Invitation

Welcome to the 30th

TORO COUNTRY CLASSIC

presented by the

MOUNTAIN VIEW HIGH SCHOOL

SPEECH AND DEBATE TEAM

November 11-13, 2021

It is our distinct pleasure to again offer the Toro Country Classic. We believe that high quality competition is the key to advancing the competitiveness of Arizona Forensics, and we hope your team will choose to attend our tournament.

We are planning to host the TCC live this year unless conditions worsen. Due to the heightened concerns of COVID and our desire to protect everyone involved, we are requiring all competitors, judges, coaches, and observers, to wear a mask except while eating or drinking. It will be left up to the competitors to choose to remove their mask while speaking. We will ask that everyone socially distance as much as possible. We ask that teams spread out on the campus in order to keep the cafeteria from being crowded.

A NOTE ON HOSPITALITY: We will provide a food for competitors to be able to purchase and a hospitality room for judges and coaches, but because of COVID, we are not planning to have an open buffet of food for the coaches and judges.

We are pleased to announce that the Toro Country Classic is a Bid Tournament to the University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions in both Congressional Debate & Speech.

We are also a bid tournament to the NIETOC!

This year the TOP 6 FINALISTS in CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE will receive a bid to the UKTOC. IMPORTANT INFO: Due to the length of debate required by the TOC for the Congress bids, congress will be held entirely on Thursday, November 11^th.

Bids are also available in the following speech events: (EX, OO, DI, HI, POI, Duo Interp, & OI (Prose/Poetry). NOTE: *In order for a student to qualify in OI (Prose/Poetry) from a tournament that offers Prose and Poetry as separate events, that student must obtain bids in BOTH Prose and Poetry individually in order to be fully qualified. The two bids may be gained at the same or separate UK TOC qualifying tournaments.

UK TOC IE Bids are offered at the following levels:

24 or fewer entries--TOP 3 receive bids.

25 - 72 entries--All FINALISTS receive bids

73+ entries--All SEMI-FINALISTS receive bids

Bids to the NIETOC are offered in following events: (EX, OO, INF, DI, HI, Duo, POI, Duet).

NIETOC Bids are offered at the following levels:

0-19 contestants - FIRST Place bid

20-34 contestants - FIRST, SECOND & THIRD Place Bids

35-50 contestants – FINAL Round Bids

51-70 contestants - SEMIFINAL Round Bids

71-99 contestants - QUARTERFINAL Round Bids

100 + contestants - OCTAFINAL Round Bids

We want all competitors, coaches, and judges to have the best experience possible, but we reserve the right to limit entries based on room availability. Because of this, we ask that you get your entry in as soon as possible or some of your entries might be put on a waiting list. Additionally, if you know a competitor will not be available to compete in out rounds, please let us know this at registration, so we can pull up the next qualifier.

We will offer Congressional Debate during the day on Thursday, prelims of Policy Debate, L-D Debate, Public Forum Debate, and Big Questions Debate on Friday afternoon/evening, followed by all remaining live events and debate out rounds on Saturday. We are also offering the following asynchronous supplemental events: TikTok, Children’s Literature, Storytelling, After Dinner Speaking, and Pro Con Challenge.

We will present trophies to the top three in the Debate events, the top six in the Congress, and all IE and Duo events. We will present medals to all of the Congressional Debate finalists and to the finalists in each Supplemental Event. Sweepstakes trophies will be awarded to the top three schools with entries of 18 or more and to the top 3 schools with 17 or fewer entries. Only the top 3 scoring competitors in each event including supplemental events will count toward sweepstakes. Additionally, we will award an Individual Sweepstakes Award to the individual earning the most sweepstakes points for their team. The Outstanding Legislation award will go to the school that submits the best-written piece of legislation. Criteria for this award are included in the Legislative Debate section.

While AIA Rules and Guidelines will be the foundation for the operation of this tournament, please be advised that they will not apply in all situations. We have clearly noted any diversions from the AIA rules in the event information section.

Please contact us at one of the contact methods below, and I will be glad to fax or email you any information you might need.

Sincerely,
Mountain View High School Forensics
Meg Howell-Haymaker, Speech and Debate Team Coach
Cell #: 480-294-7455, E-mail: mmhowellhaymaker@mpsaz.org

JUDGE QUOTA AND REQUIREMENTS

Coaches: Please train your judges.

