The Falmouth High School Speech and Debate Team is pleased to invite you to a Harvest Hoorah Speech Tournament on November 9, 2019.

Special notes

Public Forum will run the new NSDA timing rules so that:

• Summary speech is 3 minutes per speaker
• Prep time is 3 minutes per team

The fee for missing a judge is $65. Hiring a judge will remain at $60.

Dates and deadlines

Registration deadline: 11:55 p.m. Wednesday, November 6
Judge hire request deadline: 11:55 p.m. Wednesday, November 6
Judge entry deadline: 8:00 p.m. Friday, November 8
Fees frozen (nonrefundable): 8:00 p.m. Friday, November 8
Drop deadline (nuisance fee applied): 8:00 a.m. Saturday, November 9

Any questions, please contact one of the Falmouth hosts:

Lyndsy Denk, Speech Coach; [email protected]; 207-659-3071 (call or text)

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

Ellen Parent, Debate Coach; [email protected]; 207-907-9845 (call or text)

Registration

Registration must be completed through Tabroom.com by 11:55 p.m. Wednesday, November 6.

Entry Fees

• $7.00 per entry (New schools $3.50)
• Teams (Duo and PF) are two entries ($14)

Entry fees are NOT capped for this tournament.

Drops

Coaches can log onto Tabroom to make drops and changes until 8:00 a.m. the day of the tournament, at which time any changes will be assessed a $10 nuisance fee. Late add requests are not encouraged and will be accepted only at the discretion of the tournament host.

Call or text the MFA hotline (207-370-4632) Saturday morning once you are en route to the tournament to confirm your team and judge attendance. Drops communicated prior to arrival will be waived the $10 penalty.

Events

• LD: 3 levels, if numbers allow
• PF: 2 levels, if numbers allow
  • NOTE: Competitors should plan to use the new NSDA timing rules that extend Summary to 3 minutes per speaker and prep to 3 minutes per team.
• Congressional Debate: Senate and House, as needed
• Speech: All Maine State Tournament categories.

Novice level is for students competing in their first year of high school forensics (i.e. first year competitors). Note that Oratorical Declamation is limited to freshmen and sophomore students only.

Junior varsity level is primarily for second-year competitors, but also first year competitors who have enjoyed success.

Varsity level is for competitors with more than one year of experience who wish to try a higher level of competition.

Maverick in Public Forum Debate is a single-person team. A maverick WILL NOT be allowed at this tournament.

Debate Topics

LD resolution

Resolved: The United States ought to eliminate subsidies for fossil fuels.

PF resolution

Resolved: The benefits of the United States federal government’s use of offensive cyber operations outweigh the harms.

Congress

The docket will be posted no later than one week prior to the tournament.

Judge Requirements

Encourage all judges to create a Tabroom.com account and link to your school as there will be online balloting. The option for paper balloting will be available.

Help the meet run smoothly and fairly by supplying your required, trained judges, including unaffiliated, in accordance with MFA rules.

Note judge conflicts or shadow needs in your judge registration on Tabroom.com. Email the tournament host for any complex judge situations. Remember a parent cannot judge the category in which their child is competing.

Fractional entries round up (i.e. eight Speech entries = 2 judges). Third, fifth, and seventh judge must be neutral/unaffiliated for Speech, LD, PF.

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

Judges are expected to be available for ALL rounds of competition. Two half judges (ex. morning and afternoon) is acceptable. Fines will be assessed for judges departing early without a replacement unless cleared through Tabulation. Please note that the missing judge fee for this tournament is $65.

Hiring Judges

There will be a limited number of extra judges available for hire. Fees for purchasing judges will be $60 per judge.

Have all your judges finalized by 8:00 p.m. November 8. Submit requests to hire judges via Tabroom.com by 11:55 p.m. Wednesday, November 6.

If you have extra judges, have them enroll in the judge hire exchange or contact the Tournament Director so the judge can be added to the judge hire pool. The host will release any unhired judges by 8:00 p.m. November 8.

If you have extra judges encourage them to register with Tabroom.com and enter themselves into the hire pool.

Online balloting

While paper ballots will be available, we are encouraging all judges to participate in online balloting through Tabroom.com. To participate, judges must:

• Have an account on Tabroom.com that is linked to your school’s judge list.
• Bring their own device (preferably a laptop or tablet with keyboard attached for ease of use) for indicating their adjudications and comments.

To read ballots at the end of the day, students should also have an account linked to your team on Tabroom.com.

Food

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

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

Awards

Sweeps: Top three places in Speech, Debate, and Congressional Debate

Individual awards for first through third in each category, and honorable mention as determined by Tab.

Note that ties in record will be broken first by MFA guidelines. Tabulation of awards follows standards adopted by MFA.

Schedule

8:00-8:30 Registration (arrive early, please)
8:45 Judges meeting in Judges’ Lounge; Student meeting in Cafeteria
9:00 Rounds begin following briefings
5:00 Awards (sooner if possible)

Accommodations

We aim to make competition accessible and welcoming to all who wish to participate. Tournament participants can find gender-neutral accommodations down the hallway by the gymnasium.

The Falmouth High School Speech and Debate Team encourages individuals to choose the bathroom of their choice. We also embrace a policy of zero tolerance in relation to harassment. For questions or concerns, see Lyndsy Denk or tabulation staff.

Directions

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