 290-5574

aeilola@bradley.edu

 

Bill Heinze 

Assistant Director of Forensics 

(630) 414-5330

wheinze@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. Impromptu prompts will be quotations, questions, and proverbs.  

 

3. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, we strongly encourage all coaches, judges and students attending the tournament to be vaccinated. While not required, we recommend everyone wear masks while they’re indoors. Performers are welcome to take masks off for performances.
    

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

Informative Speaking

Prose Interpretation

Impromptu Speaking

 

Flight B

Duo Interpretation

Persuasive Speaking

Program Oral Interpretation

Extemporaneous Speaking

 

Flight C

Dramatic Interpretation

Poetry Interpretation

Communication Analysis

After Dinner Speaking

 

3. Semi-Finals will be held for events with at least 50 entries and finals will be offered in all Varsity and Novice events. 

 

4. Entries must be submitted via Speechwire.com. Entries must be received by 6pm CST Monday, October 31st, 2022. Drop and judge fees will be assessed at 6pm CST Tuesday, November 1st. 

 

*Please contact us immediately if there are extenuating circumstances or life events that occur with students. We’ll accommodate as best we can.

 

Awards

 

1. The top six competitors in both open and novice will receive the classic pottery mug trophies, handmade by Fire Maple Pottery in Lacon, IL. 

 

2. Team sweepstakes awards will be given to the top 5 open and limited entry teams. 

 

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 

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

 

2 points: non-advancing semi-finalists (open only)

 

Fees

 

1. Each entry for the tournament will cost $15. Additionally, there will be a $5.00 per student fee because of new hosting costs on campus. 

 

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 $100 for full day availability or $20 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 6:00pm CST, Tuesday November 1st will result in a $15 drop fee in addition to the initial entry fee. Judge drops or new uncovered slots will be $15 as well. 

- After 6:00pm CST Wednesday, November 2nd, 2022 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 Dept. – 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 stated prior to the performance. 

 

Quiet Room

There will be a quiet room available for students, coaches and judges who experience sensory overload or need a space to decompress.

 

Open Door Policy

We encourage competitors to stay and support all performances if they are not double-entered. However, we will have an open-door policy where students and audience members are free to leave before, during, and between performances without negative repercussions. Additionally, judges should accept all forms of listening, including students who disengage from a performance (e.g., actively dissociate, put their head down, etc.) when they are uncomfortable. We will remind judges and competitors of this at the tournament.

 

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 are simply uncomfortable.

 

Friday, November 4, 2022

 

7:00-9:00p.m. Early Registration (Michael Student Center Atrium)

 

Saturday, November 5, 2022

8:00-8:30 a.m.   Late Registration

8:45 a.m.       Extemp Draw

9:00 a.m.        Round 1 Flight B (EXT, DUO, PER, POI)

10:15 a.m. Extemp Draw

10:30 a.m.     Round 2 Flight B 

12:00 p.m.     Lunch Break

12:45 p.m.      Extemp Draw

1:00 p.m.        Round 3 Flight B

2:15 p.m.        Round 1 Flight A (PRO, INFO, IMP)

3:30 p.m.       Round 2 Flight A

4:45 p.m.        Round 3 Flight A

6:00 p.m.        Round 1 Flight C (ADS, CA, DI, POE)

 

 

Sunday, November 7, 2022

 

7:00 a.m. Buildings open for Warm Ups

8:00 a.m. Round 2 Flight C

9:15 a.m. Round 3 Flight C

10:45 a.m. Extemp Draw

11:00 a.m. Outrounds #1

12:00 p.m. Lunch Break 

1:00 p.m. Outrounds #2

2:30 p.m. Potential Extemp Draw

2:45 p.m. Outrounds #3

4:15 p.m. Outrounds #4

ASAP Awards Ceremony (Renaissance Coliseum)

8:00 p.m. Social Gathering at Fieldhouse in Campustown