INVITATION

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!

AND PREMIERING ON ITS NEW WEEKEND

March 6 & 7, 2020

A-STATE DEBATE & FORENSICS PRESENTS

THE FOURTH ANNUAL THROWDOWN IN J-TOWN! TOURNAMENT

On behalf of Arkansas State University & the A-State Debate and Forensics Team, I am excited to invite you back to Northeast Arkansas for another HOWL of a tournament!

The Fourth Annual Throwdown in J-Town (HOWL YES! Tournament) will be held in the Humanities & Social Sciences Building Friday, March 6th & Saturday, March 7^th on the campus of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, AR. This is a qualifying tournament for the ACTAA State Tournament of Champions and the NIETOC.

For rules and other information, visit www.ACTAA.net, www.NIETOC.com and http://www.speechanddebate.org/

REGISTER FOR OUR TOURNAMENT AT tabroom.com The deadline for entries is 3:30pm on Monday, March 2^nd, 2020.

First and last names should be on each entry. All entries must be specified upon registration. NO ENTRIES WILL BE ALLOWED after the deadline. 

Below, you will find additional information. Updates will be posted on Tabroom.

Sincerely,

Michael J Gray
Director of Debate & Forensics 
Arkansas State University-Jonesboro

*****JUDGES & COACHES*****

We will use online balloting. Please be sure all judges have Tabroom accounts and that they are prepared to complete ballots online. Additional information will be provided on the tournament website.

NOTE: This is a dress-down tournament. No competitor will be penalized for choosing to not wear suits or other formal clothing. All judges should refrain from judging competitors’ physical appearance and focus on executing an objective evaluation of competitors’ arguments, performances, & rhetoric. To be clear, formal attire is not required and will not be accounted for in evaluations.

As always, your judges are greatly appreciated. In an effort to foster public interest in debate and forensics, A-State will again incorporate basic judge training into the curriculum for our Argumentation & Oral Com classes. We will recruit several of our students to judge the tournament. However, we still need you to cover your entries.

Lunch for competitors may be provided on Saturday. We will send an update about this later on. We will provide a hospitality room and refreshments for coaches and judges both days of the tournament; vending machines are available, but campus restaurants are typically closed early on Friday. Plan on making your own arrangements for food on Friday.

*****HSS BUILDING RULES*****

1.     Food is not allowed in any classroom. Drinks without lids are not allowed in any classroom.

2.     Classrooms are for rounds only. Please do not loiter in rooms between rounds.

3.     Rooms must be put back in order after each round.

4.     Please do not use trash cans in classrooms; use lobby and hallway trash cans.

*****RECOMMENDED HOTEL*****

Embassy Suites & Red Wolf Convention Center is located at 223 Red Wolf Blvd. on the A-State Jonesboro Campus.

Their number is 870-619-4482. https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/jbrjoes-embassy-suites-jonesboro-red-wolf-convention-center/

THE ALL NEW SUITE

Spacious newly built two-room suite featuring a private bedroom with one king size or two queen beds. Separate living room with queen size sofa/sleeper, well-lit work and dining area including: wifi, microwave, refrigerator and coffee maker. Two 50” HDTV televisions with cable and pay-per-view movies.

THE VALUE

Complimentary full cooked-to-order breakfast and nightly evening reception. Complimentary 24-hour Business Center

Complimentary 24-hour fitness center featuring leading-edge equipment from Life Fitness®. Hilton HHonors® Points & Miles™

DINING

Houlihan’s features center-cut steaks, wood-grilled flatbreads, and artisan salads and sandwiches. We offer many dishes in both small and large portions and are dedicated to developing scratch menu options that address ever-evolving consumer lifestyles — be it meatless, organic or whole grain items.

*****AWARDS*****

Awards will go to all finalists & semi-finalists and to the Top Novice in each Individual Event. For debate, awards will be given for all breaking competitors & for outround placement, as well as for the top 12 speakers & Top Novice in each format/division. Individual Sweepstakes Awards include:

1.     The Director’s Awards for Superiority / Excellence in Forensics (aka, triathlon awards) go to the top three competitors with the highest cumulative scores in both debate and individual events. To be eligible, individuals must compete in a minimum of three events from at least three of the four categories: limited prep, speech, interpretation/performance, & debate. Note that PL and IPDA may count in either debate or limited prep categories.

2.     The Captain’s Award for Superiority in Debate goes to one competitor with the most points in two formats of debate. 2^nd and 3^rd place are recognized. Director’s Award recipients may not receive the Captain’s Award.

3.     The Captain’s Award for Superiority in Individual Events goes to one competitor with the most points in four individual events. 2^nd and 3^rd place are recognized. Director’s Award recipients may not receive the Captain’s Award.

Additional information about awards, including the Delta Debate League traveling trophy, is included elsewhere in this document.

THROWDOWN IV EVENTS

*****SCHEDULE*****

The full schedule is available on Tabroom. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ENTRIES. WE WILL NOT ISSUE REFUNDS FOR MISSED ROUNDS OR EVENTS.

*****DEBATE*****

Students may enter as many events as they like, but it is their responsibility to make it to events on time. Rounds are expected to start on time; if you are late, you will be dropped. Use your prep time to walk to your round.

Strike sheets for IPDA preliminary rounds will feature one resolution from each of the following five topic areas:

US Military, Education, Popular Culture, US Elections, & Board Games.

Strike sheets for outrounds will feature one resolution from each of the following five topic areas:

Artificial Intelligence, Arkansas, Space, Environment, & Arts/Entertainment.

