SpeechWire Tournament Services - Forensics Tournament Software

Dear colleagues,

Bradley University eagerly invites you to the 72^nd Annual L.E. Norton Memorial Tournament, which is being held November 2-3, 2019. The Norton is well known for its competitiveness, along with its rich tradition of hospitality. Personally, I’m very excited to welcome everyone to campus during my first semester at Bradley! Assistant Coach Tia Collins, students Melissa Fuentes, Cassie Edlund, Haleemah Na’Allah and Connor Sears, along with the rest of the team, are diligently preparing for your Norton experience.

We will offer novice and open divisions for all 11 AFA events. Congratulations to last year’s open team sweepstakes winner, the University of Alabama, and individual sweepstakes winner, Carly-Spotts-Falzone, from Hastings College. We will continue to award 2-year team and individual sweepstakes as well. Additionally, as customary, we’ll be honoring someone with the L.E. Norton award, who embodies the leadership, devotion and passion for college forensics exemplified by Dr. Norton. Congratulations to last year’s recipient Tyler Billman from Southeastern Illinois University.

We hope to see you soon to celebrate forensics students and our mentor, Dr. L.E. Norton.

Sincerely,

Andrew Eilola

Director of Forensics

(309) 677-2439

aeilola@bradley.edu

L.E Norton Memorial

Rules and Guidelines

The L.E. Norton Memorial will follow the ethical standards, rules, and event descriptions of the American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament. They can be accessed online at afa-niet.org. All judges and competitors are expected to be knowledgeable of these standards prior to the tournament.

An Impromptu addendum – Impromptu prompts will be quotations, questions, proverbs, and an ethical dilemma in the final round.

Registration

Novice divisions will be offered in events with at least 30 varsity entries. Novice categories are reserved for students competing in their first year of intercollegiate forensics competition, or for any two year/community college student.

Students may double-enter in each pattern:

Flight A

Duo Interpretation

Extemporaneous Speaking

Informative Speaking

Flight B

Prose Interpretation

Persuasive Speaking

Program Oral Interpretation

Impromptu Speaking

Flight C

Dramatic Interpretation

Poetry Interpretation

Communication Analysis

After Dinner Speaking

Semi-Finals will be held for events with at least 60 entries. Quarter-Finals will be held for events with at least 120 entries.

Entries must be submitted via Speechwire.com. Entries must be received by 12pm (noon) CST Tuesday, October 29, 2019. Drop and judge fees will be assessed at Noon on Wednesday, October 30th.

*Please contact us immediately if there are extenuating circumstances or life events that occur with students. We’ll be accommodating as best we can.

Awards

The top six competitors in both open and novice will receive the well-known pottery mug trophies.

Team sweepstakes awards will be given to the top 5 open and 2-year universities and colleges.

Individual Sweepstakes will be awarded to the top five speakers of the tournament in both novice and open categories. Students with at least 4 events will be eligible for individual sweepstakes. Two duos will count as two events.

Team sweepstakes will be calculated according to the following point scale:

12 points: 1st place – open 6 points: 1^st place – novice

10 points: 2^nd place – open 5 points: 2^nd place – novice

8 points: 3^rd place – open 4 points: 3^rd place – novice

6 points: 4^th place – open 3 points: 4^th place – novice

4 points: 5^th place – open 2 points: 5^th place – novice

2 points: 6^th/7^th place – open 1 point: 6^th/7^th place – novice

1 point: non-advancing semi-finalists (open and novice)

Fees

Each entry for the tournament will cost $15.

For each judge provided, six entries will be covered. Judges may be hired at an additional $10 per slot not covered by your program. Hired judges will be paid $10 per round. Note: Schools bringing a Bradley alum as a judge will cover 10 entries.

Penalties for late drop fees will be:

- Drops after 12:00pm noon CST, Wednesday October 30^th will result in $15 drop fee in addition to the initial entry fee. Judge drops or new uncovered slots will be $15 as well.

- After 5:00pm Thursday, October 31^st, 2019 judge drops will result in a $75 penalty and student drop fees will be $25 per slot.

Checks should be made out to: Bradley University Speech Team.

Tournament Notes

Campus Resources

Closer to the tournament we will provide all schools with a list of campus resources and contacts with who to contact in case of an emergency.

Quiet Room

There will be a quiet room in the student center for students who experience sensory overload or need a space to decompress.

Content Warnings

We recommend the use of content and/or trigger warnings when possible for competitors who may be performing sensitive material.

Open Door Policy

We encourage competitors to stay and support all performances if they are not double-entered. However, we will have an open-door policy where students and audience members are free to leave before, during, and between performances without negative repercussions. Additionally, judges should accept all forms of listening, including students who disengage from a performance (e.g., actively dissociate, put their head down, etc.) when they are uncomfortable. We will remind judges and competitors of this at the tournament.

Judge Concerns

Please contact the tournament director if you have concerns about being judged by someone at the tournament. Blocks can be put in place if you have a problematic history with someone or simply are uncomfortable with being around them in the same space.

ICE Activity

We want to ensure all students and coaches feel secure coming to Peoria. Bradley University seeks to welcome and provide a safe space for all identities. Considering recent actions taken by the current administration regarding immigration and ICE activity, we want to remain vigilant in our information dissemination on this issue. According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s website, the nearest ICE arrest was made in Elmwood, IL in June 2019. More ICE arrests have been made in Chicago; if you’re traveling through the city, please be extra cautious. The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights has a website with helpful information.

72^nd Annual L.E. Norton Memorial Tournament Schedule

Friday, November 1, 2019

7:00-9:00p.m. Early Registration (Michael Student Center Atrium)

Saturday, November 2, 2019

8:00-8:30 a.m. Late Registration

8:45 a.m. Extemp Draw

9:00 a.m. Round 1 Flight A (EXT, DUO, INFO)

10:15 a.m. Extemp Draw

10:30 a.m. Round 2 Flight A

12:00 p.m. LUNCH BREAK

12:45 p.m. Extemp Draw

1:00 p.m. Round 3 Flight A

2:15 p.m. Round 1 Flight B (PRO, PER, POI, IMP)

3:30 p.m. Round 2 Flight B

4:45 p.m. Round 3 Flight B

6:00 p.m. Round 1 Flight C (ADS, CA, DI, POE)

Sunday, November 3, 2019

7:00 a.m. Buildings open for Warm Ups

8:00 a.m. Round 2 Flight C

9:15 a.m. Round 3 Flight C

11:30 a.m. Extemp Draw

11:45 a.m. Outrounds #1 (all semifinals)

1:00 p.m. LUNCH BREAK

1:45 p.m. Outrounds #2

Potential Extemp Draw

3:45 p.m. Outrounds #3

ASAP Awards Ceremony (Michel Student Center Ballroom)

9:00 p.m. Social Gathering – Field House in Campus Town (walkable from Campus)