You are cordially invited to attend the 2020 Mountain View High School Speech and Debate Invitational

"Running With The Bulls"

Join us for this unique tournament. Many will argue that the "suit makes the wo/man" and that is what lends credibility to the debate and ensures that we maintain a formal tone.  The reality is that what makes a debater truly credible is the quality of his/her argument and content of their speech. 

"As a community that highly values unique perspectives and narratives, it seems contradictory for us to enforce a standard based on classism and elitism, in the process disincentivizing an entire class of people from participating-- and giving judges an excuse to let their own preconceived notions of what clothing is most debate-appropriate affect their formal evaluation of the round. As debaters, it seems hypocritical for us to run critical arguments against policies and rhetoric that otherize those in poverty while espousing a power structure that is inherently responsible for doing the same thing. It is in our best interests to prevent discrimination on any basis, including clothing, in order to promote socioeconomic diversity within the debate community" (Sharma, 2015).

So... to that end, please "come as you are" - dress will be school/dress code appropriate attire (NO pj's and sweats though).

Traditional Speech on Friday with three rounds and finals...awards (t-shirt) to top three winners

Four rounds of debate (including BQ) on Saturday with awards (t-shirt) going to the top three entries and the top three speakers in each event.

Congress will have Three sessions, awards (t-shirt) will be given to top Presiding Officer in each chamber.

Open divisions only.

When: January 24-25

Where: Mountain View High School; 2000 Millennium Way, Meridian, ID 83642

What: Idaho speech events on Friday: Extemporaneous Speaking (it will be a combined event, but students can choose either domestic or international topics in draw), Radio Broadcast Journalism, Retold Story, Panel Discussion, Duo Interp, Informative Speaking, Original Oratory, Dramatic Interp, Humorous Interp, Impromptu Speaking, Oratorical Analysis, After Dinner Speaking, and Sales Speaking and POI. Students may double enter in speech events as long as one isn't a draw event or panel discussion.

Debate events on Saturday: Open divisions in Congressional Debate LD, PF, BQ, and CX. Students may not double enter in two debate events. We will have six rounds.

Entry Limits: Schools will be limited to six entries in each event but may waitlist more than that. I will start accepting the waitlisted students after January 10.

Entry Deadline: The initial entry deadline will be Wednesday, January 10, 2018 at 3:30pm. After this date, I'll start adding the students who have been waitlisted. The final entry deadline is Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 3:30pm. After this time, no drops or adds will be allowed on the website. IF you drop after this time, you will be responsible for paying the entry fee and may be charged a $50 drop fee.

Cost:  $5 per IE/LD; $7 per Duo/PF/CX/BQ.... $20 Team Fee

Judges: One judge:  per two CX entries; four PF/LD entries; six Congress entries; and five speech entries. PLEASE DO NOT ADD THE SAME JUDGE TO MORE THAN 1 DEBATE POOL.  A $20 per missing round fee will be charged. If you enter a judge in and they don't show up and you don't replace them, you will be charged $ 20 per round if you don't have enough judges.

Best Ballot Award: Let your judges know that we will be giving an award to the judge who writes the best ballot. One in speech and one in debate. We are looking for ballots that are 1) filled out correctly; 2) have good constructive feedback; 3) a clear RFD. In addition, random gifts will be given to judges throughout the tournament.

Coaches in Tab Room: Many hands make light work and it is nice to have the help of coaches in the tab room so please don't list yourself as a judge unless you find a replacement for yourself in the tab room. If you really want to judge, e-mail me and I'll let you know if that will work.

Basic Rules:

As usual, no students allowed in a classroom without a judge present.

Please no food or drink (other than water) in the classrooms.

No students may compete without a coach present

All teams must be a member with their state activity association

Concessions: We will have light concessions available for purchase on both days. There are also several restaurants within walking distance.