California Middle School State Tournament

Thursday, May 8th - Saturday, May 10th, 2025

Hosted ONLINE SYNCHRONOUSLY via NSDA Campus

Helpline: coastforensicleague2@gmail.com

Live Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_AIxQ9W-eUAvwj6GTzcNpAN-JRkZNH7Vjs1_0UYhAcc/edit?usp=sharing

Extemp Prep Live Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12aRhOkIcQa9BVOyPJqXv_JkPwkQqzLwf5fV2XTCvlTg/edit?usp=sharing

Parli Prep Live Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MkaZj_HfLCgiOZYUlVS79Xo6orQ-Y5cI1s4pbS3sIgk/edit?usp=sharing

Judges' Lounge and Helpdesk (Judges and Coaches ONLY - NO STUDENTS): https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87114970627?pwd=gUGbGVjKCLH1glCm4aJDvH3PxFHCLL.1

Meeting ID: 871 1497 0627

Passcode: CHSSAMS25

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 Thursday, May 8th - Saturday, May 10th, 2025.

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 students attending schools or programs based in California ONLY. Students need to be residing in California to be eligible for this Tournament.

Tournament Format

We’re excited to offer a range of events in both Speech and Debate, with multiple preliminary and elimination rounds based on participation:

• Debate: 4 preliminary rounds

• Student Congress: 3 preliminary rounds

• Speech: 3 preliminary rounds

Breaks to elimination rounds will be determined by entry numbers, but we anticipate:

• Debate: Up to Double Octofinals

• Speech: Semifinals or Quarterfinals

• Congress: Semifinals or Finals

Due to the Schedule this year, students CANNOT cross enter between Speech and Congress or Speech and Debate. If students are competing in Speech, they are allowed to enter up to two (2) Speech events. If a student is entered in multiple events, they and their coaches are responsible for ensuring they get to their rounds on time.

Events Offered

We’re excited to offer a variety of events to showcase students' talents:

Speech Events:

• Spontaneous Argumentation (SPAR)

• Dramatic Interpretation (DI)

• Duo Interpretation (Duo)

• Combined Extemp (EXT)

• Informative Speaking (INFO)

• Declamation (OI/Dec)

• Program Oral Interpretation (POI)

• Poetry Interpretation (POE)

• Prose Interpretation (PRO)

• Original Platform (Combined OA and OO)

• Original Prose & Poetry (OPP)

• Humorous Interpretation (HI)

• Impromptu (IMP)

• Storytelling (STORY)

Backup Video Submissions: For interpretation and platform events, students may submit a prerecorded video in case of technical difficulties during the tournament. If a student experiences a tech issue and has submitted a video, the judge will watch it instead. If no video is submitted and the student cannot perform, they will receive last place in the round. Videos must be uploaded to Tabroom by May 5 at 7 PM.

Debate Events:

• Congressional Debate

• Public Forum (NSDA High School April Topic)

• Lincoln-Douglas (NSDA High School March/April Topic)

• Policy Debate (NSDA High School Year-Round Topic)

• Parliamentary Debate

Congress Legislation & Debate Topics:

• We welcome students to submit Congress legislation for consideration by April 7, 2025.

• Topics for Parliamentary Debate, SPAR, and Extemp will be released the week of April 7, 2025.

Rules:

We will be following Rules for the following events:

• CHSSA Rules for: DI, Duo, Combined Extemp, HI, IMP, INFO, Declamation, Original Platform, OPP, POI, LD, PF, Parli, and Policy.

• NSDA Rules for: Congress, Poetry, Prose, and Storytelling.

• Stanford Rules for SPAR.

Judging Requirements

To ensure a great experience for students, all schools must provide judges.

• Debate: 1 judge for every 2 entries

• Speech & Congress: 1 judge for every 6 entries

• High school students are welcome to judge and may sign up here.

• Independent judges can sign up here.

To keep the tournament running smoothly, we will assess fines for missing rounds:

• $75 for the first missed round

• $150 for each additional missed round

• Schools with 5+ missing judge fines may be dropped from the tournament.

Key Deadlines

Congress Legislation, Parli, SPAR & Extemp Topics Released: April 10, 2025
Entries Due: May 2, 2025, by 7 PM
Judges Due: May 5, 2025, by 7 PM
Fees Finalized, Drops & Name Changes Deadline: May 5, 2025, by 7 PM
Speech Video Submissions & Forms Due: May 5, 2025, by 7 PM

We can’t wait to welcome students, parents, and coaches to this exciting, challenging, and rewarding tournament! ✨

Save the dates, encourage your students to participate, and get ready for an unforgettable experience!

Warmly,

Xavier Liu

CHSSA Middle School State Tournament Director, on behalf of the CHSSA Middle School Tournament Team