Dear Speech Coaches,

 

The Illinois College Debate & Speech Team is excited to host the True Blue Speech Tournament, to be held Saturday, December 13, 2025, on the Illinois College campus.

 

The tournament will offer three preliminary rounds and a final round in each event; however extemporaneous and radio speaking will have two preliminary rounds and a final round. Novice finals (for first year competitors) will be held if at least four novice finalists remain after determining varsity finalists. 

 

Awards will be given to all varsity finalists and novice finalists. Additionally, team sweepstakes awards will be given to the top three schools. 

 

Each school must provide one judge for every six entries or fraction thereof. The number of judges you must bring and the fees you owe are based on the preliminary entry. If you cannot provide enough judges to cover your entry, we can hire judges for you for a fee of $80 each. Students will have already left IC campus for the semester, so our local judging pool is limited. Please make every effort to cover your entries. 

 

Entries are due by Monday, December 8th at 5:00pm. Fees will be assessed Wednesday, December 11. 

 

Please make checks payable to Illinois College Debate & Speech Team, EIN # 37-0661211.

 

 

We’re looking forward to having your teams join us on the Hilltop! If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Shawna Merrill at shawna.merrill@ic.edu. 

(vr24)