We are excited to invite you to this year's CCIU Middle School tournament, which will be held May 21 at the CCIU campus, 455 Boot Rd, Downingtown, PA 19335.  The tournament will start at 8:00 AM and run through to 2:30 PM.  We are excited to have Mr. Chris Berdnik from Wm. Tennent High School serving as Tab director again.  

REGISTRATION AND NUISANCE FINES: Please note the registration deadlines and penalties for kids and judges dropping after those deadlines.  It causes unbelievable havoc when they fail to show up- we must re-pair the entire event. 

JUDGES: Please note that you are required to bring judges adequate to cover your entries.  We no longer have a pool of judges available for hire.  It is absolutely fine to use parents for this- you can provide them with the handbook (which you should have received in the fall) along with suggesting they go to the NSDA website (https://www.speechanddebate.org/judge-training/) and watch some tutorials on judging.  Judges in debate will stay in that pool;  judges in Speech will judge different events and will not know in advance which events they are scheduled for, thus they should review the critique sheets and master ballots for each speech event and discussion.

We will be using electronic ballots this year so each judge needs to register on Tabroom (https://www.tabroom.com) and you, as coach, will need to link their name with your school (it will appear on the right hand column toward the bottom of the page- judge link requests will show up in RED- you merely have to click and approve). Judges will need to bring either a laptop, tablet, or phone to access electronic ballots- since writing is required, laptops and tablets are easier to use.  Electronic ballots greatly facilitate running the tournament ON TIME!

If a judge is a high school student who is a member of NSDA, they can receive points on NSDA which their high school coach will administer.

FOOD:  Students should bring lunches or buy pizza- schools need to order pizza in advance for $12 per pie. Judges will be fed by the tournament. Students should bring some money for vending machine water and snacks.

AUTO-QUAL FOR NSDA NATIONALS:  Any student from any school that has joined the NSDA Middle School Association ($75/year) is eligible to go to NSDA Middle School Nationals which will be held June 18-21 in Dallas TX.  This is a huge opportunity- the only requirement is that the student competed in one tournament (CCIU) - they do not need place first, second or third!! I have worked in Tab for the middle school tournament and it is a fantastic tournament- and great bragging rights! Parents are usually the ones who take their student, so the coach does not have to go unless they want to.

SCHOOLS OUTSIDE CHESTER COUNTY MAY NOW PARTICIPATE: In an attempt to broaden our "reach and teach" initiative in forensics (aka speech and debate) we are opening the tournament to schools in adjacent counties, including states of Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.  There is a $5.00 per student fee to participate. Chester County schools are funded courtesy of the CCIU. Since we are unable to turn off fees for specific schools, you (as a Chester County MS), may see an invoice, but you should disregard fees for students. You ARE responsible for any hired judge fees, however..  You WILL be responsible for Drop Fees (judge or student) that occur after the deadline! 

EVENTS:  THERE IS NO UMBRELLA TOPIC THIS YEAR!  This will make it easier for students to find or write material on subjects that they feel passionately about. In an effort to expand the interest in forensics, we offer the following events. 

Rhetoric:  Impromptu, Oratory, Declamation

Interpretation:  Prose, Poetry, Duo, and Original Prose/Poetry

Public Forum Debate:  TOPIC: Resolved:  The USFG (U.S. Fed Govt) should increase its quota of H-1B visas. 

Discussion: TOPIC: Building the Wall on the southern US border will do more harm than good.

Please go to the EVENTS tab to see specifics and/or print out a copy of the CCIU Handbook.  Important to note- our time limits are shorter than High School events (generally 5-7 minutes, not 8-10 minutes).  We do require students to bring copies of their material in case there is a challenge. We will not collect this (be it a speech or interp program) but the coach should hold onto it if there is an issue. Debators will be able to use laptops but NOT connect to the internet during rounds (be it on phone or laptop)- that will result in immediate disqualification from the tournament.  So turn off texting, social media, etc.  Any of this is construed as connectivity.  The evidence packet for this debate topic was sent out previously to all coaches.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Dr. Eileen Weaver                                                Susan L. Hayes