Dear Coaches, Parents, and Students,

You are cordially invited to attend the inaugural Cheat Mountain Speech and Debate Festival hosted by Elkins High School on our campus in Elkins, West Virginia. This tournament is designed to provide access to an in-person tournament experience for students who might not otherwise have the opportunity. 

Debate Details

If registration allows, we will offer novice and open divisions in Lincoln Douglas Debate and Public Forum Debate.

Novice and open debaters will have three guaranteed preliminary rounds.

Topics: 

Public Forum Debate - Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially increase its investment in high-speed rail.

Lincoln-Douglas Debate - Resolved: The United States ought to implement a single-payer universal healthcare system.

Awards will be given to the top three in each event, to the top speakers in each event, and to the top three schools in team sweepstakes. 

Speech Details

We will offer the following speech events: Declamation, Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Informative Speaking, Original Oratory, Poetry Interpretation, Program Oral Interpretation, Prose Interpretation, Broadcasting, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Impromptu Speaking. 

All speech events will have three rounds of competition. Awards will be given to the top three competitors in each event. 

Entry

Section A: Impromptu, Prose Interpretation, Informative Speaking, Humorous/Dramatic Interpretation, Broadcasting, Program Oral Interpretation, Public Forum Debate

Section B: Extemporaneous Speaking, Poetry Interpretation, Declamation, Original Oratory, Duo Interpretation, Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Students may enter two speech events in Section A and up to two speech events in Section B, except as follows:

 - A student competing in Broadcasting may enter only one event in Section B.

  - A student competing in Extemporaneous Speaking may enter only one event in Section A.

 Maximum number of student entries per event: 6.

 Minimum judge entries per school: 1 judge per every 6 speech entries; 1 judge per every 2 debate entries.

Fees

There will be no entry fee for Novice Public Forum Debate and Novice Lincoln-Douglas Debate. There will be a $10 entry fee per event per student for speech events and open debate events. 

We look forward to you joining us on our beautiful campus in the heart of the Monongahela National Forest.

Best,

Andrew Carroll

Chair, Department of English || Speech & Debate Program Coordinator || Vice President, WVSDA

Elkins High School || andrew.carroll@k12.wv.us

Schedule

7:45 AM to 8:15 AM - Registration

8:15 AM to 8:35 AM - Student Opening Assembly

8:45 AM to 9:50 AM - Round 1, Section A

9:55 AM to 11:00 AM - Round 1, Section B

11:05 AM to 12:10 PM - Round 2, Section A

12:30 PM to 1:35 PM - Round 2, Section B

1:40 PM to 2:45 PM - Round 3, Section A

2:50 PM to 3:55 PM - Round 3, Section B

4:30 PM - Awards