WHAT:       Fourth Annual Veteran’s Day Speech and Debate Tournament

WHEN:       Saturday, November 12, 2022

WHERE:     3700 James River Road, Midlothian, VA 23113

EVENTS:    This Speech and Debate tournament will follow VHSL rules to prepare students for upcoming conference, regional, and state tournaments. Private and Middle Schools are encouraged to compete as well.  

SERVICE:  James River High School’s Speech and Debate team honors and respects our veterans. Gordon Robertson, local veteran, musician, and poet is our inspiration for hosting this weekend.  In his name we will make a donation to “BRP” a newly formed non-profit dedicated to taking veterans on long distance hikes to heal the wounds of war. Donations will be collected throughout the tournament.

Please note: This tournament will use Tabroom.com for all judging (ranks and comments).  If you do not have a charged device or familiarize yourself with the process, you will seriously impede the process of the day and could incur fines for yourself or school. 

1.  The following Speech categories will be offered (3 rounds each): 

Extemporaneous, Impromptu, Original Oratory, Prose, Poetry, Dramatic Interp*, Humorous Interp*, Serious Duo*, Humorous Duo*, Storytelling, Duo Improv and Original Spoken Word**.  

Students MAY double-enter in all speech categories except Extemp.

*These events may be combined depending on the number of entries.

**Original Spoken Word is a poetry piece/ selection that is written by the student and is delivered in the style of spoken word or slam poetry. This event requires a manuscript be provided to the tournament host. Judge Criteria for this event will follow those prescribed by the VHSL for competitors in Poetry. Questions and scripts for this event can be sent to Jessica_Sanchez@ccpsnet.net .

Extemp Topics will be: Veteran Affairs, Iran, and World Economy

2.  Lincoln-Douglas:  Novice* and Open- 4 rounds

Resolved: The People’s Republic of China ought to prioritize environmental protection over economic growth.

3.  Public Forum:  Novice* and Open-  4 rounds

Resolved: The United States’ strategy of Great Power Competition produces more benefits than harms.

*If there are not enough numbers to operate a separate novice bracket for LD and PF, they will be combined into the open division, but top novice awards will still be given. 

4.  Student Congress:  Open Division.  Congress sessions are 2 hours each.

Each student should submit a bill and teams should coordinate to divide bills up among the following 4 categories (Domestic, International, Virginia, and Economic). There will be two chambers.

Email Congress legislation to Stephanie_ONeil@ccpsnet.net by November 7th, 2022.

Congress Topics 

Domestic

Social Media

Labor Shortage

International

Iran

China

Economic

Student Loan Debt Relief

Supply Chain

Virginia

Veterans Affairs

Education

5. Policy Debate: Novice* and Open- 3 rounds.

Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its security cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in one or more of the following areas: artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cybersecurity.

JUDGES 

Each school is responsible for providing their own judges with the following quotas:

1 judge for:

…every 2 Lincoln-Douglas Debate entries or fraction thereof,

…every 2 Public Forum Debate entries or fraction thereof,

…every 5 Student Congress entries or fraction thereof, and

…every 5 Speech Event entries or fraction thereof*

*Student Congress and IE event judges may be combined.

COSTS:

Any school that is not part of the Richmond Forum Speech and Debate Initiative will be assessed a flat $50 fee. Above costs include lunch for all competitors. Tabroom will create an invoice for you that you can print out. Receipts will be given at the tournament.

SCHEDULE:

         Registration:               8:00 - 8:30 am

Judges Meeting:         8:45 am

Extemp Draw:             8:45 am

Round 1 (all events):   9:15 am

Round 2 LD/PF:           10:00 am

Extemp Draw:             10:15 am

Round 2 Speech:         10:30 am

Round 3 LD/PF:           11:00 am

**Lunch in between rounds

Round 2 Congress:     12:00 pm

Extemp Draw:             12:45 pm

Round 3 Speech:         1:00 pm

Round 4 LD/PF:           1:00 pm

Awards Assembly:      4:00 pm

LUNCH:

Concessions will be made available throughout the day. Lunches for competitors, coaches, and judges are included in the price of admission. All participants are asked to bring a refillable water bottle in order to minimize waste. Going off campus for lunch is not recommended as it could complicate the tournament schedule and possibly lead to forfeited rounds. Thank you to the Richmond Speech and Debate Initiative and Capital One for providing meals for us.

AWARDS: 

Awards will be given to the top 3 finishers in each category.  Sweepstakes and runner up sweepstakes trophies will be given to the schools with the most points in speech and debate.

REGISTRATION:

Please go to http://jamesriverinvitational.tabroom.com . All registrations will be due on Monday November 7th at 5:00 PM. Please bring checks payable to James River High School. Thank you for supporting our Speech and Debate Programs!

Best,

Jessica Sanchez, Steph O’Neil

Nick Whelen, Frank Crowley, and David Janosik

James River Speech and Debate Coaches