FAQ About Asynchronous Tournaments

Although other states have embraced asynchronous competition, this is only the 3rd asynchronous tournament to be offered in Georgia.  We have been fortunate enough to attend and compete at 11 different asynchronous competitions this season and have learned quite a bit!  For programs newer to Asynchronous Competitions, this page will be a growing document of what we've learned throughout the year. 

Who can compete from your squad?

Anyone. Literally anyone.

Students are busy and can't compete every weekend.  Prior arrangements, sports seasons and a litany of other things can get in the way of your student becoming more confident in their piece.  It could also be a situation with competition space - maybe your school charges for spaces on the weekends and/or your competitors don't have places to perform. Asynchronous options provide students extra opportunities that never existed before COVID.  

Why compete asynchronously?

We believe asynchronous competition does not exist to REPLACE in-person or synchronous online competition but rather provide a supplemental vehicle for students to get great feedback, earn NSDA points and see how their piece performs against other competitors.

Asynchronous competitions are all about how you approach them.  At Marist, we have found that spending one afternoon a week in practice recording videos and preparing for asynchronous competitions has generated a ton of team benefits -- from boosting team bonding to practicing new skills to an appreciation of all activities. Our students are utilizing their time better and in return, getting quality feedback that translate into better performances when they compete synchronously.   

Some of the limited prep events ask your students to try new things they've never done and honestly they can be great for team bonding.  We've had students try Improvisational Duo and have a blast working through a scene together.   

We've also found that these events can open doors to students who may not have found their "event" yet.  Because they are not restricted by double entry rules, students can try multiple events to see where they truly can have fun!

What's special about the limited prep events?

The limited prompt events are great for non-speech students to just get practice giving organized speeches.  Extemporaneous Speaking can provide your public forum and lincoln douglas debaters practice.  Improvisational Duo can help your interp students work on characterization and blocking.  Pro Con Challenge can allow your debaters to envision their constructives in a new light or get feedback on constructives they've written.  Splitting up the extemporaneous speaking events allow your students to practice before districts to see what division they're better suited for.

But, competitors can re-record their (non limited prep) performances multiple times until they get the 'perfect take'?

Yep.  While I would suggest the 'perfect take' doesn't exist, I do not know why this is a bad thing.  The recording process for students is an opportunity for them to practice giving their speech which they arguably do anyway in practice during the week.  We also think that if students are all submitting their 'perfect takes', the feedback should also be better.  Rather than focus on silly mess up's in fluency, the 'perfect take' allows your judges to comment on specific portions of your presentation and offer you feedback on how to improve. 

Won't students just record once and then submit their video to multiple tournaments?

Asynchronous is all about how you approach it.  If you allow your students to do this, we believe this is a bad model for speech and debate.  If we are dedicating funds and resources to attending an asynchronous tournament, students should be required to film a new version of their speech for each asynchronous competition.  While some competitions we've attended have required students saying the name of the tournament in their recording, we won't mandate this but we do ask you consider the best model for the future of speech & debate.

But won't students re-record and/or use unlimited prep in limited prep events?

Unfortunately, this is a possibility. Many of us taught during the virtual days of COVID and giving tests was a nightmare.  There's no real solution to this except as a community we need to trust each other.  Program directors are responsible for what their students submit.  When you enter an asynchronous tournament in a limited prep event, you are certifying that your students follow the rules.  We try to film all of our speeches at school during a practice to help verify that rules are followed.

This seems like way more work for teachers/coaches than it is for the students?

It is.  But isn't everything in speech & debate?  The benefit of asynchronous opportunities though is that it spreads that work over several days.   In preliminary rounds, you are often asked to judge 2 or 3 speech prelims over the course of 2 days.  We consider this more manageable as well as more sustainable for many coaches than giving up an entire Saturday.

We also welcome you split up your commitments in any way you'd like - provide judges for only 1 prelim, or only elimination rounds or based on days.  Asynchronous allows you to get creative with judging in ways we never could in a synchronous tournament.