California Middle School State Tournament

Friday, April 26th - Sunday, April 28th, 2024

Hosted ONLINE SYNCHRONOUSLY via NSDA Campus

Live Doc Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/194S4S3tKTe_lVoXZbLm7Jr2mHzgskdQYVtGQ3CL8ess/edit?usp=sharing

Extemp Prep Live Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fi0Ct-RDlYNkAAoBfdUA3p6l7Iwv9n7gRe_i2wAejL0/edit?usp=sharing

Contact and Helpdesk Email: middleschool@chssa.org

Welcome:

On behalf of the California High School Speech Association, I'm excited to welcome all California Middle Schoolers to our Online California Middle School State Championship Tournament held online via NSDA Campus! Our synchronous, online tournament dates are Friday, April 26th - Sunday, April 28th, 2024.

All middle school competitors in sixth through eighth grades in public or private programs in California are welcome to compete with other outstanding students from across the state. This Tournament is currently limited to middle schools or programs based in California ONLY.

Structure of the Tournament:

1. Structure: We will offer six (6) preliminary rounds of debate, three (3) preliminary rounds of Congress, and four (4) preliminary rounds of speech; breaks will depend on entry but are tentatively scheduled for Double Octofinals for debate, Semifinals for Speech, and Finals of Congress. Breaks and number of elimination rounds are subject to change.

2. Cross Entry: Cross entry between Debate and Speech and Congress and Speech is allowed. Cross entry between Debate and Congress is prohibited. If students are double entered or cross entered, it is THEIR and THEIR COACH'S responsibility to ensure that they attend rounds on time. Our schedule is tight; cross enter at your own risk! Debate judges will enforce a strict 15 minute forfeit time for all competitors. Speech judges will be instructed to wait 15 minutes after the final speaker has finished speaking for students. If a student does not show up by that time, they will receive last place in the round.

3. Double Entry: Students may enter up to one Debate event or Congress AND up to two Speech events. If students are double and/or cross entered, it is THEIR responsibility to ensure that they attend rounds on time. Rounds will NOT be rerun if a student is late to their round. Extra Prep will NOT be given to students in Extemp Prep if they are late to draw.

4. Rules: The Tournament will operate under CHSSA Rules and Regulations as linked here. SPAR shall operate using Stanford rules. Prose Interpretation and Poetry Interpretation will operate under NSDA Rules, with 7 minute speech time limits and the use of a binder. Please keep in mind that Original Prose and Poetry (OPP) is a CHSSA event where the student writes their own speech, which does not allow for props, and has a 10 minute time limit. Please ensure that your student is entered in the correct event!

Events Offered:

A. Speech:

1. Speech: The following Speech events will be offered: SPAR, DI, Combined Extemp, INFO, OI (Declamation), POI, Poetry, OO, OPP, HI, DI, Impromptu, and Prose. Competitors may, but are not required, to upload a prerecorded video of their interpretation & platform speeches to be used in case the competitors experience technical difficulties during their rounds. Students who experience tech issues during rounds will have their video watched by their respective judges. Students who choose NOT to submit a video will receive last place in the round should they be unable to perform their speech. Video links must be uploaded to Tabroom by 7 PM on Tuesday, April 23rd. EXTEMP, IMPROMPTU, and SPAR will NOT have video submissions.

B. Debate:

1. Debate: Debate events offered are Congress, Public Forum, Lincoln Douglas, and Parliamentary.

2. Public Forum will use the NSDA April topic.

3. Lincoln-Douglas will use the NSDA March/April topic.

4. Teams are welcome to submit Congress legislation for consideration via the Tabroom registration page. Each school is allowed to submit up to THREE pieces of legislation to be considered.

5. Topic Areas: Congress legislation and topic areas for Extemp, Parliamentary Debate, & SPAR have now been released. Congress Legislation can be found here. Topic Areas for Extemp, Parli, and SPAR can be found here.

Judging:

1. Judge Ratios: For all debate events the ratio is 1 judge to 3 entries or any fraction thereof. For all speech events and student congress the ratio is 1 judge to every 6 entries or any fraction thereof.

2. We will not have hired judges for this Tournament. Schools are required to fulfill their judging obligation.

3. High school competitors are welcomed and encouraged to judge either as part of a program’s entry or independently.

4. All independent judges or high school judges should register by following this link. Please note that we are unable to pay volunteer judges, though student judges in high school are eligible to earn NSDA points for judging MS State.

5. This year, we will be using a hybrid system to penalize judges missing their judging assignments. Judges that miss their judging assignments will first be fined $75 for the first offense, and $150 for each subsequent offense. Schools that have 5+ missing judge fines risk having their entire team dropped from the Tournament.

Important Forms and Fees:

1. Coaches must upload a Media Release Form for all competitors onto their Tabroom.com registration. They may upload it to the "Media Release Form" or the "Eligibility Documentation", either one OK! The Media Release form may also be found here. All forms are due on Tabroom.com by April 23rd, 2024 at 7 PM (PDT).
2. All institutions will be charged a $20 school fee. All partnered events (PF, Parli, and Duo) shall cost $30, while solo events shall cost $20. If cost is a hindrance for you attending this Tournament, please reach out to middleschool@chssa.org. We want to ensure that your squad is able to attend this Tournament!
3. All Fees are due on Wednesday, April 25th at 7 PM via check (see address on Invoice in Tabroom) OR Online via Square.

Save the dates. We look forward to seeing you for our exciting tournament!

Xavier Liu

Tournament Director