Events

DEBATE

For Debate, Stratford will host both Lincoln-Douglas and Public Forum. While this is a Novice tournament, we will not use the Novice topics for either event.

We are now allowing for double entry between Debate and Speech events. If a student wants to enter LD or PF, they may also enter speech events.

Coaches may double-enter judges to cover their obligations with one caveat: a judge can only cover one debate event in addition to speech, otherwise, they will be running non-stop to judge the whole weekend. We recommend registering your speech judges first, then double-entering them for one debate category.

Lincoln-Douglas

Lincoln-Douglas will use the Sept/Oct Topic: "Resolved: In the United States, colleges and universities ought not consider standardized tests in undergraduate admissions decisions." Students will be permitted to use laptops in round, but they are not to use wifi during the round. Students using digital equipment must have some way to present their cards to their opponents if asked in cross, so either bring a paper copy or another reading device to present cards upon request. Failure to be able to present requested information will have repercussions.

Public Forum

Public Forum will also use the Sept/Oct topic: "Resolved: The European Union should join the Belt and Road Initiative." Again, students will be permitted to use laptops in round, but they are not to use wifi during the round; no researching during round. Students using digital equipment must have some way to present their cards to their opponents if asked in cross, so either bring a paper copy or another reading device to present cards upon request. Failure to be able to present requested information will have repercussions.

SPEECH

If students would like to double-enter in Speech events, we will have a protocol for students to enter a maximum of 2 Speech events. Students double-entered will need to speak first, and then they must transfer to their other room to finish out the round.

We will have six events in Speech at this tournament: Original Oratory, Oratorical Interp, Dramatic Interp, Humorous Interp, Impromptu, Expository, and Duo Interp. Speeches for Original Oratory, Dramatic Interp, Humorous Interp, Expository, and Duo Interp must be between 6 and 10 minutes in length. Oratorical Interp speeches are maximum 10 minutes, but can be shorter than that. The longer your speech, the more opportunities you have to shine, but also the more opportunities to make mistakes. We encourage entrants to scale their speech lengths to fit their ability in this novice-focused tournament. For Impromptu, speeches will be 5 minutes with a 2-minute prep time.