Dear Colleagues:

It is our pleasure to invite you to attend the IN PERSON 50th annual Marshall University John Marshall Speech and Debate Tournament to be held on Friday, 11 February 2022, and Saturday, 12 February 2022, at Marshall University, Huntington, WV.

The tournament offers University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions speech bids.

Speech events: The Marshall University tournament allows middle school and high school students to compete in up to 6 (3 per flight) of 14 speech events.

Speech Flight A includes: Broadcasting, Dramatic Interpretation, Extemporaneous Speaking, Informative Speaking, Program Oral Interpretation, Prose Interpretation, and Storytelling.

Speech Flight B includes: Declamation, Duo Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Impromptu Speaking, Original Oratory, Poetry Interpretation, and Storytelling.

Debate events: The tournament also offers Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, and Big Questions Debate, as well as Congressional Debate on Friday morning only before the remainder of tournament starts on Friday afternoon. (There is no judging obligation for Congressional Debate.)

Changes from previous years:

We are offering two special events this year: (1) Pantomime, which was a regular event during this tournament's early years; and (2) Big Questions Debate.

In the past, we have allowed students to cross-enter Lincoln-Douglas Debate and Public Forum Debate. This will no longer be allowed, even though limited cross-entry (per the invitation) in a single speech event will be permitted. The reason for the change: This will allow us to have six, instead of four, preliminary rounds of each debate event, as well as additional elimination rounds.

With the exception of the morning Congressional Debate sessions, the first preliminary round will start at 2:00 PM on Friday to ensure room availability. (Extemp draw will begin at 1:30 PM.)

The entry deadline is Tuesday, 8 February 2022, at 5:00 PM ET, and the deadline for online drops and name changes without penalty is Thursday, 10 February 2022, at 12:00 PM ET.

Should you have any questions, please contact:

Clara Adkins

Director of Forensics

Marshall University

Email: adkins442@marshall.edu

Phone: +1 304.634.9605