The Cape Elizabeth High School Speech and Debate Team  is pleased to invite you to the Winter Blast ~ All Events Tournament on January 11, 2020.

Registration deadline:  Wednesday, January 8 at 11:55 p.m.
Judge hire request deadline: Wednesday, January 8 at 8:00 p.m.
Judge entry deadline:  Friday, January 10 at 8:00 p.m.
Fees and judge obligations frozen (nonrefundable):  Friday, January 10 at 11:00 p.m.
Drop deadline:  Saturday, January 11 at 7:00 a.m.
Nuisance fees for drops applied:  Saturday, January 11 at 8:00 a.m.  

Any questions, please contact Lisa Melanson, Tournament Director, by email, phone, or text: lmelanson@capeelizabethschools, call or text:  207-899-8036. 

Registration

Registration must be completed through Tabroom.com by 11:55 p.m. Wednesday, January 8.

Entry Fees

$7.00 per entry. Teams (Duo and PF) are two entries ($14).
Entry fees will not be capped for this tournament.

Drops

Drops and changes will be accepted until Saturday, January 11 at 8:00 a.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. Drops after this time 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

LD: 3 levels, if numbers allow.

PF: 2 levels, if numbers allow
Congressional Debate: Senate and House (Senate: varsity; House – 3 chambers (JV)

Speech: All Maine State Tournament categories

Event/Division Definitions

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, but a maverick (no more than one per team) will be accommodated per request of the tournament host. 

Debate Topics

LD Resolution

Resolved: States ought to eliminate their nuclear arsenals.

PF Resolution

Resolved:  The U.S. should end its economic sanctions against Venezuela.

Congress Docket

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; six CD 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
• CD: one judge for every 5 entries*
• IE: one judge for every 5 entries 

Note: for this tournament, and in preparation for the NSDA qualifying tournament and States, judges must be unaffiliated within their chamber. Coaches and parents, for example, may only judge a chamber in which they do not have a team member or child present. 

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 7:00 p.m. Friday, January 10.  Submit requests to hire judges via Tabroom.com by Wednesday, January 8.

If you have extra judges, feel free to broker them over the coaches’ listserv or contact the tournament host. The host will release any unhired judges by 8:00 p.m., Friday, December 14.

Alumni

Our tournament coincides with college students’ availability to judge while on break between semesters. I encourage you to reach out to your Speech & Debate alumni. Joe Pelletier is planning an alumni panel discussion to take place after 4th rounds and before awards. Note: 2019 grads are eligible to judge novice categories only. 

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: Breakfast items, lunch and snacks will be on sale for students in the cafeteria. 

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

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)
8:35 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. Bathrooms: Students can access student bathrooms of their choice. There is an elevator for those with mobility issues. Coaches or students should reach out to the tournament host to request other ADA accommodations. 

Directions

345 Ocean House Rd, Cape Elizabeth, Maine.  If your bus takes the scenic route down Shore Road, you’ll get a nice view of the ocean and Ft. Williams Park.  

NOTE: Once at CEHS, buses and cars proceed down the school driveway toward the rear of the building, to the “music wing” (adjacent to outdoor playscape).  This entrance is most convenient for anyone with mobility issues. Buses can drop students off here then park in one of the upper parking lots.