Judging Info

*If you need assistance with this, please contact the tournament director at forensics@utah.edu.

*In-person judges training will also occur at the tournament for those with additional questions.

JUDGE REQUIREMENTS:

1. All judges must have a Tabroom account. Here is a video tutorial on how to create a Tabroom account.

2. All judges must have a smart device with them. Ballots will be assigned and submitted electronically using the tabroom platform so having a laptop, iPad, or smart phone is essential.

3. All judges must be accredited viaNSDA before judging at the Bonanza. We require judges to have "Level 1" accreditation for each event they will be judging (e.g. Speech, Debate, or Congress). However, I would challenge everybody including coaches to become the best critic they can be and receive accreditation past Level 1. Here is a link to those training sessions (appx 15min per event): https://www.speechanddebate.org/learn/judge-accreditation/.

4. We require written judge paradigms for debate events. Here is a NSDA Guide on how to write a paradigm and why it matters. Paradigms must be posted in their Tabroom account profile.

JUDGE OBLIGATIONS & COMMITMENT:

One judge can cover up to 6 IE slots or 2 debate teams (however, due to double-flighting, one judge may cover 3 entries in PF & LD). We will assume every entered judge is available for a full judging commitment, please provide early notification of judges with irregular availability. Judges can’t cover both IE’s and Debate. Judges who fail to pick up their ballots in a timely fashion will incur late fees for the school with which they are affiliated. Debate judges are committed through quarter-finals and one round beyond their team’s/debater’s elimination. An I.E. judge is committed through finals. Meeting this commitment is essential in order for the tournament to run effectively.

JUDGE ASSIGNMENTS & MISSED JUDGING FEES:

Judge assignments and ballots will be distributed before each round.

All judges will be in the “reserve pool” until 15 minutes after the beginning of each round to account for “no-shows.” Judges who fail to pick up their ballots or to appear in the reserve pool will be fined $25 per round. Fees will be assessed to the school they represent. Coaches will be notified and invoices will be provided in the event that fees are assessed. Please help ensure that your judges are accepting their ballots and completing their rounds on time. We will be strictly enforcing this policy to ensure that participants receive a high-quality tournament experience.

JUDGE PREFERENCE SYSTEM

We will be using a mutual preference judging (MPJ) system for open CX and LD. Open PF will have a limited number of strikes. Preference sheets will be available in tabroom on 9/27 and will be due 10/2 by 5 pm MST. Here's a video explaining what MPJ is and why it matters. Note, this is optional. You do not have to fill out a pref sheet if you don't want to. We are excited to see you! If you have any questions please reach out.