The Ninth Annual Jim Fountain Classic

October 29th-30th, 2021
McClintock High School

(Yes, that date is accurate - we had to change to accommodate the PSAT. Sorry for the inconvenience!)

Dear Colleagues, McClintock Masque and Gavel is proud to invite you to the ninth annual Jim Fountain Classic Invitational Tournament on October 29th and 30th, 2021. At this tournament we will be offering Congressional Debate, Novice/Varsity Divisions of LD & Public Forum, an Open division of Policy Debate, and the full compliment of individual events including our newest Spoken Word Poetry event.

We are currently planning to host the tournament in person. Subject to change at the whims of Covid, of course.

Masks Will Be Required for EVERYBODY - 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 masks 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. We strongly encourage all participants in this activity to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in the interest of the health and safety of everyone in our Speech and Debate community.

Fees: There is a $25 base school fee. Entries will be $7 for individual entries, $14 for partner event entries (Duo, CX, and PF)

Congress Docket: The congress docket will be posted 2 weeks prior to the tournament. Bills are due by October 12th at 5:00PM please use the proper templates for formatting submissions. 

Open Policy will be restricted to the use of the NDCA Novice Evidence Packet 2021-22(Google Drive folder)

Spoken Word Poetry will follow the rules below:

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

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

Students will perform one of their poems per preliminary round.

Students may not repeat poems in prelim rounds.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

Ranking and speaker point assignation/tabulation/tiebreakers/etc. Will follow the same rules as with all other Interpretation events.

Please note that all entries will be due prior to 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 21st. Drops and name changes are due by 6:00pm on Monday, October 25th Any drops after that date will be assessed the entry fee amount for said event(s).

We have to pay for Tabroom based on the entries as of the deadline. This means that drops after the deadline *will still incur fees* - we reserve the right to charge additional "nuisance fees" for last minute drops/no-shows. PLEASE make sure your entry is completed on time. 

Additions to the entry and modifications will also be accepted until that date. Judges need to be finalized by October 25th. Please post your drops and/or changes online as soon as you are aware of them. Entries and drops will only be accepted through Tabroom. Do not fax or call in entries/drops. We hope to see you at the tournament. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Tim Cornwell at (480) 216-3787 or tcornwell@tempeunion.org. See you at the Tournament!

Sincerely,

Tim Cornwell & Richie Glover