Commentary Topic Areas and Rules

Commentary

Round 1- Musical Phenomena

Round 2- Modern Day Authoritarianism

Round 3- College Scandals

Final- Famous Missing Persons

Commentary Rules (PHSSL)

• 30 minutes of prep

• The speech shall not exceed five (5) minutes in length. NO MINIMUM REQUIREMENT.

• The speech must be delivered seated behind a table or desk.

• Up to fifty (50) words of notes may be used.

• The student must bring the topic slip drawn for that round, to the judge, or a copy of the topic written by the prep room judge.

• Substituting a different topic for the topic drawn will result in disqualification from the tournament.

• Plagiarism or fabrication of evidence is prohibited and will result in a student being disqualified from the tournament.

• The judge should keep in mind that this is a commentary and not just a seated extemporaneous speech.

• In all events, a grace period of thirty (30) seconds over the event is permitted without penalty. If a student is more than thirty (30) seconds over, that student may not be ranked first. Excessive overtime violation should be penalized more harshly.

• Any questions regarding rules infringements should be brought to the attention of the Tabulation Room staff and not the student.