The Thornton Academy Speech and Debate Teams are pleased to invite you to our tournament on Saturday, January 6, 2018.

Registration deadline: 8 p.m. January 4 through Tabroom.com.
Judge hire request deadline: 8 p.m. January 5
Judge entry deadline: 8 p.m. January 5
Fees and judge obligations frozen (nonrefundable): 8 p.m. January 5
Drop deadline: 8 p.m. January 5

Any questions, please contact David Arenstam, Tournament Director, by email, phone, or text: [email protected], 207-229-4377.

Registration

Registration must be completed through Tabroom.com by 8 p.m. Thursday, January 4.

Entry fees

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

Drops

Drops and changes will be accepted until Friday, January 5 at 8 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.

Events (this is an all-events tournament)

• LD: 3 levels, if numbers allow
• PF: 2 levels, if numbers allow
• 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 be allowed at this tournament on a case-by-case basis. Please let the tournament director know if you plan to enter a maverick.

Debate topics

LD resolution

Resolved: Plea bargaining ought to be abolished in the United States criminal justice system.

PF resolution

Resolved: Spain should grant Catalonia its independence.

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 5:00 p.m. Friday, January 5. Submit requests to hire judges via Tabroom.com by 11:55 p.m. Thursday, January 4.

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 encourage the judge 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 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: Light 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 snacks will be provided for coaches and judges.

Awards

Awards Sweeps for Speech and Debate (LD and PF) and Congressional – 1st three places

Individual awards for 1st – 3rd in each speech and debate category. Please note that ties in record will be broken according to MFA guidelines.

Tabulation of awards follows standards adopted by MFA.

Schedule

8:00-8:30 Registration (arrive early, please)
8:35 Judges meeting in Judges’ Lounge; Student meeting in Cafeteria
9:00 Rounds begin following briefings
5:00 Awards (sooner if possible) in the cafeteria

Accommodations

We aim to make competition accessible and welcoming to all who wish to participate. Tournament participants can find gender-neutral accommodations in the library and the art wing near the auditorium entrance.

Coaches or students should reach out to the tournament host to request gender-neutral or ADA accommodations.

Directions

438 Main Street, Saco, ME 04072

Buses should park in the back parking lot near the football stadium.  Entrance through the front door, please.