The Crossroads Invitational

@ Online

Contact: Prabhat Aluri, Josh Jablon, and Steve Rowe

alurip@bsd405.org| 314-309-6757

jablonj@bsd405.org| 253-878-2168

Dear Coaches and Squads,

It is our pleasure to invite you to attend our Speech and Debate Tournament, The Crossroads Invitational, on October 29^th-30^th, 2021. The tournament will offer Novice and Open Lincoln Douglas, Policy, Public Forum, Congressional Debate as well as IEs. We will follow current WSFA rules for all events. The rules can be found at: http://wiaa.com/subcontent.aspx?SecID=327.

Platform

We will be using Cascade Commons - a platform developed by students and coaches in Bellevue, Washington. To access the platform, go to cascadecommons.org.

After coaches register entries on Tabroom, they must fill out the attached excel spreadsheet (to clarify, make sure that the spreadsheet includes information about judges, coaches, observers and competitors). Submitting this spreadsheet is the most critical step in this process. Without the spreadsheet, competitors will not be able to submit asynchronous speech recordings and access tournament rooms. Once a coach emails support@cascadecommons.org with the spreadsheet, it will be added to the system and they will be sent a confirmation email.

Once this confirmation email is received, all competitors, coaches and judges from that school will be able to access the website and submit asynchronous recordings. Additional information and guides on the process of signing up, submitting asynchronous recordings, and participating in synchronous speech events will be sent out in this confirmation email; this information will also be on Tabroom.

Supervision

The WIAA requires the presence, at all times, of a certificated staff member from the school or district supervising your participants. You will not be allowed to compete if you do not comply with this rule.

Debate

Please check http://speechanddebate.org/topics for the accurate topic wording for all topics.

Lincoln-Douglas: We will offer Novice and Open Division. As this is a qualifying tournament in LD for many schools we will use the November-December topic. Rounds will follow the 6-3- 7-3-4-6-3 format and have 4 minutes of prep time per competitor.

Policy: We will offer Novice and Open Division. Rounds will follow the 8-3-5 format with 5 minutes of prep time per team.

Public Forum: We will offer Novice and Open Division. We will use the November-December topic as published on the NSDA website. Please note that PF runs with LD and CX. Rounds will follow standard PF time format with 2 minutes of prep per team.

Congress: Two 2.5 hour sessions of Student Congress will be offered on Friday night. Both sessions will conflict with CX and LD. We plan on having a minimum of two chambers. We will be using legislation from the Fall 2021 WSFA packet as emailed out by the congress committee. If you need a copy of this document, please let me know. It will be posted online and will also be available via email. There will be no copies of bills made at the tournament. Kindly bring enough copies for your team. This timeline should allow students to research and understand the topics at a greater level than surface knowledge. We are holding a Super Congress on Saturday – students advancing will be announced ASAP on Friday night – if not posted before you leave, it will be posted on tabroom.com so you can check.

IEs

Extemporaneous: State Rules apply. Thirty minutes of prep time followed by 7 minutes of speaking time. Judges will provide time signals while competitor is speaking. Novice speakers may use a 4x6 note card. 30 second grace period.

Oratory: This is a memorized speech that has a ten (10) minute time limit with a 30 second grace period. A manuscript must be available on judge’s request. The speech must have no more than 150 quoted words.

Expository: May be memorized or not memorized with a (10) minute time limit, 30 second grace period. Visual aids are not required but are preferred by most judges. There may be no more than 150 quoted words.

Interpretation: All have a ten (10) minute time limit with 30 second grace period. Programs may be one or more selections of published prose, poetry, radio, or television scripts. The program must be memorized. Titles and authors must be identified during the program. Full body movement is allowed.

Humorous: This must be humorous in nature.

Dramatic: This must be dramatic in nature.

Duo: This may be serious or humorous in nature. Two people perform with no interaction except at introduction if they choose.

Program of Oral Interpretation: This is a (10) minute, themed program that must have at least one cutting of prose and one of poetry and/or drama. All pieces must be published and titles and authors must be identified during the program. Delivery must involve the use of a manuscript/binder. 30 second grace period.

Impromptu: The contestant will have 6 minutes in which to choose one of three topics, prepare, organize thoughts, and speak. The topic of choice must be stated as part of the introduction. Judges will give oral time signals during prep time and hand signals while the contestant is speaking. All speakers are to remain in the room until all have performed. The only exception is for double entries. 30 second grace period.

Registration

Registration this year will occur through tabroom.com. The deadline for registration is Wednesday, October 27^th, 2021. Changes will be allowed until 8 pm, Thursday, October 28^th, with no fee penalty. Please register early. Changes in registration must be made at the website.  

Make checks payable to Interlake Speech and Debate.

Payment of fees may be made in advance or at the tournament during registration. Acceptable methods of payment are 1) School Check, 2) School or District PO, or 3) Personal Check. Payment must be made before your team can compete. Any special arrangements needed? Contact Prabhat or Josh, please.

Please keep track of your entries on the tabroom website. We will not be sending any sort of confirmation to you before the tournament. You will receive communication during the week of the tournament about entries, drops, judging, and other necessary items so that we will run smoothly and on time.

Judging

As there are conflicts in the schedule, please be sure to calculate your judging needs properly. We will not have a large number of judges for hire and need to be able to run the tournament efficiently. Please tell your judges when they need to be in the building to judge as we don’t have a lot of free time. IF YOUR JUDGES DO NOT SHOW WE WILL BE FORCED TO START DROPPING YOUR COMPETITORS – STARTING WITH YOUR MOST SENIOR PEOPLE IN THE EVENT YOUR JUDGES FAIL TO SHOW. THE NUMBER DROPPED WILL BE EQUAL TO THE RATIOS SHOWN BELOW.

•       One judge covers five (5) IE entries.

•       One judge covers 3 Public Forum entries or 3 LD entries.

•       One judge covers 2 CX teams.

•       One judge is required for each school entering Student Congress participants.

•       Your school is obligated to provide judges for the categories and divisions in which your students are entered.

Please remember: Lack of a judge at registration will result in an automatic reduction in your school’s number of entries. If your judges do not pick up ballots we will drop competitors starting with Open Division until judging requirements are met. We will reduce numbers starting with your most senior competitors.