Northern Wisconsin District Qualifier

for the 2023 National Tournament

Speech

The Northern Wisconsin NSDA Qualifier in Speech will take place asynchronously, and judged March 14-19

All Participating students MUST BE NSDA MEMBERS ON OR BEFORE March 7, 2023. NSDA membership fees must be paid to the NSDA on or before the first day of the competition. Please be sure to get your points recorded, and send the fees.

Be sure to fill out the Single Entry letter of Intent under the "NSDA Forms" tab. If double entering, the Single Entry Letter of Intent must be received before the qualifier of the second event. Note that if a student competed in a debate qualifier, this counts as one entry toward the double entry limit between debate and speech events. Congressional Debate may be entered as a third event. Please see the information on partnered events and double entry below.

We are using the method of 3 preliminary rounds and a final to determine qualifiers, and following all NSDA IE rules.

Recordings: As per NSDA rules, videos must be one continuous take with no cuts or edits, no camera movement, no panning or zooming. See the complete NSDA asynchronous recording rules below.

Schedule:

Friday, March 10, Extemp Questions Released

Monday, March 13, All video links due and entries finalized by 8:00 PM

Tuesday, March 14, Rounds 1, 2 and 3 released as early as possible

Thursday, March 16, All prelim ballots due by 6:00 PM, Final rounds released as early as possible

Sunday, March 19, Final Round ballots due by 2:00 PM. Qualifiers posted by 5:00 PM

*** The schedule is tentative and may be adjusted based on judge availability, progress of each round, and other unforeseen factors ***

Duo: must be recorded with both performers together.

US & International Extemp: A set of questions for each event will be sent to coaches and posted on tabroom on Friday, March 10. NSDA requires that 30 minutes of prep be done live, but does not require the prep be recorded. It will be the responsibility of the coach to uphold the NSDA honor code and monitor their students’ preparation, and ensure that the recording of their speech begins immediately when the 30 minutes of prep is concluded. One recorded extemp speech will be used for all rounds of competition. If a student is double entered in both extemp events, one speech for each (US and International) is required.

Judges: 1 judge per 2 entries. This is to provide enough judges for the Final rounds which require 3 judges per section. If additional judges are available, please enter them. They will either be hired by the tournament or can be used to off-set any fees owed by your school.

Fees: $10 per entry ($15 for Duo). Any uncovered judging obligations will be billed at a rate of $150 per judge. Please make checks payable to: Northern Wisconsin NSDA. Send payments to John Rademacher, 145 Pine View Dr, Madison, WI 53704.

(Please note, the address to which checks are to be sent has changed from previous years. Be sure to update the records with your school's business office.)

Please direct all questions to John Rademacher via email at jrademacher@madison.k12.wi.us or cellphone: 608-335-4837.

Please note this from the NSDA High School Unified Manual:

Qualifying in a Partnership Event: If a student qualifies in a partnership event (Public Forum Debate, Policy Debate, or Duo Interpretation) and an individual event, the student must attend the National Tournament in the partnership event. However, beginning in 2022-2023, if a partnership officially vacates their National Tournament qualification or alternate slot in a partner event, individuals in that partnership are eligible to enter and qualify in an individual event on a different date.

Partnership Events: Students are permitted to enter in up to two partner events (Public Forum, Policy, and Duo Interpretation) at the district tournament beginning in 2022-2023.

Partnership Event Exception: If two students qualify for the National Tournament in a partnership event and both individuals also qualify for the National Tournament in their respective individual events, the students may choose to enter the National Tournament in their individual events if indicated on their Single Entry Letter of Intent. If two students enter the district tournament in two partner events (as the same partners) on the same weekend, the students must choose one of the team events and both indicate the same preference on their respective Single Entry Letter of Intent prior to the beginning of the tournament in which the partnership would double qualify. If the partner events do not occur on the same weekend, the school may forfeit its alternate position that resulted from the first competition, allowing new partnerships to be created. If the school wishes for the alternate status to be retained from the first competition, the same partnership has to be used when entering the next competition. If a partnership officially vacates their National Tournament qualification or alternate slot in a partner event, individuals in that partnership are eligible to enter and qualify in an individual event on a different date.

Single Entry Letter of Intent: A student who is entered in more than one event must submit a Single Entry Letter of Intent indicating the event in which they will compete at the National Tournament, prior to the beginning of the tournament in which the individual would double qualify.

Asynchronous Speech Requirements
Students competing in asynchronous events must follow these rules, used at the 2021 National Tournament, while recording their performances. Rulings (answering questions or hearing protests) about this language will be made by the District Committee.
a. Professional equipment enhancements may not be used. Professional equipment includes professional
lighting kits, professional grade camera recording and audio devices, and softboxes. Students are welcome to film their recording on their school’s auditorium stage, but the use of stage lighting is not permitted.
Lavalier/lapel microphones and ring lights are permitted.
b. Recordings may not be edited using any software; all submissions must be non-stop footage of the entire
performance.
c. Students recording split-screen Duos may not record their performances separately and edit them together.
d. Students may not trim a recording, even to remove the seconds that they walk to and from the recording
device to push start/stop.
e. The length of the recording must not exceed the time limit with the grace period.
f. Competitors may not use green screens, virtual backgrounds, or on-screen text.
g. The camera being used must remain stationary throughout the entire performance, and no zooming or
panning is permitted.
h. The camera must remain on throughout the duration of the performance; a student may not turn off their
video at any point during their recording.
i. The use of lighting tricks like shadow puppets are not permitted.
j. Students may move closer to and further from the camera to simulate zooming, though the camera must
remain stationary.
k. Students may cover the camera with their hands or body.
l. Students may move out of frame during the recording.
m. Other individuals may be present while filming, but audience interaction (laughing, applause, etc.) must not be included in the performance.
n. Competitors may determine how close or distant the camera is set up in order to maximize both verbal and nonverbal communication.
o. If possible, it is recommended that students and judges remove items that may be distracting in the
background. Backdrops of a solid color with no special markings may be used by competitors and judges.