Welcome to the 2nd Annual Fall for One and One for Fall

Welcome to Morrilton High School for the River Valley Speech and Debate League’s 2nd Annual Fall for One and One for Fall Tournament, held October 8 and 10, 2026.

The first Fall for One and One for Fall was hosted by Bigelow High School in 2024. This year, Morrilton continues the tradition as we bring together students, coaches, judges, families, and guests for two days of speech, debate, learning, and community.

This is an in-person state-qualifying tournament for the Arkansas State Championship.

Why “Fall for One and One for Fall”?

The name is a play on the famous musketeer motto:

“All for one and one for all.”

But it also fits something that has become an important part of the River Valley Speech and Debate League.

We compete against one another, but we also help one another.

Our coaches share lesson plans, activities, ideas, tournament materials, and what they have learned with one another. When another coach has a problem, needs advice, or simply needs someone who understands what it is like to run a speech and debate program, the other coaches are there to lend an ear.

That same spirit can be seen in our students.

They may spend one round trying to defeat someone from another school and, a few hours later, be sitting beside that same student cheering them on.

When their own competition ends, they do not necessarily pack up and disappear. They watch finals. They support teammates. They congratulate competitors from other schools. They help new students understand what is happening. They learn from the people who beat them, and sometimes those competitors become friends.

That is the idea behind Fall for One and One for Fall.

Competition matters.

But the people matter more.

Our Mission

The River Valley Speech and Debate League was founded to provide local, affordable, robust competition for students in the River Valley, with particular attention to smaller schools and programs that may have limited resources.

Our original service area centered on Yell, Logan, Pope, Conway, Perry, and Johnson Counties, along with free instructional resources, workshops for teachers and students, and regular opportunities to compete close to home.

While state qualification requirements have changed how qualifying tournaments must operate, our purpose has not:

Keep barriers low. Create meaningful opportunities. Follow the rules. Advocate for students. Help one another grow.

A stronger program at one school does not have to mean a weaker program somewhere else.

When coaches share what works, when experienced competitors help new competitors, and when schools support one another, the entire league becomes stronger.

Tournament Events

This tournament currently includes Original Oratory, Informative Speaking, Impromptu Speaking, Poetry, Declamation, Duet Improv, Storytelling, Dramatic/Song Lyric Interpretation, IPDA Debate, and Public Forum Debate.

We also continue working to expand access for multilingual competitors, including opportunities involving Spanish-language debate, Spanish-language interpretation, and English-language performance opportunities for ESL students when entries and tournament logistics permit.

Our Schedule Is a Little Different

RVSDL tournaments intentionally use an unconventional Thursday/Saturday split. For this tournament, competition will take place on Thursday, October 8, and Saturday, October 10.

Please check the posted tournament schedule carefully so you know when your events occur.

Our individual-event preliminary rounds also work differently from many tournaments.

Rather than performing Poetry once Thursday, once Saturday morning, and once Saturday afternoon, for example, competitors may be assigned a single approximately two-hour event block. During that block, they perform their piece three separate times for three preliminary-round judges.

In other words, competitors function almost like they are “double entered” within the same event block: they move between assigned rooms and complete all three preliminary performances during that window.

This system allows us to offer substantial competition while keeping the tournament compact and affordable.

Students and coaches should read the schedule carefully. Do not assume the tournament follows a traditional round-by-round format.

Before You Arrive

Please use the Documents / Uploaded Files section of this Tabroom tournament as your primary source for tournament information.

There you will find the materials you need, including the:

Tournament Guide • Schedule • Event Rules • Procedures • Additional Tournament Information

Please review those documents before contacting tournament staff with logistical questions; many common questions are answered there.

Judges & Tournament Costs

This is a small, community-centered tournament, and keeping participation affordable is a major part of our mission.

For that reason, we are not seeking paid judging services and are not interested in solicitations or requests to hire paid judges. Our tournament relies on school-provided judges, coaches, volunteers, alumni, parents, and members of our communities.

Avoiding unnecessary judging and staffing expenses is one of the ways we are able to keep tournament costs low for participating schools and students.

It also reflects the larger philosophy behind this tournament.

The RVSDL works because people contribute.

Schools provide judges. Coaches share resources. Parents volunteer. Alumni return. Students help one another. Communities make space for these opportunities to exist.

Fall for One and One for Fall.

Most Importantly—Welcome.

Whether this is your first speech and debate tournament or one of hundreds, we hope you find a place here to compete seriously, learn something, meet people, take some risks, and enjoy the experience.

Try to win your rounds.

Cheer for your teammates.

When you are eliminated, go watch somebody else.

When you see someone do something well, learn from them.

When a new competitor looks lost, help them.

When another school succeeds, congratulate them.

We believe competition can be rigorous without becoming hostile. We believe students can desperately want to win and still genuinely celebrate someone else when they do. And we believe coaches and programs become stronger when knowledge is shared rather than guarded.

The first Fall for One and One for Fall brought that idea to Bigelow in 2024.

In 2026, Morrilton carries it forward.

Welcome to Morrilton High School.

Welcome to the River Valley Speech and Debate League.

Fall for One and One for Fall.