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Jackie Newton Memorial Tournament: Brooklyn-Queens CFL #1

The Brooklyn-Queens CFL invites all schools to its first tournament of the season, the Jackie Newton Memorial Tournament. This tournament is hosted by The Mary Louis Academy, 176-21 Wexford Terrace, Jamaica, NY 11432. The tournament's namesake was a beloved volunteer judge and coach for over 30 years in our community. We honor Jackie's memory and legacy of service with the naming of this tournament; the BQCFL's first tournament of the year will henceforth be so named.

Events: We will offer ALL speech events (Declamation, Dramatic Performance, Duo Interpretation, JV Extemp, Varsity Extemp, JV Oral Interpretation (Poetry only), Varsity Oral Interpretation (Prose and Poetry), Program Oral Interpretation, and Original Oratory. There will be 3 preliminary rounds in speech, plus finals. We will offer 2 sessions of Congressional Debate plus Finals in both division, as well as Lincoln Douglass and Public Forum debate on all 3 levels (novice, intermediate and varsity). All debate rounds will be single flighted. Pending registration numbers, we will collapse divisions as necessary, and communicate any changes to moderators as soon as possible.

Eligibility & Registration: Though sponsored by the BQCFL, this tournament is open to all school-based programs: no academy or independent entries will be accepted. Register for the tournament here on tabroom.com. New entries and judges are due by Wednesday, 10/21 at 8pm. Drops and name changes may be conducted until 3:30pm on Friday, 10/23. Changes thereafter must be communicated to the Tournament Director via email (wkay@berkeleycarroll.org).You must provide 1 judge for every 5 speakers (or fraction thereof) in Speech and Congress, 1 judge for every 3 debate entries (or fraction thereof) in PF and LD, and 1 judge for every 2 debate entries in PD. Judges should be adults who are trained to judge the events assigned to them. PF and LD judges must be prepared to judge either (or both) LD and PF.

Fees: registration fees shall follow the League's sliding scale, which can be found here.

Topics: all debate events will use the national topics as delineated by the NSDA (Novice LD will use the Varsity September/October Topic). Congress legislation and Extemp Topic Areas shall be made available closer to the tournament.

Schedule: All participants should arrive at TMLA by 9:15AM. Coaches should check in with the tabroom (faculty lounge on the third floor) immediately upon arrival. The opening meeting for judges will begin at 9:15AM sharp. Debate and Congress pairings will be released at 9:15. Speech schematics will blast at 9:30. All first rounds will begin at 9:45AM. Round 2 of Speech and LD/PF will begin at 11am. Round 3 of Speech and LD/PF will begin at 12:15pm. Round 2 of Congressional Debate will begin at 11:30am. Final Rounds in all events will begin at 2pm. The awards ceremony will begin at 4pm in the cafeteria.

Awards: Trophies will be awarded to the students who have advanced to elims. The number of awards will bedetermined by the number of registrants in each event. Team sweepstakes trophies will also be presented.

DEI, Harrassment/Discrimination, Bathrooms, and Accessibility Info: See the League's DEI Policy here and an accessibility 1-pager here. Reach out to WK with any questions.