Dear Colleagues:

It is our pleasure to invite you to attend the 49th Marshall University John Marshall Speech and Debate Tournament to be held from Wednesday, 10 February 2021, through Sunday, 14 February 2021. The full invitation is available at the invitation link.

The tournament will be virtual and offer University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions speech bids.

The tournament will consist of three components:

(1) An asynchronous speech tournament for the following prepared speech events: Declamation, Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Informative Speaking, Original Oratory, Poetry Interpretation, Program Oral Interpretation, and Prose Interpretation. Competitors must make links to videos available by Tuesday, 9 February 2021, at 5:00 PM.

Preliminary round judging of videos will occur at judges’ convenience between Wednesday (beginning at 8:00 AM), Thursday, and Friday (ending at 11:59 PM), 10-12 February 2021.

Final round judging of videos will occur on Saturday, 13 February 2021.

(2) A synchronous debate tournament that includes the following events: Lincoln Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, and SPAR Debate.

Preliminary round judging will begin on Friday afternoon, 12 February 2021, and end on Saturday afternoon, 13 February 2021.

Elimination round judging will occur on Saturday, 13 February 2021, and on Sunday, 14 February 2021.

(3) A synchronous speech tournament on Saturday, 13 February 2021, that includes both preliminary and elimination rounds of the following events: Broadcasting, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Impromptu Speaking.

The synchronous schedule is designed to allow students to enter a cross-section of speech and debate events. A competitor, for instance, may enter Public Forum Debate AND Lincoln-Douglas Debate or SPAR Debate AND Extemporaneous Speaking AND Impromptu Speaking if they desire.

Platforms. We will use NSDA Campus and Tabroom and may use Zoom and/or Google Meet for limited purposes (e.g., extemp draw/judges lounge).

MUTW Live Stream. We will operate a livestream channel over YouTube on Saturday beginning at 8:00 AM. During the day, the livestream will include tournament announcements, videos of asynchronous speeches and performances, and live synchronous speeches, performances, and debates before ending with an awards presentation.

Before carrying a speech, performance, or debate over the livestream, we will verify with the coach that the competitor's parent or guardian (or the competitor if over age 18) has consented to their participation in the live stream. An authorization form is available to download on the Tabroom website.

If you have any questions, please contact me. We look forward to seeing you this winter!

Sincerely,

Clara Adkins

Director of Forensics

Marshall University

Email: adkins442@marshall.edu

Phone: +1 304.634.9605