Patriot Games Classic

2024 Invitation

George Mason University cordially invites you to attend the 19th Annual Patriot Games Classic to be held on the George Mason University Campus in Fairfax, Virginia on December 7^th and 8^th, 2024. As this is our 20^th anniversary, we are planning a celebration for everyone who has made Patriot Games and important part of their travel schedule for the past two decades!! After positive feedback, we are pleased to announce we have added impromptu to our in-person event offerings.

The deadline for entry is Friday, November 15th at 5:00pm EST, but we strongly encourage people to enter early, as once we are filled, we will no longer be to accept entries. Registration is open. Registration will take place through the website:                   https://postings.speechwire.com/p-calendar.php

We have been able to reserve a block of rooms at the Fairfax Marriott for this tournament. We will update a link on the Speechwire homepage for this tournament. This weekend promises to be full of high energy and stress, which sometimes can effect students adversely. As a reminder, please bring all relevant medical forms with you in case a medical professional needs them. 

We look forward to seeing you all in December!

Sincerely,

Tournament Co-Directors

Dawn Lowry

Director of Forensics

Tyler Watkins

Assistant Director of Forensics

Student Tournament Co-Directors

                                   Sam Dalachinsky & Freya Hutton                                   

EVENTS OFFERED/ENTRY CAPS:

Pattern A

EXT          Extemporaneous Speaking     8

HI              Humorous Interpretation        8

OI              Oral Interpretation                  8

DUO          Duo Interpretation                  8

INFO         Informative Speaking             8

IMP           Impromptu                              8

Pattern B/Debate:

OO            Original Oratory                     8

DI              Dramatic Interpretation          8

DEC          Declamation                           8

POI            Program Oral Interpretation   8

PF              Public Forum Debate              6         

LD             Lincoln-Douglas Debate        6

CD             Congressional Debate             8

Additional slots may be requested via Speechwire’s wait list feature. After positive feedback, we are attempting to add Impromptu to our in-person tournament. As this does impact room availability, we cannot guarantee being able to increase event size.  Schools will be notified which entries have been accepted from the wait list no later than Monday, Nov. 18^th, 2024.

Competitors at most may enter:

2 speech events per pattern; or

1 form of debate and 2 speech events in Pattern A.

FEES:

IE Entry, Duo (per team)                                $45.00

IE Judge (per uncovered entry)                      $25.00

Congress, LD, PF (per team)                         $70.00

Debate Judge (per uncovered entry)              $45.00

Entry Drop/Change     11/18               Entry Fee (EF)

Entry Drop/Change     11/25               EF + $25.00

Entry Drop/Change    11/30               EF + $35.00

Entry Drop/Change    12/2                 EF +$50.00

Judge Drop                 11/25               $100.00

Judge Drop                 12/2                 $200.00

JUDGE REQUIREMENTS:

• A qualified judge should be provided for every 6 entries or fraction thereof in individual events. 
• A qualified judge should be provided for every 2 entries or fraction thereof in PF and LD.
• A qualified judge should be provided for every school with Congressional Debate entries.  
• Judge pools are separate; no judge may cover more than one obligation.

Entry fees will be calculated at 5pm on Thursday November 18^th 2023.

All additional fee changes take place at 5:01 pm of the specified date on pg.1.

Fees are due at or before registration: School or personal checks should be made payable to George Mason University. Hold checks are not accepted. Schools can also pay online. Information regarding online payment will be emailed out on request.

Fees assessed once the tournament has started (for no-show students or no-show judges) should be paid immediately at the ballot table.  Schools with outstanding fees risk preventing their students from participating in elimination rounds.

TOURNAMENT HOTEL:

Marriott Fair Oaks will once again serve as the official tournament hotel for the GMU Patriot Games. A block of rooms has been reserved here for the tournament weekend.We are waiting for the registration link from Marriott and will update the Speechwire page as soon as we get it.