1. JUDGE ENTRY: Schools must enter the appropriate number of judges on the Tabroom website by Friday, November 5th by 6:00 p.m.

2. JUDGE QUOTA: Please ask if you are uncertain about the quota you owe!

1 qualified judge for every 6 HS Congress entries. Congress judges must be available for all 3 sessions and each school should make every effort to provide at least one qualified individual to serve as a parliamentarian.

1 qualified judge for every 2 Policy Debate entries

1 qualified judge for every 2 L-D Debate entries

1 qualified judge for every 2 PF Debate entries

1 qualified judge for every 5 Individual Events entries

(IE judges will be used to judge the asynchronous events beginning Monday, November 8th. All asynchronous prelim rounds must be completed by Tuesday, November 9^th at 8:00 p.m. All semis must be completed by Thursday, November 11^th at 8:00 p.m. All Final rounds must be completed by Friday, November 12^th at 8:00 p.m.

3. REPORT TIMES FOR JUDGES: All judges will be required to sign-on, at these times:

Friday for Congress by 7:30 a.m.

Friday afternoon for Debate by 3:00 p.m. and on Saturday afternoon at 12:00 p.m.

Saturday morning by 7:30 a.m.

4. AVAILABILITY: Judge must be available for the entire tournament.

5. REQUIREMENTS: Each judge should have already created a Tabroom.com account and be linked to the team for whom they are judging. They need to have a clear understanding of the rules, their own computer with access to the internet to judge the rounds, and their own stopwatch/timing device like a cell phone.

6. EQUITABLE, HONEST, and ATTENTIVE: Each judge will be required to be honest, open-minded, and fair in their judgment. Judges should not allow themselves to be distracted during the rounds by their cell phone, their computer, etc. If a student feels that their judge did not give all students in the round equal treatment, please have them report these indiscretions to the ASDCA DEIJ Committee immediately after the round.

REGISTRATION AND FEES

1.     Please send in your entry fee check or P.O. prior to the tournament OR at the very least, have your check or P.O. available at the time of registration.

2.     Please make checks payable to "Mountain View Speech and Debate." Your invoice will be available on Tabroom.com

3.     For a copy of the Mesa Public Schools, click this link W-9.

OVERALL ENTRY AND EVENT INFORMATION

1.     COMPETITOR ENTRY RESTRICTIONS: Each HS competitor will be allowed to enter Congress and 1 debate event, and 3 IE events.

2.     ENTRY DEADLINE: The entry deadline is Friday, November 5th, at 6:00 p.m. Fees will be assessed at this time. Get your entries in early. If we must limit entries, it will be done on a first-come, first-serve basis.

3.    EVENT RULES: We will be following the NSDA event rules for Congress, Policy, Lincoln Douglas, Public Forum, Extemp, Impromptu, Oratory, Informative, Dramatic Interp, Humorous Interp, Program Oral Interp, and Duo Interp. For Prose and Poetry, we will follow the ASDCA rules. If you are from out of state, please email me for specifics on Prose and Poetry. All of the Supplemental Events Rules are on Tabroom and included in this document.

4.     DROPS / CHANGES: You will be allowed to make drops and changes on the internet until Sunday, November 7th at 12:00 p.m. After that time, you will need to email mmhowellhaymaker@mpsaz.org or call in your last-minute changes to my cell 480-294-7455. Please call as soon as you know you have a change to your entry because there may be students still on the waitlist. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL REGISTRATION TO REPORT DROPS AND CHANGES. Please check and recheck your entry before the deadlines.

5.     NO SHOWS: No Shows have been a large problem for the tab room staff at tournaments in AZ. When a student is not dropped from the event prior to round one beginning, the numbers competing in each section vary drastically and can end up skewing the results. I plead with you to help us by reporting all students that will not be competing at the time of registration or as soon as physically possible when a student must drop after the beginning of the tournament due to an illness or some other situation.

CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE

1.     LEGISLATION: Each school should upload a maximum of 2 pieces of legislation by Friday, October 22th by 6:00 p.m. to Tabroom.com. If we receive more than 10 pieces of legislation post a ballot for schools vote to limit the docket to the top 10 most preferred pieces of legislation.

2.     All legislation should be created on the templates found at https://www.speechanddebate.org/legislation-templates/. I will also try to get these linked on Tabroom.com. We will not accept any piece of legislation that has been saved as a PDF or created on a TABLE.

