Welcome to the First Annual USI Screaming Eagles Tournament!  The tournament will be held on February 14, 2026 at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, Indiana! We are very much looking forward to providing all coaches, students, and judges with an incredible experience at one of Indiana's finest public universities!

 

LOCATION AND TIME ZONE.

The USI Screaming Eagles Speech Tournament will be held on USI's gorgeous campus in Evansville, Indiana.  We will use few different buildings on USI's campus. The tournament will run on Central Standard Time.

 

PARKING. 

All busses and other vehicles may park in the large parking lot just northeast of USI's administrative and school buildings.

 

REGISTRATION/ENTRY DEADLINE. 

Registration will be done on www.speechwire.com. We cannot accept emails, faxes or paper entries. We ask that entries please be submitted by February 4, 2026 so that USI can determine food needs (yes, USI will provide lunch for contestants and judges! Just simply WOW!!)   Judge/Entry drops are due February 11, 2026 at 5:00.  

 

ENTRY LIMITS.

Each team may enter up to 4 entries per category, and a school may only bring 1 team unless the school receives the Tournament Director's advance written approval.  

 

FEES AND FOOD.

There are no entry fees for this Tournament.  USI is being super generous and covering costs for the Tournament and lunch for all teams!  

 

TOURNAMENT STRUCTURE 

We are still working on this.  This tournament will include all 15 ISSDA Speech Categories (Bro, Disco, Dec, Info, OO, Duo, DI, HI, OP, POI, Prose, POE, Imp, IX, and USX) and Congress (see below) in a single division.  We will have 3 Prelims then break to Finals (for Speech) and straight rounds/no-breaks for Congress. 

 

SCHEDULE/TIMING.

We are still working on this as well.  Evansville-area meets usually start earlier in the morning (e.g., Extemps draw at 7:45am), but we are not married to an earlier schedule right now.  A lot depends on the kind of interest that we get throughout Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.  If you are outside of Evansville and thinking about coming to this meet, please let Savannah Staples (smstaples@eagles.usi.edu) know as soon as possible (no commitment yet).  We just need to know what kind of interest we are getting outside the Evansville area so that we can put the tournament structure together.

 

Double entries.  Contestants may not enter in more than 2 categories.  No double-entries in Discussion or Congress (Congress - see below). This Tournament will span several buildings, and we will run Rounds in 90 minute intervals to give contestants time to walk between buildings.  That said, any contestant who enters in more than one event bears sole risk of making it to the 2nd category in a round before competition for that round ends.  We can not hold rooms simply because a contestant failed to make it to a 2nd category on time as part of a double entry. 

 

Discussion - Artifacts will be posted on Speechwire for download on February 9, 2026.  No electronic devices may be used during a round.

 

Extemp - Prep room is TBD.  We will follow ISSDA rules including, but not limited to, internet usage for prep.  Charging laptops will not be permitted in the prep room. Contestants found to have prior speeches in possession will be disqualified for that round. Draw all rounds. Internet Usage is permitted in your prep-time.  No note cards.  Extemp will draw every round.  Timers permitted pursuant to the new ISSDA rules.

 

Impromptu - Contestants may hold their prompt while speaking.  Contestants may not hold nothing else (including notes) while speaking.  Timers permitted pursuant to the new ISSDA rules.

 

Congress - Bills have not yet been determined, but expect an update early/mid Janaury.

 

Broadcasting will have the following schedule:

Round 1: News Program (5 minutes)

Round 2: News Program (5 Minutes)

Round 3: Breaking News (2 Minute Prep, 2 Minute Performance)

Final: Editorial (30 Minute Prep, 2 Minute Performance)

 

JUDGE REQUIREMENTS - 1 Judge for every 4 entries or fractions thereof.  Please indicate if a judge is truly "Clean".  Please block-off any parents from judging categories in which they have children competing at the Tournament.  We will do our very best to reserve our more experienced judges/coaches for Finals.

 

THIS IS AN E-BALLOT TOURNAMENT. Judges must return their signed and properly scored ballots and completed critique sheets at the end of each round electronically.  Please note and communicate to your judges: All judges must submit critiques and/or reason for decision in order for ballots to be accepted. All judges MUST bring a device, i.e., laptop or tablet for judging.  

 

STUDENT HANG-OUT AREA: TBD.

 

JUDGES LOUNGE:  TBD. 

 

TOURNAMENT DIRECTORS 

Tournament Directors: Savannah Staples (Harrison High School) and Tony Fehrenbacher (Reitz Memorial High School)

Questions: If you have any questions please contact Savannah (smstaples@eagles.usi.edu) and Tony (tfehrenbacher@manionstigger.com).

 

THIS IS GOING TO BE A BLAST!  We can't wait to see everyone! 

Savannah and Tony