Resolutions for Parli-Limited will be written from a specific set of topic areas, which be disclosed on February 14^th.

We will use the February topics for both Public Forum and Lincoln-Douglass Debate.

We will determine debate divisions (Novice, JV, and/or Open) based on the number of entries in each event.

*****INDIVIDUAL EVENTS*****

Students may enter as many events as they like, but it is their responsibility to make it to events on time.

Judges will not wait past the allotted time.

*****SWEEPSTAKES*****

Arkansas State University Event Descriptions

DDL Parli Limited

In honor of Dr. Dennis White, former Director of Debate at Arkansas State University, the Delta Debate League of Professional Debaters and the A-State Debate Team are proud to sponsor Parli Limited debate at the Throwdown IV tournament. Points in this event influence both individual and team sweepstakes awards. The Parli Limited Tournament Champion’s school will hold the DDL Traveling Trophy until the next Throwdown tournament.

Format basics and best practices for High Schools competitors:

1. PL is a 2v2, 2v1, or 1v1 limited-prep debate event.
2. A new resolution is debated each round; rounds begin 30 minutes after the resolution is announced.
3. Resolutions in PL tend to be chosen from topic areas relating to sci-fi/fantasy culture or fringe technology; affirmative interpretations may be literal or metaphorical.
4. The Affirmative’s job is to support the resolution by offering and defending a topical advocacy statement or policy action based on the resolution or by offering contentions that support the text of the resolution. The Negative’s job is to negate the resolution, the Affirmative interpretation of the resolution, or both.
5. Competitors are expected to keep their rate of speech at a rate that is inclusive. Failure to respond to a legitimate speed call from either a judge or another competitor will be accounted for in the judging process. Clarity is expected. Competitors are expected to maintain a clear rate of speech. Failure to respond to legitimate clear calls will be accounted for in the judging process.
6. No printed evidence or internet use in round.
7. Speech times are:

5 minute PM constructive

      2 minute NEG flex*

7 minute LO constructive

      2 minute AFF flex*

6 minute MG constructive

      1 minute NEG flex*

6 minute MO constructive

3 minute LO rebuttal

      1 minute AFF flex*

5 minute PM rebuttal

* Flex time may be used in a variety of ways (i.e. asking questions, preparing arguments, flipping pens, organizing notes, etc.)

PERFORMANCE-RHETORIC ORATORY SOCIETY

SPOKEN WORD / SLAM POETRY

The Performance Rhetoric & Oratory Society of A-State is proud to host the Spoken Word Poetry event at Throwdown IV! Points in this event influence both individual and team sweepstakes awards.

EVENT RULES

1. Entries may be individual, duet, or teams of three. Teams may have no more than three members.
2. Each poet/team must perform their own original work produced by a team member. Students should avoid content that may be deemed inappropriate; the safe bet is that if it would be inappropriate for a traditional IE, it should not be included in this event.
3. Competitors are NOT required to perform the same piece each round, but all pieces must be approved by their supervising teacher/coach prior to competition.
4. Competitors may use the space in their immediate stage environment. Competitors may also use a chair, table, and/or podium (if available). No musical instruments, singing, or pre-recorded music allowed. No costumes or other props allowed.

5.    Performances, whether solo or team, should be between 2:50 and 3:10 minutes. Judges will stop any performance that exceeds 3:30 minutes by saying, "Your time is up. Thank you."

6. All performances, whether solo or team, will be given 1 score, which will be determined using a rubric provided by the tournament.

ORDER OF EVENTS

1. There will be 3 rounds: 1 preliminary elimination with up to 18 competitors, 1 preliminary elimination with up to 12 competitors, and 1 final round with up to 6 competitors.
2. When competitors enter a round, they should provide the judge(s) with a card that has their name(s), school code, and title of their piece.
3. When a team takes the stage, competitor(s) should say their name(s) and school code(s). A judge will respond by announcing the competitor(s) name(s) and the title of their piece.
4. At the end of each round, judges will fill out their ballots, complete the scoring, rank each competitor, and return the ballot to the ballot table.
5. NOTE: The appropriate method of applause is to offer snaps, rather than claps or knocks. Limited audience vocalizations to show approval are normal; judges should intervene by raising a hand if the audience becomes disruptive. If a judge raises his or her hand, audience members should immediately become silent.

PERFORMANCE-RHETORIC ORATORY SOCIETY

 ADVOCACY IN ART

The Performance Rhetoric & Oratory Society of A-State is proud to host the Advocacy in Art event at Throwdown IV! Points in this event DO NOT influence sweepstakes awards.

EVENT RULES & INFO

1.     Pre-registration for this event is not necessary. The event is free.

2.     All submissions must be original artwork, designed and produced by an eligible student competitor.

3.     All submissions must be turned in at the tournament site by 8:15am on Saturday, March 7th; all art will remain on display until the awards ceremony. Additional information provided at the tournament.

4.     Along with the artwork, submit a separate sheet of paper that includes:

a.     Title, artist name, classification, & school

b.     One-paragraph summary/explanation of the advocacy or argument expressed in the piece

5.     Submissions must meet the following criteria:

a.     Submissions may be any visual artwork (painting, photo, sculpture, etc.) and no larger than 24” x 24” x 24”.

b.     Submissions must be able to be evaluated from one forward-facing direction.

c.     Submissions must communicate a discernable argument and/or advocacy.

6.     Submissions will be scored by A-State students & faculty; awards will go to the top 3 competitors.