3.     Additionally, we reserve the right to reject any legislation that does not meet the will following criteria along with proper formatting as outlined in the NSDA Congress Manual to judge the legislation for the Outstanding Legislation Award.

·       SIGNIFICANT (in scope)

·       JURISDICTION (within the realm of the US Federal Government)

·       TIMELINESS (current issue of concern)

·       DURABILITY (ability to stand the test of time)

·       DEBATABILITY (fair and equitable debate on both sides)

4.     ENTRY LIMITS & RESTRICTIONS FOR CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE: It is our preference to maintain approximately 20 competitors per chamber. Each high school will initially be limited to 10 total entries but will be allowed to enter additional students on the waitlist. All others will be waitlisted. Coaches should waitlist students in order of preference for being pulled off the waitlist. While first come first served is a baseline criterion, equity of competition is also a goal, and we will strive for balanced school representation in each chamber. Students will be randomly assigned to chambers.

5.     PRESIDING OFFICER: Students who desire to run for Presiding Officer should be well versed in proper Parliamentary procedure, understand the NSDA guidelines for Presiding Officer protocol, and have practiced serving as P.O. prior to the tournament. This is no time to “wing it” or “see if you can do it.”

6.     FINAL SESSION: We will advance an equal number of speakers from each prelim-chamber to final.

POLICY, LINCOLN-DOUGLAS, PUBLIC FORUM, and BIG QUESTIONS DEBATE

1.     TOPICS: The TCC will debate the NSDA assigned topics for the month of November.

2.     ENTRY LIMITS: Each school will initially be limited to 6 total entries but will be allowed to enter additional students on the waitlist. Coaches should waitlist students in order of preference for being pulled off the waitlist.

3.     OPEN POLICY DEBATE: Because this event has been so small in the past and it is still early in the season, we will offer ONE OPEN DIVISION of Policy Debate. All teams entered in POLICY DEBATE will be required to limit their arguments to the Novice Evidence Packet linked HERE.

4.     NOVICE DEFINITION: Novice is defined as any competitor competing in their first year of any debate. Middle School competition in the same debate event counts. Ex. If a student competed in MS Public Forum, they should NOT enter the Novice division at the HS level.

5.     MAVERICKS: Maverick debates in PF or CX will NOT be allowed as these events are specifically designed for two individuals (teammates). Because BQ allows for single entries, we will allow a person to continue in BQ as an individual if their partner gets sick.

INDIVIDUAL EVENTS

1.     EVENT RULES: In addition to the event rules/details included here, we will use the NSDA and/or the ASDCA rules. Please contact me if you need rules for any event other than the ones we have included.

2.     ENTRY LIMITS: Schools may enter 10 total students in Congressional Debate, six (6) competitors/teams in each Debate / IE event, however, we will open up more slots if we have room. Put any additional desired entries on the waitlist in the order of preference to be pulled off the waitlist.

3.     TIME LIMITS: All of the main IE events and Supplemental IE Events (except TikTok) have a specified time limit with a 30 second “grace period”. See the event rules on Tabroom.com for actual time limit. Judges should use an accurate (stopwatch) timing device.

EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING: The final round will include cross-examination.

SPOKEN WORD POETRY:

1.     Students will perform their own original spoken-word poetry. Each student should prepare between 3 and 5 poems for use during the competition.

2.     Poems must be the original work of the student, and the student may not use poetry written by other poets.

3.     Students will perform one of their poems per preliminary round.

4.     Students may not repeat poems in prelim rounds.

5.     For the elimination rounds leading to finals, students may use new poems or choose from the poems they used in Prelims for elimination rounds leading up to finals.

6.     Students making the final round will perform 3 of the poems from their collection for the final round.

7.     Poems are to be no longer than 3 minutes. There will be a 10 second grace period. After the grace period lapses, students may not receive the 1st place rank, but any other ranking decisions are at the discretion of the judge.

8.     Students may choose to have a chapbook, notebook, or black book with them with no penalty. However, a chapbook, notebook, or black book is not required. Students may not use their cell phones. Any material students bring with them may not be used as a prop.

9.     Students will be evaluated based on both their performance and on the quality of the material they present, as the judge sees fit.

    10.  Students may not use any music/drum tracks/beats etc. except those that they make with their own bodies (“beatboxing”, etc.).

