West Iowa District Qualifier

for the 2022 National Tournament

Hired Judges (Requests & Expectations)

Hired Judges for the West Iowa Nat Quals tournament: 

* We cannot accommodate last minute hired judge requests from schools. At the time of this posting (1/31), there have been no requests.

* Please reach out to kuikenm@live.siouxcityschools.com and loan.nguyen@dmschools.org no later than February 4th for hired judge needs - requests cannot be guaranteed. Email both, subject line: Hired Judge West Iowa

* The Committee wants your judges more than we want to charge you a missing judge fee -- thought we will still charge the fee if necessary. 

If you are interested in offering yourself to this tournament as an unaffiliated hired judge:

Contact BOTH kuikenm@live.souixcityschools.com and loan.nguyen@dmschools.org on one email - subject line: Hired Judge West Iowa

Rates for hired judges will be: 

* $75 for all speech rounds 

* $100 for debate 

* $100 for congressional debate on March 19th (virtual) 

If you are a confirmed hired judge

Hired judges must complete their full judging obligation for payment. If you are a speech judge, you are obligated to all speech rounds. If you are a debate judge, you are obligated to all debate rounds or sessions.

It is a requirement of all judges to complete the Cultural Competency Training set by the National Speech and Debate Association before the tournament: 

Read through the training and watch the video: https://www.speechanddebate.org/judge-training/ 

Every ballot at the National Speech & Debate Tournament will have the following language:

We are all influenced by implicit bias, or the stereotypes that unconsciously affect our decisions. When judging, our implicit biases negatively impact students who are traditionally marginalized and disenfranchised. Before writing comments or making a decision, please take a moment to reflect on any biases that may impact your decision making process.

Please remember that the video quality of a student’s performance or speech may be impacted by lighting, internet, access to equipment, and other family members’ presence in the home. To ensure a more equitable experience for our participants, please be sure your decision-making process and comments are related only to the content and quality of the presentation or speech itself.