The Maine District of the National Speech and Debate Association cordially invites member schools to attend the Maine District Tournament on Saturday February 6, 2016 at Poland Regional High School.

Note that Tournament Registration forms have changed.  Please review the NSDA tournament manual, competition event guide and registration forms carefully!

Registration deadline: 11:30 p.m. Saturday, January 30, 2016 via Joy of Tournaments at: http://www.joyoftournaments.com/nfl/maine/  Tournament entry forms must be printed, signed and mailed to the Tournament Director after this date

Registration changes: are allowed until 9:00 a.m. Thursday, February 4, 2016 via Joy of Tournaments at: http://www.joyoftournaments.com/nfl/maine/  No entries after this date are permitted. Drops after this date will be assessed a $10 fee.

Any questions, please contact Kris Deveau, Tournament Director, by email, phone, or text: [email protected]  207-319-6131

Please arrive at Poland Regional High School between 8:00 and 8:30am on Saturday.  Round I in the Debate events, Congress and Extemp Prep will begin by 9:15am with Speech Extemp Prep at 9:00 and rounds to start at 9:30am.

Participation and Forms

Registration deadline: 11:30 p.m. Saturday, January 30, 2016 via Joy of Tournaments at: http://www.joyoftournaments.com/nfl/maine/  Tournament entry forms must be printed, signed and mailed to the Tournament Director after this date.

Schools must be members of the NSDA, Maine District to participate in the Tournament. Schools are responsible for complying will all rules in the High School Chapter, Rules, and Tournament Operations Manual.

Students must have at least 25 points on record AND be registered as a member on the NSDA website to participate.  If there is a yellow star to the right of the student’s name, they have registered their membership.

Registration forms are populated automatically from the Joy of Tournaments website and must be printed and mailed to the Tournament Director before the tournament, preferably postmarked Monday February 1, 2016: Kris Deveau, NSDA District Chair, 200 Gamage Avenue, Auburn ME 04210.

Print and mail:

• School Consent Form
• Registration forms for Speech, Debate and Congress
• Single Entry Letters of Intent
• Interpretation Bibliography

Note for POI entries: Because the bibliography form includes only one bibliography slot for the entry, you must write in the additional piece citations after printing. Download a blank bibliography form here.

Meals and Concessions

Events

Lincoln-Douglas: limit 4 entries per school

Public Forum: limit 4 entries per school

Congressional Debate (Senate and House): limit 2 entries in Senate, House per NSDA Manual (based on school strength). NOTE: We must have 8 schools participating in Senate and minimum 16 students in the House in order to offer 2 chambers.

Speech:

• OO, DI, HI, DUO, IX, DX: 4 entries per school
• POI and IS: 2 entries per school

NOTE: We must have minimum 4 entries from 2 different schools to offer each event.

Entry Fees

$7.00 per individual event entry. Teams (Duo and PF) are two entries ($14).

NOTE: All entry fees must be paid in full by check or cash before the start of the Tournament. All fees due to the National Office must also be paid before the start of the Tournament. A signed purchase order from the school will be accepted for National Office fees, as well as checks and cash.

Topics and Dockets

Docket for Congressional Debate.

Lincoln-Douglas January/February resolution

Resolved: In the United States, private ownership of handguns ought to be banned.

Public Forum February resolution

Resolved: The United States federal government should adopt a carbon tax.

Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking (DX)

Round 1 – Elections
Round 2 –  Economy
Round 3 – This week in the news

Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking (IX)

Round 1 – China
Round 2 – Economy
Round 3 – This week in the news

Code of Honor

All participants are expected to uphold the standards of the NSDA

“As a member of the National Speech & Debate Association, I pledge to uphold the highest standards of integrity, humility, respect, leadership and service in the pursuit of excellence.”

Integrity: An honor society member obeys the highest ethical standards and adheres to the rules of the organization. Members recognize that integrity is central to earning the trust, respect, and support of one’s peers. Integrity encompasses the highest regard for honesty, civility, justice, and fairness.

Humility: A member does not regard him or herself more highly than others. Regardless of a person’s level of success, he or she always looks beyond oneself to appreciate the inherent value of others.

Respect: A member respects individual differences and fosters diversity. He or she promotes tolerance, inclusion, and empowerment for people from a variety of backgrounds.

Leadership: A member influences others to take positive action toward productive change. Members commit to thoughtful and responsible leadership that promotes the other core values in the Code of Honor.

Service: A member exercises the talents he or she has been given to provide service to his or her peers, community, and the activity. At all times a member is prepared to work constructively to improve the lives of others.

Judge Requirements

Help the meet run smoothly and fairly by supplying your required, trained judges!

Note judge conflicts in your judge registration on Joy of Tournaments. 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. three LD entries = 2 judges). NOTE – the Third, fifth, and seventh judge must be neutral for Speech, LD, PF.

• LD: one judge for every 2 LD entries
• PF: one judge for every 2 teams
• Speech: one judge for every 3 entries
• Congress:  Must be unaffiliated to any schools seated in the chamber.  Please help source eligible judges for the tournament

Judges are expected to be available for ALL rounds of competition. Fines will be assessed for judges departing early unless cleared through Tabulation in advance.

Hiring Judges

Attending schools are expected to source their own judges.  Tournament hires will NOT be available.

If you have extra judges, notify the NSDA member schools so they may hire to fulfill judge obligations.