The Falmouth High School Speech and Debate Team is pleased to invite you to the Harvest Hoorah All Events Tournament on November 7, 2015.

Registration deadline: 6 p.m. Nov. 4
Judge hire request deadline: 6 p.m. Nov. 4
Drop deadline: 5 p.m. Nov. 6

Avoid drop fees by calling or texting the MFA hotline: (207) 370-4632

Registration

Registration must be made at Tabroom.com by 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4.

Any questions, please contact:

Lyndsy Denk (general questions, Congress)
[email protected]
(207) 659-3071 (call or text)

Jessie Grearson (Speech)
[email protected]
(h) (207) 797-6083
(c) (207) 317-7550

Josh Denk (Debate)
[email protected]
(207) 272-6951 (call or text)

Drops

Drops will be accepted until Friday, November 6 at 5:00 p.m. Invoices will be prepared at that time.

No late adds will be accepted. Team fees are fixed as of this time (i.e. If you drop a student after 5 p.m., you still pay for them.).

In addition, drops at registration will be assessed an additional charge of $10.00 per student.

Confirm your roster by calling or texting the MFA line (207) 370-4632 while en route to the tournament. Communicate drops or “all present.” This saves you the drop fee and keeps the tournament on schedule.

Registration Fees

Entry fees are:

• Individual events: $7.00 per entry (new schools $3.50)
• Teams (Duo and PF): $14 (the equivalent of two entries)
• Ensemble: Capped at $21

Entry fee caps:

• $140 per event
• $210 per school entering in multiple events

Judge Requirements

Please have all judges finalized by 5:00 p.m. Friday, November 6.

Help the meet run smoothly and fairly by supplying your required judges and by providing them with training in the category they are committed to. Remember a parent cannot judge the category in which their child is competing.

• LD: one judge for every 2 entries
• PF: one judge for every 2 teams
• Speech: one judge for every 5 entries
• Congressional Debate: one judge for every 5 entries

Fractional entries round-up (i.e., three LD entries = 2 judges).

Per event category, the third, fifth and seventh judge must be neutral.

Update your judge roster on Tabroom.com with:

• Affiliation (unaffiliated, “formerly coached…”)
• Conflicts (“parent of…”, knows competitor from another school)
• Availability (“must leave by…”)
• Experience (“trained in…”, “former competitor in…”, “national qualifier in…”)

Email any questions or complicated situations to Lyndsy.

Judges are expected to be available for all rounds of competition. Half day judging is encouraged, but you must provide two half judges to equal one judge (ex. one available a.m. and the other p.m.).

Large teams: Consider cross-training judges to make them more versatile. We hope to have separate Congress judge panels for a.m. and p.m.

Hire Requests

Judge hire fee: $60 per judge.

We have a limited number of extra judges available for first-come-first-serve hire. Submit any hire requests via Tabroom.com by 6 p.m. Wednesday,  November 4.

In the event we cannot fulfill your hire request, we may ask you to drop entries to ensure tournament capacity.

Timers

Judges should bring some sort of timer/stopwatch. There are very few timers available for those who need them.

Events

• LD: 3 levels, if numbers allow
• PF: 2 levels, if numbers allow
• CD: Sen/House, as needed
• Speech: All 13 categories listed in the Maine Speech Handbook

Novice and Junior Varsity Events

Per by-laws, Novice Prose, Novice Poetry, Novice Lincoln-Douglas, and Novice Public Forum are for students who are competing in their first year of high school forensics.

Generally, Junior Varsity Lincoln-Douglas is for second year debaters and first year debaters who have enjoyed success.

Generally, Varsity Lincoln-Douglas and Varsity Public Forum are for debaters with more than a year of experience, or for students who wish to move up and try a high level of competition.

Coaches retain discretion in placement due to unique circumstances. Please feel free to contact the tournament director for help in placement of students if needed.

Topics

LD November/December resolution:

Resolved: In the United States criminal justice system, jury nullification ought to be used in the face of perceived injustice.

PF November resolution:

Resolved: In response to the current crisis, a government should prioritize the humanitarian needs of refugees over its national interests.

Congressional Debate Legislation

A docket will be posted to maineforensic.org no later than Monday, November 2.

Food

Students: Breakfast items, lunch and snacks will be on sale for students in the cafeteria. Students should not leave the school.

Coach and judges: Complimentary breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks will be provided for coaches and judges.

Awards

Sweeps: To the first three places in each event category (Speech, Debate (inclusive of PF and LD), and Congress).

Individual awards: To the first three places in each event/level.

Schedule

8:00-8:30 Check-in

8:45 Judges meeting in Judges’ Lounges, Student meeting in Cafeterias

9:00 Rounds begin

11:30 Lunches begin (Judges’ and Student lounges)

Awards at 5:00 (sooner if possible)

Tournament Venue

Competition will be held in both the high school and elementary school. The buildings are walking distance, but not linked by a direct path. Debate and Congress students will be relocated for the awards ceremony—dress accordingly.

Each school will host a Judges’ Lounge, Student Lounge, and Tabulation Room. Volunteers and signs will direct you upon arrival.

Schools may check in at either school, but should then send competitors immediately to:

• Speech: Elementary School
• Debate and Congress: High School

Directions to Falmouth Schools

Use Google Maps to get to 74 Woodville Rd, Falmouth, ME 04105.