Beaver Battles Live!

January 16, 2021

We are pleased to invite you to the 10th annual Beaver Battles Speech & Debate Tournament, hosted live and in person this year by Beaver High School in Beaver, Utah on Saturday, January 16, 2021.

COVID-19 RULES:

 Please stay abreast of all Public Health Orders coming from the Governor for extracurricular activities, and follow those orders.  For now (more restrictions such as testing may be proposed between now and the tournament):  

-  All  health check and temperature check protocols to be followed.  Have your students meet in your room before traveling to the competition and check their temperature before they travel to our school.  We will also be ready to test temps here if you aren't able to.  If students have been exposed to someone with COVID or if they are not feeling well, they cannot participate.

- Teams will be staged in different areas with mandatory social distancing and masks worn at all times except when giving a speech or asking a question in a round.

-  In rounds, judges and non-speaking debaters will wear masks, teams will be separated as much as possible within rooms with a  minimum of 6 feet (no exception) of space between debaters.  Judges and students will be responsible for sanitizing rooms after rounds.  Only contestants and up to but no more than 2 spectators are allowed in a room.  

- A strict seating chart will be followed in congress sessions

- Violation of covid rules will result in disqualifications..

- Coaches must wear masks at all times and will randomly 'pop in' and check on rounds

Events:

Individual Events will include SpAr, Character SpAr, Storytelling, TV News, Combined Extemp., Oratory, Impromptu, Informative Speaking, POI, HI, DI, Duo and Poetry. 

Debate events will include Policy, LD, PF, and “Old School Congress.” 

Schedule:  

7:00 a.m. Registration

7:30 a.m. Extemp. Draw

7:45 a.m. Opening Ceremony

8:00 a.m. Individual Events Round 1

8:45 a.m. Extemp. Draw

9:15 a.m. Individual Events Round 2

10:00 a.m. Extemp. Draw

10:30 a.m. Individual Events Round 3

11:45 a.m. Lunch (Extemp and Policy Students are encouraged to pack a sack lunch)

12:30 p.m. Policy Round 1

1:00 p.m. Debate Round 1 (LD, PF, Congress Session 1)

2:00 p.m. Debate Round 2 (LD, PF, Policy Round 2)

2:30 p.m. Congress Session 2

3:00 p.m. Debate Round 3 (LD, PF)

3:30 p.m. Policy Round 3

5:30 p.m. Awards Ceremony

To keep the tournament running on time, extemp. students will draw at 7:30 a.m., 8:45 a.m., and 10:00 a.m.  Policy rounds will start at 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.

Fees:

Student Fee $4.00 per event

School Fee $15.00 per team

Payable at check-in Saturday morning, based on registration numbers at Friday deadline. Make checks payable to Beaver High School.

Judge requirements: 

1 judge per six i.e. event; 1 per four teams ld/pf/cx entries.

Please fill judge requirements; penalty of $15 per judge-forfeiture round.

Trophies:

We will continue our tradition of presenting custom-made trophies six-deep in all events, along with the highly coveted chewed-off beaver logs for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Sweepstakes Trophies.

Student Films:

We will also continue our tradition of including a welcome film in the opening ceremony, and a student film in the final awards ceremony.

Contact:

Head Coach: garrett.faylor@beaver.k12.ut.us

Assistant Coach: von.christiansen@beaver.k12.ut.us

Event Rules

Public Forum Debate will follow regular UHSAA rules, with teams of two debaters discussing the pros and cons of the January NSDA topic. The round will consist of four separate 4 minute speeches, followed by four additional 2 minute speeches, with a three minute cross-examination after the 2nd, 4th, and 6th  speeches.  Competitors are judged by their use of evidence, analysis, and overall persuasion.

Lincoln Douglas Debate will follow regular UDCA and  NSDA rules, with one debater on each team discussing the pros and cons of the January NSDA topic. The round will consist of five separate  speeches (6 min., 7 min., 4 min., 6 min., 3 min.) interspersed by a three minute cross-examination after the 1st and 2nd  speeches.  Competitors are judged by their analysis of the arguments within a moral framework and their overall persuasion.

Old School Congress will follow UDCA rules of the day, except that students will write and present their own cases—rather than the list of recommended cases listed on the UDCA website.  Students should present their original bills on the day of the tournament (after obtaining permission to submit the bill from their own coach), making sure to bring enough copies to share with the other competitors (25 copies should probably do the trick).

Combined Extemp. is a 7 minute speech about a current event. Before arriving at the assigned room, students are given 30 minutes of prep time, and perform one at a time before the judge.

Original Oratory is a 7-10 minute memorized persuasive speech written by the student.

Impromptu allows a student 7 minutes to prepare and deliver a speech, with the judge assigning topics at the start of the 7 minute period.

SpAr will follow normal UDCA and NSDA rules. Students are paired off by the judge and flip a coin to choose the topic and decide who will speak for or against the subject.  Students are then allowed 1 minute of preparation, followed by a 2 minute affirmative speech, a 2 minute negative speech, three minutes of cross-examination, and 1 one minute summary for each of the students.

Character SpAr combines regular SpAr with a bit of acting! Students will deliver their arguments using the voice and mannerisms of a famous personality (actor, musician, politician, fictional character, etc.), with topics and personalities decided by the flimp of a coin.

TV News Anchor allows students to practice for future careers in news reporting by delivering the evening news, which may be real or fictional.  Taking a break from headline news for weather, sports, and even a commercial or two is permitted.  Speeches may be team or maverick, and should range between 5 and 10 minutes. Simple props and introductory music are allowed, but not costumes.

Poetry Interpretation allows a student to interpret one or more poems by one or more poets circling a common theme. Scripts are required during the reading. Speeches should range between 5 and 10 minutes in length.

In Storytelling students select a published story that meets a designated theme. Themes range widely and may include mysteries, heroism, or fairy tales. Students select a story that would be appropriate for young children and tell the story as if presenting to that audience. This event is five to ten minutes. Students may use a chair. Manuscripts are not permitted.

Informative Speaking follows the rules of Oratory (7-10 minute original speech), except that students are allowed the use of visual aids (non-electronic) and should focus on informing the audience about the topic rather than persuading the audience.

Program of Oral Interpretation follows NSDA rules (7-10 minute speech) blending poetry, prose, and drama around a common theme or “program.”

Finally, back by popular demand is the famous “Best Dam Beaver” (MVB) award, presented to the student who receives the highest rankings in the most number of events!  Multiple entries are allowed in individual events, but students enter at their own risk.  Each school will be allowed to register its top performing students to face-off against the most talented students from competing schools—to see who really is the Best Dam Beaver! (Register students to compete by clicking the BDB entry under the registration column).