Dear Speech Coaches:

 

We would like to take this opportunity to extend to you and your team an invitation to the Palisade Speech Festival&Tournament Invitational to be held on Saturday, January 7th, 2017.  Our team hopes to provide festival and tournament teams with a unique, high-quality competitive experience that will help move all of our programs in the right direction as we gear up for the second half of the season.

 

You will receive separate information if you are participating in the Worlds Round Robin on Friday January 6th.

 

Before we get started please add these dates to your calendar:

 

 

We will offer two waves of events over the course of the day, and students may enter one Wave A event and one Wave B event.

 

 

WAVE A:

Congressional Debate

Extemporaneous Speaking

Original Oratory

Interpretation of Dramatic Literature

Interpretation of Humorous Literature

Interpretation of Poetry

 

Wave B:

Creative Story Telling

Public Forum Debate

Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Duo Interpretation

Program Oral Interpretation

 

 

 

So, as you can see, we are doing congress during the regular tournament to encourage as much participation as possible.  It would be great for students and schools who have never done congress before to get involved.  We’re hoping for broad participation in congress from schools across the district once the opportunity arrives to qualify for Nationals in February, and this is a good time to get started!  Students who have chosen congress here will compete in a chamber for three one-hour sessions throughout the day, which will run at the same time as the other events in Wave A.  The same judges will be utilized for each round of congress, and the nominations and voting will occur after the conclusion of the third round/hour.  There will just essentially be two long recesses to break for Wave B as compared to a traditional, continuous three-hour session.  A docket of legislation chosen from the NSDA website will be e-mailed to schools on Thursday, December 15, 2016, and this will be the legislation we will debate in both waves.  At our tournament the NSDA Committee will be reviewing ballot submissions from schools and selecting those for the National Qualifying Congress tournament in March.  

 

Extemp will be combined, but students may choose topics from either the national or international envelopes.

 

Debate topics will be the NSDA January topic for PF and the January/February topic for L-D.  CHSAA rules will be utilized for all main events, and NSDA rules will prevail in congress.

 

Registration will be on speechwire.com (Please Note! This registration works differently than speechmeets.com), and fees will be $8.00 for individual events and $16.00 in team events.  No refunds will be given after fees are set at 10 p.m. on the Friday before the tournament.  Please bring cash or a check with you on the tournament day.

  

We are hoping for another great turnout of judges this year, and we have been pursuing the recruitment and training of new judges as well as continued communication with the Grand Valley pool that already exists.  I would like to make a strong appeal, though, for you to bring as many judges as you possibly can.  If you are traveling, I understand your limitations, but if you are bringing a large crew, please reciprocate. 

 

Our team will be running a well-stocked concession stand, so tell your students to bring a little cash and enjoy our goodies.  Coaches and judges will be well fed by our amazing Team Parents.  We are excited to host your school and team!

 

Please consider common sense expectations of student conduct while at our school.  Our team members should understand that their demeanor at tournaments reflects the image of the entire speech and debate community.

 

 

IMPORTANT DATES:

 

 

We look forward to seeing you at our tournament!

 

 

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