Westfield Middle School Rock Talk Tournament

November 11, 2023

8:00 am - 2:00 pm

 

Greetings Coaches and Competitors,

 

You are invited to Westfield Middle School’s Rock Talk Tournament on November 11, 2023. We will be competing in person at 345 W. Hoover St, Westfield, IN 46074 from 8:00 am to 2:00 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 Indiana Middle School Speech & Debate Events, including Indiana Middle School Lincoln-Douglas Debate (traditional format) and a trial run of Middle School Congressional Debate.

 

DEBATE

Lincoln-Douglas Debate Resolution

Dress codes improve educational outcomes in learning environments.

 

Congressional Debate Bill

This is a new middle school category that we are all trying for the first time. We hope you will try it out to help our Indiana Middle School Debate program expand. We will be looking for lots of feedback on this, so coaches are encouraged to observe or send a proxy to observe if possible.

Click here to access the bill. (bit.ly/rocktalk23bill)

Click here to access Middle School Congressional Debate Rules. (bit.ly/inmscongressrules)

**Competitors can earn ribbons at this competition and their points will count toward Sweepstakes, but they cannot earn NSDA points for this category because it has not yet been state approved.**

 

DISCUSSION - Middle School Discussion Theme: Technology

Rock Talk Subtopic: Teens & Tech 

Round 1: Screens for Good: In what ways can teens use screens to improve their lives, communities, and society as a whole? Consider education, mental and physical health, empathy, and global awareness for example.

Round 2: Future Tech Trends: What do you think the future holds for technology and teens? Are there emerging technologies (like virtual reality or artificial intelligence) that you find exciting or concerning? What technologies do you hope can be created or are worried might be created but shouldn't? How might these technologies shape the future for your generation?

Round 3: Teens & Screens: What do teens want when it comes to screen time (autonomy, apps, downtime, access, etc.)? What do parents want? What do teachers, child psychologists, technology experts, pediatricians, and other professionals say about teens and screens? With all of these perspectives, what is an ideal plan for teens and screens?

 

DOUBLING - Doubling is encouraged in all categories with these exceptions. These specific combinations will not be available:

CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE + BROADCAST

CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE + EXTEMP

LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE + DISCUSSION

BROADCAST + EXTEMP

 

ENTRY DEADLINE, FEES, & CAPS - Entries are due on Wednesday, November 8, at 12:00 pm. 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.)

 

SWEEPSTAKES - Schools with 25 or more entries will be entered as large schools. Schools with 24 or fewer entries will be entered as small schools. As the host school, Westfield will not be entered into Sweepstakes.

 

DROP DEADLINE - The drop deadline is Saturday, November 12, at 6:00 am, after which you will need to text Stephanie directly at 317-374-5858 to make drops. There is a $2 drop fee. 

 

JUDGES - Each school is responsible for bringing one judge for every five speech entries or fraction thereof (6 entries = 2 judges) and 1 judge for every 2 debate entries. Judges need to bring a laptop for scoring. We will score online through SpeechWire.

 

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. 

 

COACHES’ & JUDGES’ MEETING - There will be a meeting for coaches and judges beginning promptly at 8:30 am in the media center.

 

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 drinks, snacks, and soups for the judges and coaches who attend our tournament. Coffee and creamer/sugar will be available.

 

CONCESSIONS - Cash-only concessions will be available all day including breakfast and lunch options.

 

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.

 

COACHES

 

Please remind your students to clean up after themselves in their competition rooms and in the cafeteria.

 

Drops/adds/changes need to be reported to Stephanie at 317-374-5858. Please include as much information/detail as possible when texting (student name, coach name, school name, category, etc.). The more information we have, the faster we can make changes.

 

Day-of issues can also be reported to Stephanie at 317-374-5858 or Christine at 317-502-8915. Text is faster, but calls are fine, too.

 

Please prep your judges by sharing the Indiana MS Speech & Debate Rules with them.

 

JUDGES

 

WiFi: Guest_BYOD (no password) or WWS_Devices (password: perseverance).

 

To stay on time, please start rounds within 5 minutes of their start time.

 

If you are missing a competitor, text Stephanie at 317-374-5858. Please include as much information/detail as possible when texting (student name, coach name, school name, category, room number, etc.). The more information we have, the faster we can find out what’s going on and report back to you. If they do not arrive within 5 minutes, go ahead and start without them, but they can still come late. Only record someone as a drop/no-show once you’ve confirmed with Stephanie.

Submit all rankings at live.speechwire.com before moving on to the next round. PLEASE include comments for every competitor. These comments can be added during the afternoon break before awards if you don’t have time to submit them before a round ends.

(vr)