BelGREAT Eight Blizzards and Banter Invitational

BelGREAT Eight Invitational

(Montana Class AA East Regional)

5 & 6 December 2025

Dear Colleagues:

You are cordially invited to attend the BelGREAT Eight Blizzards and Banter Invitational to be held at Belgrade High School on the 5th and 6th of December. We will be utilizing tabroom.com for registration:BelGREAT Eight Invitational. This tournament is the Montana AA East Regional Tournament and is accordingly limited to the 8 schools in the Montana AA East Region. We ask that you complete a best estimate entry by 4:00 PM on Wednesday, Nov. 12, and a final registration by 4:00 PM Monday, Nov. 17, so that we can have judges and rooms sorted before the last second. The site will allow you to fully manage your entry until 8:00 PM on Wednesday, Dec. 3, and to complete your own drops until 4:00 PM Thursday, Dec. 4. You will be able to make changes until Dec. 4 without penalty, but having an idea of space and judging needs early will be crucial for a smooth tournament. If you have former competitors in the Gallatin Valley who would like to judge, please pass along the following link and have them sign themselves up: BelGREAT Eight Judge Signup. Please send all additional inquiries to Kristin Wilcox: kwilcox@bsd44.org and Layne Godak: lgodak@bsd44.org.

Registration Information:

• All events will be held at Belgrade High School, 303 N Hoffman St, Belgrade, MT

• Initial registration due by Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 4:00 PM

• Registration is limited to the 8 schools in the Montana AA East Region

• Final registration due by Monday, Nov. 17 at 4:00 PM.

• JV entries depending on space. We will make a final determination as to the number of JV entries allowed based on the initial registrations on Nov. 12. At that time, we will let people know whether the JV they have entered as their waitlisted entries need to be dropped or decreased.

• If JV entries are accepted, be aware that a Google Doc will be shared with you to delineate which 4 entries in any given event will earn varsity sweepstakes points. Your section of that Doc will need to be completed by 4:00 PM on Wednesday, Dec. 3.

• Varsity and Novice divisions will be offered in Policy and LD. All other events are Open division.

• Any Speech event with 24 or fewer entries will break straight to finals unless we have higher than expected judge numbers.

• Any Debate event with 15 or fewer entries will break straight to semifinals unless we have higher than expected judge numbers.

• We will notify registered teams about the elimination round configuration and the final schedule on Nov. 18

• JV debate entries will be blocked from hitting debaters on their schools’ varsity squads.

• All MHSA-sanctioned AA events will be offered. All events will be run according to MHSA rules and ethics guidelines. Please familiarize yourselves and your competitors with the Speech and Debate rules in the MHSA Forensics Rulebook.

Fees & Logistics:

• There will be no on-site registration. All double-checking and changes will be done by coaches via Tabroom.com and, after 4 PM on Dec. 4, via email. Please expect an email on Thursday, 4 Dec. with final codes and registration.

• There will be a $5.00 fee assessed per entry. Partner events count as two entries.

• There will be no fees for drops, adds, or changes up to Thursday, Dec. 4 at 4:00 PM. Any changes after Thursday 4 PM will be assessed a $5.00 penalty. Changes on Friday, 5 Dec. will cost $20.00.

• We will conduct all events according to the 2025-2026 MHSA Handbook, except as noted on this invitation.

• In order to (hopefully) run on time, the first two rounds of all debate events will be pre-paired, and prelim rounds 3-5 will be paired based on results from 2 rounds previous (i.e., round 3 will be paired based on results from round 1, round 4 from rounds 1 & 2, Round 5 from rounds 1-3). Elim rounds will be paired using all 5 prelims.

Topics:

Policy: Resolved: The United States federal government should significantly increase its exploration and/or development of the Arctic.

Lincoln/Douglas: Resolved: The United States ought to rewild substantial tracts of land.

Public Forum: Resolved: The United States federal government should require technology companies to provide lawful access to encrypted communications.

Legi: Foreign-Trade & Labor Standards Domestic-Campaign Finance

Schedule of Events

Friday, 5 December:

3:30 PM Extemp Draw for Round I in Rm TBD

4:00 PM Round I begins for all competitors

6:00 PM Round II for all

8:00 PM Round III for all

Saturday, 6 December:

7:30 AM Extemp Draw for Round IV

8:00 AM Round IV for all

10:00 AM Round V for all

12:00 PM Quarterfinals for any debate with > 16 entries/Semifinals for debate with < 15 entries

1:00 PM Semifinals for Speech with > 25 entries/Finals for Speech with < 24 entries

2:00 PM Semifinals for any debate with > 16 entries /Finals for other debates

3:30 PM Finals for Speech

4:00 PM Finals for any debate with > 16 entries

6:30 PM Awards in the Auditorium

• Students gather in the commons just inside the main entrance

• Extemp Draw in Rm TBD

• Tab Room is the Belgrade High Library

• Our coffee shop (just off the commons) will be open on Friday evening and Saturday morning. They will serve hot and cold beverages and grab-n-go snacks for purchase. .