Virginia is for Lovers - GMU - Spring

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General information

This is a College tournament in Virginia.

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Virginia is for Lovers

Spring 2026 Swing

The teams from George Mason University and James Madison University cordially invite you and your students to attend the 2026 “Virginia is for Lovers” Spring Swing, February 14-15, 2026. Both tournaments will take place in Fairfax, VA on the campus of George Mason University. We will offer all 11 AFA-NST events at both halves of the swing. The following information should make your trip to the swing easier to plan:

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

We’ll use the same schedule for both days.

8:00am - 8:30am           Registration in Horizon Hall main floor lobby

8:30am                          Extemp Draw

9:00am                          IA (Ext/POI/Duo/Per/Info/Pro)

10:15am                        IB (Imp/DI/ADS/CA/Poe)

11:30am                       Lunch

12:00pm                       Extemp Draw

12:30pm                       IIA

1:45pm                         IIB

3:00pm                         Extemp Draw

3:30pm                          Finals A

4:45pm                          Finals B

6:15pm                         Awards

ACCESSIBILITY AND DIETARY NEEDS

We plan on keeping the tournament limited to just a few buildings, with Horizon being tournament headquarters. Please reach out to Dawn Lowry (dlowry4@gmu.edu) with any accessibility needs and we’ll be sure to handle those.

“SPREAD THE LOVE”

We encourage teams who have recently seen significant budget reductions (or those which are student-run programs) to reach out so that we might find a way to make competition for all students at this swing possible.

ENTRY INFORMATION

1. There is no limit on team entries in any event.
2. Students may enter a maximum of three events per bracket; two duos count as two events.
3. The deadline for team entry is Tuesday, February 10, at 5 pm Eastern.
4. Entry fees are $8 per event slot. Qualified judges cover six slots. Uncovered entries are an additional $15 per slot.
5. Each entry dropped after Wednesday, February 11, at 5 pm Eastern will incur an additional $10 penalty. Each entry dropped on Saturday and/or Sunday will incur an additional $20 penalty. Dropped judges after Wednesday, February 11, at 5 pm Eastern will incur an additional $50 penalty. Dropped judges on Saturday and/or Sunday will incur an additional $100 penalty.
6. To register for BOTH tournaments included in the swing, please go to www.speechwire.com, and submit your entry separately for each half of the swing. You will receive a confirmation email detailing each tournament’s entry later in the week. Please be sure to check the entries you submitted and immediately correct any errors directly on SpeechWire.

COMPETITION AND RECOGNITION

1. Tournament directors will “spot check” ballots throughout the swing to ensure educational written comments are provided by judges.
2. Both tournaments will offer 2 rounds of preliminary competition in all events and, when warranted, a final round.
3. Any event with more than 50 entries competing in both preliminary rounds will feature a semifinal round in addition to a final round. Schedules will be adjusted accordingly.
4. We will recognize the finalists in each event, the top individual sweeps winners, and the top schools at each tournament.
5. The top overall speaker for both halves and the top overall team for both halves will be recognized on Sunday.
6. We will use AFA-NST style rules and tabulation.

We hope you will join us for what will surely be a fun and competitive event! See you in February!

Mallory Marsh                                                Dawn Lowry

Tournament Director                                      Tournament Director

James Madison University                             George Mason University

marshml@jmu.edu                                         dlowry4@gmu.edu

Manager contact information

Dawn M Lowry
Email address: Dlowry4@gmu.edu
Phone number: (309) 370-2911

Mailing address

Official invoice will be sent Wed Feb 5
Dawn Lowry 4400 University Drive MS3D6 Fairfax VA 22030
Fairfax, VA 22030