The Poland Regional High School Speech and Debate Team is pleased to invite you to The Nutcracker Suite All Events Tournament  on Dec. 9, 2017.

Registration deadline: 11:55 p.m. Dec. 6, 2017 through Tabroom.com.
Judge hire request deadline: 11:55 p.m. Dec. 6, 2017
Drop deadline: 11:55 p.m. Dec. 8, 2017

Any questions, please contact D’Arcy Robinson, Tournament Director, by email, phone, or text: [email protected], (c) 207-583-7964, (h) 207-583-6981.

Registration

Registration must be completed through Tabroom.com by 11:55 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017.

Entry Fees

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

This is a pay to play tournament. Entry fees are not capped.

Drops

Drops and changes will be accepted until Friday, Dec. 8 at 11:55 p.m. Invoices will be prepared after that time. Late add requests are not encouraged and will be accepted only at the discretion of the tournament host.

Saturday drops at registration will be assessed an additional charge of $10 per entry.

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.

Events

All Maine State Tournament events.

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 freshman and sophomore students only.

In Debate, JV 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.

Debate Topics

LD December

Resolved: Wealthy nations have an obligation to provide development assistance to other nations.

PF  December

Resolved: NCAA student athletes ought to be recognized as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Congress

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

Judge Requirements

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

Encourage all judges to create a Tabroom.com account and link to tshe school as there will be online balloting.

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. three LD entries = 2 judges). 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 or Congressional Debate: one judge for every 5 entries

Teams are expected to have judge coverage for ALL rounds of competition. Fines will be assessed for judges departing early unless cleared through Tabulation.

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 6:00 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8, 2017. Submit requests to hire judges via Tabroom.com by 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017.

If you have extra judges, contact the Tournament Director so the judge can be added to the judge hire pool.

If you have extra judges:

• Contact the Tournament Director so the judge can be added to the judge hire pool.

OR

• Encourage the judge to register with Tabroom.com and enter themselves into the hire pool.

Food

Students: Breakfast items, lunch and snacks will be on sale for students in the cafeteria. Students should not leave the school or they may be in danger of forfeiting a round.

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

Awards

Sweeps: Top three places each for Speech, Debate, and Congress

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

8:15-8:30 Registration (arrive early, please)
8:40 Judges meeting in Judges’ Lounge; Student meeting in Cafeteria
9:00 Rounds begin following briefings—rounds will be posted as quickly as possible
5:00 Awards (sooner if possible)

Council of Nine will meet during tabulation of final results.

Directions

Use Google Maps or Map Quest to get to 1457 Maine St. Poland Maine.

Buses should park in the teacher parking lot by the soccer field.