Greetings Coaches,

 

I am pleased to invite you and your team to Bishop Dwenger's annual Martin Bisson Tierneyment.

 

THIS IS A MIDDLE SCHOOL TOURNAMENT:  Speechwire has us listed as High School, but this tournament is for Middle School Students.

 

Times and Contact:  Extemp Draw will be at 8:30 am.  All events start at 9 am.  Please arrive by 8 am.  If you are running late, please contact me at 260.494.7615.

 

Entries:  Entries are due by Tuesday, October 20th at 6:00 P.M. After that, only name changes and drops will be accepted. All registration will be done through Speechwire.com.  You may e-mail me with late adds which I will only honor if it does not require the addition of another room.  Please text last minute drops to me ASAP at 260.494.7615.

 

Doubling:  No doubling in Debate.  No doubling across Broadcasting, Extemp, or Discussion.  No triple entry or beyond.

 

Judges: Please bring one judge for every five entries or fraction thereof (6 entries = 2 judges).  

 

Parking:  Please park buses off of Washington Center Road behind the football field.  Please enter from this parking lot.  Please arrive between 7:30 am - 8:00 am.

 

Food:  PLEASE NO OUTSIDE FOOD. We will provide concessions and a generous judge's lounge.

 

Rounds: All events will have three rounds

 

Caps:  Each team is permitted 6 entries per event.  Each team is also limited to a maximum of 40 entries overall.  After we have reached our maximum capacity we will no longer be able to accept entries.  Extra non-sweeps entries will be permitted as space allows.

 

 

RADIO BROADCASTING - all competitors need to be prepared to write a 1 minute persuasive editorial using a 30 minute prep period for round one; read from a provided 1 minute breaking news reading for round two; and bring a prepared 3 minute newscast for round three that includes an original advertisement that is 30-45 seconds of their 3-minute newscast.

         

 

DISCUSSION TOPIC (Media Literacy):

 

Discussion will last a maximum of 30 minutes.

 

The questions will go in this order:

 

1.  Should digital media platforms be responsible for ensuring that diverse voices/perspectives are fairly represented, or should that be left to content creators and/or audiences?

 

2.  How can we tell the difference between a conspiracy theory and a real conspiracy?

 

3.  Should there be limits on the types of advertisements children see online and on television?

 

 

Impromptu Topics:  All NEW ISSDA Middle School Rules will be in effect and used by all judges.  Students will have 7 minutes flex speaking time.  They may prep and speak for as long as they wish within their 7 minutes.

 

Round One: Word

Round Two: Quote

Round Three: Current Event (posed in the form of a question)

 

EXTEMP:

Students will draw before 1st round.  We will provide a number corresponding to an article -- which will be a decent length to provide the students enough information to write their speech or a couple of articles will be provided -- and a question.  Students will draw a number to receive the appropriate article(s).  Students will have this article as their source. Questions will be domestic in nature.  The same speech will be used all three rounds.

 

 

Awards:  Awards will be given to the top 3 Big Schools (21-40) entries and the top three Small Schools (1-20). Top 8 contestants will receive a ribbon (depending on my award supplier).  Each event champion will receive a medal. Sweepstakes points will be awarded on the 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Because our school does not have an auditorium, the awards ceremony will take place in the cafeteria.

 

We look forward to seeing you on October 24th!

(vr24)