SUPPLEMENTAL EVENTS

1.     To help us celebrate the 30^th Toro Country Classic, we will offer the following ASYNCHRONOUS SUPPLEMENTAL EVENTS: TikTok, Children’s Literature, Storytelling, After Dinner Speaking, and Pro Con Challenge.

2.     No competitor may submit a video using any material that was previously used in any speech competition.

3.     Rules for each event are specified below.

4.     These events will be run asynchronously.

5.     Competitors must submit their videos no later than Friday, November 5th at 6:00 p.m. TikTok has a separate submission link (see TikTok below). All of the other supplemental events must submit their videos on Tabroom.com.

6.     Tabulation for each supplemental event will follow ASDCA guidelines.

TIKTOK

1.     Competitors MUST submit all 5 videos (one for each category) described below on this Google Form. LINK

2.     This is a speaking event, not a lip-sync event.

3.  All content submitted in these videos must be the original work of the competitor and should be appropriate for high school audiences.

4.  Each competitor entering TikTok MUST submit one 1-minute video in each of the following categories:

Commentary – The competitor will present an opinion or point of view on an issue, situation, or event. The content must be the original work of the contestant delivering it. This is a speaking event; therefore, the competitor should not simply read the speech. Time limit: 1 minute.

Educational – The competitor will educate through instruction or demonstration of anything of their choosing. The content must be the original work of the contestant delivering it. This is a speaking event; therefore, the competitor should not simply read the speech. Time limit: 1 minute.

Comedy – The competitor will present a comedy routine. (Think stand-up comedy or satire.) The content must be the original work of the contestant delivering it. This is a speaking event; therefore, the competitor should not simply read the speech. Time limit: 1 minute.

Spoken Word – The competitor will present a single poem. The content must be the original work of the contestant delivering it. This is a speaking event; therefore, the competitor should not simply read the speech. Time limit: 1 minute.

Duet – The competitor will duet themselves in one of the options described below. The video created must show both videos side by side. The content must be the original work of the contestant delivering it. This is a speaking event; therefore, the competitor should not simply read the speech. Time limit: 1 minute.

Duet Story Options:

1.      If walls could talk.

2.      Conversation with your pet

3.      A performance and a coach’s critique

4.      Conversation with your favorite author about one of their books.

5.      Debate: Respect should be earned, not given.

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

1.     Competitors will be required to submit the links on Tabroom.com.

2.     The speaker will present a short picture book to our expert panel of little judges, aged five to ten years old.

3.     The speaker’s demeanor, expression, and choice of literature should be considered for its appropriateness for young children, so that it may be understood and appreciated.

4.     The selection must be from a single published fictional or non-fictional volume of any genre.

5.     The author’s words as published in the literature may not be altered for this presentation with the exception that cutting is permitted if absolutely needed.

6.     The presentation should BEGIN (no teasers) with an introduction that welcomes the child audience to the video and story with the name of the story and/or pieces in the volume along with the name of the author(s).  The speaker should indicate their reason for choosing the literature (perhaps it’s a childhood favorite, something sentimental, or a particular character that the speaker identifies with). Finally, they should invite the child audience to listen for a particular moral or important life lesson. The introduction should not exceed one minute of total speech time.

7.     After reading the text, if time allows, the student is invited to share a parting message with their child audience about the message/theme, say thank you, or goodbye.

8.     Remember, your video will be viewed and monitored by children aged five to ten along with their parents.  Your tone and delivery should be reflective of this audience but be careful not to speak down to the children or present the material in a way that is not age-appropriate.

9.     The speaker should read from the actual source and may appropriately and creatively refer to the physical cover and story illustrations throughout the performance; however, be sure they enhance the story experience and don’t disrupt the flow.

10.  Speakers may sit or stand (or a combination) for the entirety of the presentation and should present with the proper proximity to the camera so the child audience can see the illustrations (if so desired).

11.  No other props may be used.

12.  Maximum time limit: 7 minutes with a 30-second “grace period.”

STORYTELLING

1.     Competitors will be required to submit the links on Tabroom.com.

2.     A single published, printed story, anecdote, tale, myth, or legend must be retold without notes or props. Any theme/topic area may be used.

3.     The student may not tell a story they have used previously in any Association tournaments (district or national).

4.     The delivery must be extempore, not read. No book or script may be used. The story may be delivered standing or seated.

