BIA & Protest Information

Hello Tournament Attendees,

We are incredibly excited to be approaching an exciting competition weekend at the Bentonville Wicked West. This email contains information about Belonging and Inclusion and Protest Procedures.

Belonging and Inclusion -

The Bentonville Wicked West Invitational is committed to providing a safer, more inclusive space for speech and debate competition.

For this tournament, Rachel Mauchline (Durham Academy, NC) will serve as the Belonging and Inclusion Advocate. She is here to be the first point of contact for attendees (students, judges, coaches, etc.) requesting interpersonal support or inquiries related to harassment and discrimination at the tournament. If you have a concern about your experience at this tournament, or you have witnessed behavior that is inconsistent with the NSDA Harassment and Discrimination Policy, that is the role of the BIA. We do ask that if students have concerns, they have a supervising/supporting adult accompany them (e.g., parent, coach, etc.).

We have a private space we can use to process your situation, feelings, and experiences. You will be asked to fill out a form sharing your information and describing the concern (if it involves harassment/discrimination). You always have the option to discuss a concern informally and on a verbal basis with them – or a more formal basis, depending on your experience and if it violates any policies and/or laws. The point is - they are here to listen and be a support for you.

Our goal is to make sure everyone has a safe space to compete and truly feel like they belong at this tournament and in our speech and debate community. If you have any questions about BIS or its process, please let us know!

Protest Process

The Bentonville West Wicked West Invitational prioritizes providing an equitable experience for all individuals participating. In this light, we will have two Tournament Ombudsman. Rachel Mauchline (Durham Academy, NC) will serve as our Protest Coordinator. Protests do need to be submitted by a Coach of Record for that school at the competition. Protests that are submitted by other parties will not be adjudicated. Please remember that NSDA Unified Manual along with the ACTAA Qualification Document are the documents that the Bentonville Wicked West Tournament utilizes.

You can complete the form here.