Welcome to the 32nd

TORO COUNTRY CLASSIC

presented by the

MOUNTAIN VIEW HIGH SCHOOL

SPEECH AND DEBATE TEAM

November 9-11, 2023

It is our distinct pleasure to again offer the Toro Country Classic. We believe that high-quality competition is the key to advancing the competitiveness of Arizona Forensics, and we hope your team will choose to attend our tournament.

Because COVID is still with us, all participants have the option to wear masks. No one will be discriminated against for doing so even while speaking in a round. That said,

We are pleased to announce that the Toro Country Classic is a Bid Tournament to the University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions in both Congressional Debate & Speech. We are also a bid tournament to the NIETOC!

UKTOC: This year the TOP 6 FINALISTS in CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE will receive a bid to the UKTOC. IMPORTANT INFO: Due to the length of debate required by the TOC for the Congress bids, Round 1 will be held on Thursday afternoon, November 10^th with Round 2 and the final round on Friday, November 11th. Please see the schedule.

Bids are also available in the following speech events: (EX, OO, DI, HI, POI, Duo Interp, & OI (Prose/Poetry). NOTE: *For a student to qualify in OI (Prose/Poetry) from a tournament that offers Prose and Poetry as separate events, that student must obtain bids in BOTH Prose and Poetry individually to be fully qualified. The two bids may be gained at the same or separate UK TOC qualifying tournaments.

UK TOC IE Bids are offered at the following levels:
24 or fewer entries--TOP 3 receive bids.
25 - 72 entries--All FINALISTS receive bids
73+ entries--All SEMI-FINALISTS receive bids

NIETOC: Bids to the NIETOC are offered in the following events: (EX, OO, INF, DI, HI, Duo, POI, Duet).

NIETOC Bids are offered at the following levels:
0-19 contestants - FIRST Place bid
20-34 contestants - FIRST, SECOND & THIRD Place Bids
35-50 contestants – FINAL Round Bids
51-70 contestants - SEMIFINAL Round Bids
71-99 contestants - QUARTERFINAL Round Bids
100 + contestants - OCTAFINAL Round Bids

We want all competitors, coaches, and judges to have the best experience possible, but we reserve the right to limit entries based on room availability. Because of this, we ask that you get your entry in as soon as possible. All entries above 10 competitors in Congress and above 6 in all other events will be added to the waitlist. On the evening of November 2^nd, one week prior to the tournament, I will pull all entries we have room to include off the waitlist. **Additionally, if you know a competitor will not be available to compete in outrounds, please let us know this at registration, so we can pull up the next qualifier when we are doing breaks.

Congressional Debate Round 1 will be on Thursday, after school, with Round 2 and Finals on Friday morning and afternoon. High School Debate prelims will be on Friday afternoon/evening, while IE prelims will begin on Saturday morning. All IE and debate outrounds will occur on Saturday beginning at noon. **All Middle school events will take place on Saturday only.

We will present awards to the top three in the Debate events, the top six in the Congress, all IE and Duo events, and all Congressional Debate finalists. Sweepstakes trophies will be awarded to the top three schools with entries of 18 or more and to the top 3 schools with 17 or fewer entries. Only the top 3 scoring competitors in each event will count toward sweepstakes. Additionally, we will award an Individual Sweepstakes Award to the individual earning the most sweepstakes points for their team. The Outstanding Legislation award will go to the school that submits the best-written piece of legislation. Criteria for this award are included in the Legislative Debate section.

While AIA Rules and Guidelines will be the foundation for the operation of this tournament, please be advised that they will not apply in all situations. We have noted any diversions from the AIA rules in the event information section.

Please click the link in the right-hand column for the complete invitation and schedule. Please contact us at one of the contact methods below, and I will be glad to fax or email you any information you might need.

Sincerely,
Mountain View High School Forensics
Meg Howell-Haymaker, Speech and Debate Team Coach
Cell #: 480-294-7455, E-mail: mmhowellhaymaker@mpsaz.org