5.     Gestures, pantomime, and characterization may be used with restraint, but the focus must be on the narrative.

6.     The retelling must be true to the original tale. The contestant may not add original material or materially change the content of the story.

7.     The maximum time limit is 5 minutes with a 30-second “grace period.” No minimum time is mandated.

AFTER DINNER SPEAKING

The After-Dinner speech generally is designed to entertain or to satirize. It should be structured as any speech would be and not as a monologue or stand-up comic routine. While it is basically humorous, the After-Dinner speech can offer some serious thought or comment on its subject.

1.     Competitors will be required to submit the links on Tabroom.com.

2.     The After-Dinner speech may be on any subject, provided it is in good taste, but it is usually designed to entertain the listener. The speaker may have a subject of light or semi-serious nature, but he/she should project a light touch of satire or an amusing representation of truth.

3.     It should not be a monologue or collection of jokes, but a well-organized speech.

4.     The speech must be the original work of the student. No more than 150 words may be quoted from another source. Any quoted material and ideas which are not original with the student should be cited in the speech.

5.     Contestants are required to submit a copy of their speech to the Tournament Director prior to the contest with a signed statement verifying the originality of the work.

6.     Visual aids are prohibited.

7.     The speech must be memorized.

8.     The maximum time limit is five (5) minutes with a 30-second “grace” period.

PRO CON CHALLENGE

1.     Topics: Students will select the MVTCC topic for CX, LD, or PF or one piece of legislation in the Congressional Debate Docket. The pro and the con speech must be on the same topic.

2.     Speech: Competitors will write and present a 3-5 minute affirmative speech and a 3-5 minute negative speech on that topic. Judges will evaluate the structure, arguments, evidence, and speaking abilities of each competitor and rank them against each other.

3.     Time: The total recording time limit is 10 minutes and 30 seconds. This is a hard limit, and time spent walking to and from the camera counts toward the recording time if the performance is recorded. Both the affirmative and the negative speeches will be read within this time limit. If the performance is recorded, students may take recorded “prep time” in between speeches to pull up files or take a short break, but their two speeches must be submitted as one recording that is no longer than 10 minutes and 30 seconds. If there are multiple judges in the round, all must agree that the student has gone beyond the grace period.

4.     Judges who choose to time are to use accurate (stopwatch function) timing devices. No minimum time is mandated. National Speech & Debate Association

5.     Delivery: Students may read from the pre-written text during the speech as if they were presenting a constructive speech in a round. Speeches should not be memorized.

Schedule Below 

Welcome to the 30^th Toro Country Classic

Coaches & Judges can Sign up for Text Announcements.
Go to https://www.remind.com/join/mvtcc2021
We will push up round times whenever possible. Please continue to check postings.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2021 – CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE

7:00 – 7:30      Registration – Auditorium Lobby. All schools and their judges must check-in by 7:15 a.m. or they will be dropped.

7:45-8:00        Roll Call, Oath, PO Election

8:00-11:00      Prelim Session 1

11:00-11:45    Lunch Break - See Congress Lunch / Docket tab for menu. 

11:45-12:00    Roll Call, PO Election

12:00-3:00      Prelim Session 2

4:00                 Postings of Finalists

4:30-4:45        Roll Call, Oath, PO Election

4:45-7:45        Finals Session – Room 206

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2021 – DEBATE

2:00 – 3:00      Registration – Auditorium Lobby.

3:45                 Round 1

ALL OTHER ROUNDS – All other debate rounds will be posted & run as they are powered & prepared. We will not start a round after 9:00 p.m.

ALL DEBATE JUDGES ARE REQUIRED TO RETURN FOR OUT ROUNDS.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2021 – IE EVENTS & DEBATE ELIM. RDS.

7:30                 JUDGES MEETING

7:30                 Extemp Draw – Rd. 1

8:00                 Round 1 – All IE events

9:15                 Extemp Draw – Rd. 2

9:30                 Round 2 – All IE events

11:00               Extemp Draw – Rd. 3

11:15               Round 3 – All IE events

12:00               Posting of Debate pairings

12:30               Debate Out Rounds as needed

1:30                 Quarters of IE Events (as needed)

1:45                 Debate Out Rounds as needed

2:30                 Quarters or Semis in IE Events

2:45                 Finals – Policy Debate

3:30                 Debate Out Rounds as needed

5:30                 Finals in All Events

7:30                 Awards Assembly – Auditorium