Voices of the Falls

You are cordially invited to attend the Voices of the Falls Speech and Debate Tournament on November7th hosted by Great Falls High and Charles M. Russell High Schools. We will be utilizing tabroom.com for registration (http://voices_of_the_falls.tabroom.com). The site will allow you to manage your entry until 4:00pm on Wednesday, November 4^th, and complete your own drops until 4:00pm on Wednesday November 4^th. However, we do ask that you complete the best estimate entry by 5:00pm on Friday, October 23^rd, and a final registration by 4:00pm November 4^th, so that we can have judges and rooms sorted. You will be able to make changes until November 4^th at 4:00pm without penalty, but having an idea of space and judging needs early will be crucial for a smooth tournament. There will be a limit of 4 entries per event. Varsity and Novice divisions will be offered in both Policy and Lincoln Douglas events. All other events are open division. If you have former competitors in Great Falls who would like to judge, or you are bringing judges with you, please pass along the following link and have them sign themselves up: www.emergingvoices.net/judge

Registration/Entry Fees: All events will be held at CMR High School – 228 17^th Ave Nw.

Initial registration is due on Friday, October 23^rd at 4:00pm

Final registration is due on Wednesday, November 4^th at 4:00pm

There will be no on-site registration. All double-checking and changes will be done by coaches via tabroom.com.

Each school will be charged an entry fee for each student, $5.00 per single event and $10.00 per partner entry. There is also $20.00 per school for initial entry.

There will be no fees for drops, additions or changes up to Wednesday, November 4^th at 4:00pm. Any changes after will be assessed as a $10.00 penalty.

If you plan to arrive late or need to contact us on the day of the tournament we ask you to please text us at the cell numbers provided below.

Concessions: Due to the difficulty of leaving the building we will offer concessions. Starting upon arrival we will offer a free pancake breakfast for all competitors. After the first round we will have options available for purchase. Cash and cards can be used.

Rules: We will conduct all MHSA sanctioned AA events according to the 2026-2027 MHSA Handbook, except as noted below:

- Internet usage during debate rounds will be allowed and will follow Use of Internet-Enabled Devices in Debate Events as outlined the NSDA Unified High School Handbook.

- Judging rules will be waived as follows: any person 18 and older no longer in high school may judge any round of competition they did not compete in the previous year.

- Legislative debate will be held as two house congressional debate rounds. See below for specific rules.

Arrival: We ask that you wait until 7:15am to enter the building. Students are to enter the building by the south end student parking lot only (Follow the signs). Coaches will enter first and verify roster then escort students to the café. Ensure every student, coach and visitor is listed in tabroom. This is how people are allowed to enter the school. If they are not listed in tabroom they will be denied entry and escorted off the property, this will include drivers. We can add names upon arrival.

- Students are reminded that they are guests and should act as such. No tampering with classrooms, computers, or teacher and/or student materials! Coaches are expected to monitor their students.

- Students are not permitted in any classroom without the presence of a coach or judge. This will be enforced per MHSA rules.

- Student are not permitted to roam or wander around the building. They must return and stay in the café between rounds.

- Students are only allowed to enter through the main entrance door. It is suggested we do not leave the building as verification is required upon reentry. We will not hold rounds for leaving the building.

- Students are not to make any physical contact with any judge or adult not a part of their team. This includes shaking hands, fist bumps or high fives.

- Students are not allowed to open or hold doors for any individual to include teammates or coaches. No exterior door will be opened or propped open.

- Students should only use the main entrance for exiting. Other doors will not be opened to allow entry.

Schedule: There will be a total of 3 preliminary rounds, semi-final and final round. Speech/

Drama events with less than 12 people will only break to final rounds. Speech/Drama events with less than 8 people will only have 3 cumulative rounds. Debate will have semi-final and final rounds only. Round robin will be used in a limited number of competitors are in any debate round.

*times may change depending on judge availability

Legislative Debate Rules:

In an attempt to try new things, we will be running Legi rounds like congressional debates with a few updates.

Docket: Bills are due to be sent via tabroom or Jason_burleigh@gfps.k12.mt.us by Oct 30^th at 8pm. A docket will be set by the following Monday and will be posted to tabroom and emailed out. The docket will be at least 6 bills with at least one bill from each school and will cover each of the general topics. If more bills are needed to fill the docket the national docket will be used.

Round time & PO: Each round will be equal to 10 min for every student assigned to the room. Every student will take the role of PO for 10 minutes each. Order will be determined by the MHSA procedures.

Precedence/Recency: We will use the order provided in tabroom and explained in the MHSA rules for speaking order and questions.

Roberts Rule of Order: We will follow allowed motions as per MHSA rules with the addition of personal privilege.

Speaking time: We will follow MHSA rules for speaking time.

Side Quests/Events:

The Reaping:

This tournament will be themed Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. As such we will conduct a reaping of students during the final round at approximately 4pm. Each school or district may elect one person to be reaped from their district. We will have a couple simple competitions for the students to play. Rules will be forwarded closer to the tournament date.

Crockpot Sweeps:

We know some of the coaches have some wonderful recipes they love to show off. We are encouraging each school to bring one dish to share in the hospitality room. The judges will vote for their favorite and there will be prize for the top dish. We have a limited number of spaces for crockpots, but we also have ovens and cooktops available. It can be a main course, appetizer, side or even a dessert. Please bring your item to room 224 and make sure it is labeled with your school code. We will send out a signup later, so we know who is all participating.

Logistics:

Extemporaneous Draw room will be in room 401, located in the STEM building directly behind the main building. Students will use the walkway and will be checked in upon entering the building.

Tabroom: Will be in the Room 227. Coaches not assigned to tabroom will be in the media center on the first floor. Saturday school will be running from 8am – 12pm we ask to please stay quiet until this time.

- Coaches are not allowed to interact with any student that is not part of their school

Hospitality: Will be available for judges and coaches in room 224.

Concessions: Due to strict protocols with students and adult interactions door dash is not recommended. Students will not be allowed to communicate with delivery drivers. Concessions are being provided and will be available to purchase. Tabroom has been set up to place food orders ahead of time. Orders can be invoiced to the school or placed and paid for by the students. We will accept cash and card payments.

A pancake breakfast is being provided free of charge for all students upon arrival.

Awards: Will be in the Gym immediately following completion of the final rounds at approximately 6:30pm or earlier.

Topics:

Policy: The United States federal government should establish national health insurance in the United States

Lincoln/Douglas: Outer space colonization is a moral imperative

Public Forum: The United States federal government should enact a moratorium on hyperscale data center construction

Legislative: Foreign –Critical Minerals

Domestic – Literacy

*Novice will use Varsity topics. DO NOT use novice NSDA topics