Dear Speech Coaches,

 

We are beyond thrilled to host the first Illinois High School Theatre Festival Tournament! We know that Theatrefest is during prime State Series preparation time, so we decided to host a tournament that would allow students to attend while also giving them quality feedback on their events. Overall, we want to provide the opportunity for talented students to participate in a variety of experiences. Please, look over the information below and contact us with any questions!

 

PARTICIPATION: In order to participate in this tournament, your school must be registered for the Illinois High School Theatre Festival Thursday, January 11th - Saturday, January 13th, 2024 at Illinois State University. If you know that your school is going then feel free to register for this tournament. We will approve your entry once we confirm your school's registration with Illinois State University. 

 

DATE: Thursday, January 11th - Saturday, January 13th, 2024

 

STRUCTURE: This is an ASYNCHRONOUS tournament. There will be two preliminary rounds (one double-judged) with Varsity (triple-judged) and Novice (single-judged) finals. Depending on the size of the tournament and the number of judges we will include a Next-in finals as well.

 

VIDEO SUBMISSIONS: Videos will be due to Speechwire by 10:00pm on Wednesday, January 10th. Please upload a link from YouTube or Google Drive. However, make sure the link is able to be viewed by everyone. It wouldn't hurt to test the links yourself before submitting.

 

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE: 

Wednesday, January 10th - Videos due to Speechwire by 10:00pm.

 

Thursday, January 11th and Friday, January 12th - Judges complete their assigned events through their Speechwire accounts. Judging for prelim rounds must be done by 9:00pm on Friday. Final rounds will be posted to Speechwire by midnight.

 

Saturday, January 13th - Judges should complete their assigned final rounds by 12:00pm.

 

ENTRIES: Feel free to add as many entries in each event as you'd like. Your total fee is dependent on your total entries. Team sweepstakes will be calculated using your top two speakers in each event. Students may triple-enter, but they can only earn points for Sweepstakes in two events. All teams will register using Speechwire.

 

JUDGES: Each team is expected to bring one qualified judge for every six entries. We will NOT be able to provide any hired judges!

 

FEES:

1-14 entries - $100

15-28 entries - $150

29-42 entries - $200

43+ entries - $250

 

 

EVENTS: All 14 IHSA events

 

AWARDS: All individual finalists will as well as the top three teams will receive an award. We will also give awards to the school with the highest number of students attending IHSTF as well as the school with the most points based on IHSTF participation (students at IHSTF will contribute points to this award). We will hold an awards ceremony during a workshop time in the afternoon on Saturday, and we will also livestream awards for those not at festival. Information and relevant links will be sent later.

 

 

EXT/IMP/RS: Extemp questions, impromptu topics, and radio packets will be released to coaches on Tuesday, January 9th at 8:00pm. Students should prep following IHSA guidelines. Radio speakers do not need to show their face.

 

RULES: 

Time - Any radio speaker under or over time (according to IHSA guidelines) will be placed last in the round. This will take place in tab.

 

ENTRY DEADLINE: Monday, January 8th at 12:00pm

 

FINAL POSTING ON SPEECHWIRE: Monday, January 8th at 12:30pm

 

We hope to have a great tournament with you!

 

Anthony Greer and Sarah Esparza

Associate Directors of Workshops

agreer@uths.net - (309) 428-7890

(vr)