UPDATE 12/5: Due to expected inclement weather, this tournament has been postponed to 12/20. Please adjust your registration in Tabroom.com accordingly.
UPDATE 12/3: Extended registration deadline.
The Poland Regional High School Team is pleased to invite you to the Nutcracker Sweeps All Events Tournament on December 6,2014.
WOW! Bring two donations to Toys for Tots and we’ll discount $5 from your registration total.
NOTE the adjusted Sweeps format below.
Registration deadline: EXTENDED 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 3 17,2014 via Tabroom.com.
Any questions, please contact D’arcy Robinson, Tournament Director, by email or phone:
- [email protected] or [email protected]
- (w) 998-5400 ex 457
- (c) 207-583-7964
- (h) 207-583-6981
Registration
Registration must be completed through Tabroom.com by 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 3,2014.
Drops
Drops and changes will be accepted until Friday, December 5 19, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. Invoices will be prepared at 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. Drops communicated prior to arrival will be waived the $10 penalty.
Entry Fees
- $7.00 per entry (New schools $3.50)
- Teams (Duo and PF) are two entries ($14)
- Ensemble is $21 (max)
Entry fees will be capped at $140 per event or $210 per school entering multiple events.
Bring two donations to Toys for Tots and receive $5 off your registration invoice.
Events
- LD: 3 levels, if numbers allow
- PF: 2 levels, if numbers allow
- Congressional Debate: Senate and two House chambers, as needed
- Speech: All categories
Novice level is for students competing in their first year of high school forensics (i.e. first year competitors).
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 November/December resolution
Resolved: The “right to be forgotten” from Internet searches ought to be a civil right.
PF December resolution
Resolved: For-profit prisons in the United States should be banned.
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.
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
Judges are expected to be available 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, December 5. Submit requests to hire judges via Tabroom.com by Monday, December 2, 2014.
If you have extra judges, 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., Friday, December 5.
Timers
Please try to have judges bring some sort of timer/stopwatch. There are very few timers available for those who need them.
Food
Breakfast items, lunch and snacks will be on sale for students in the cafeteria. If students do not want to purchase food, they should bring lunch and snacks. Students should not leave the school.
Complimentary breakfast and lunch will be provided for coaches and judges.
Poland is a nut-free school and students are requested to not eat nut products in the school.
Awards
Sweeps
Experimental format: Combined for Speech, Debate and Congressional Debate and awarded to the top three schools according to MPA size divisions.
Divisions are calculated according to the size of the program (number of students) and size of the school. This generally follows MPA guidelines. Example: Nontown’s overall student population makes it an A school, but due to size of program is a B school.
I have included a potential breakdown of schools and their division placement but will finalize after registration closes. Speech will go three deep, debate and Congress five. I realize that this is a new system, but I thought it might be interesting to try. The hope is to unify the activity and spread the sweepstakes awards around to more schools for their achievements.
| A schools: | B schools: | C schools: |
| Bangor Cape Falmouth Lawrence Skowhegan |
Brunswick Edward Little Erskine Academy Lewiston Lincoln Academy Maranacook |
Cheverus Deering Greely Morse Orono Poland Scarborough York |
Individual Awards
Individual awards for first through third in each category, and honorable mention as determined by Tab.
Note that debate ties in record will be broken first by head to head, then strength of competition, and finally by speaker points. Speaker ties are broken by the greatest number of highest rankings.
Tabulation of awards follows standards adopted by MFA.
Schedule
Please be aware that we might have to flight debate rounds.
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
4:30 Awards (sooner if possible)
Student Lounge: Cafeteria. Students are asked to remain in the cafeteria when not in rounds.
Judges Lounge: Living Center. Follow the signs to the back of the building, first floor..
Tabulation Room: Library
Awards: Auditorium
Directions
We are located approximately 45 minutes from Portland, half hour from Lewiston, and two hours from Bangor.
Please plan accordingly to arrive on time.
Northbound or Southbound
Take Exit 63 Gray-New Gloucester. Bear to the right. Take 26 North through Gray. Follow the signs for 26 north to Poland and Norway. The high school is about eight miles down on your left.
We look forward to having you all at our school.
D’arcy F. Robinson, Coach