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2014-2015 Parents’ Handbook

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First of all, THANK YOU very much, on behalf of the speech and debate team, for spending your time with forensics students! Most likely you will enjoy the experience, and be inspired by the performances you will see.

VOICES 2013-2014 Tournament Dates:

PHSSL District 10/15 Meets:   October Meet:  October 23 (Lower Merion) November Meet:  November 20 (Unionville) December Meet:  December 11 (Interboro) January Meet:  January 15 (Sun Valley - pending final approval) February 3 rounder:  February 5 (Marple-Newtown - pending final approval) Debate Districts:  February 19 - (Harriton) Speech Districts:  February 21 - (Harriton)

PHSSL States:- Fri. & Sat., March 20 & 21, 2015 – at Susquehanna Univ.

Katie FrazerFaculty Sponsor/Coach, Voices – Conestoga Speech and Debatefrazerc@tesd.net

John KoenigFaculty Advisor/Coach, Voices – Ethics Bowlkoenigj@tesd.net

Parents are needed to judge in order to allow Conestoga students to compete. League rules require that we bring one adult judge for each 5 speech entrants, and one adult judge for each pair of debate teams. If we cannot provide judges, we must cut team members. Judges are required to be well-prepared to judge the events. Debate and speech competitors always complain about “bad” judging. While this attitude may just be an excuse a student gives for not doing as well in a given round, we hope that no one will feel justified in ever complaining about Conestoga judges. We will provide sample rules and ballots so that you will know how to judge each event at our tournaments.

Naturally, a certain amount of subjectivity is unavoidable. However, with some guidance you can judge with confidence and provide an informed and useful ballot to the participants. Judge each round as best you can, following the guidelines that you will be given, those on the ballots, and using your own common sense and taste. We trust your judgment, and your decisions will not be questioned! You will be assigned to judge either a Speech Event or one of three Debate events.

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VOICES – Speech Event Descriptions

Oral Interpretation of Prose

Selections used in this event must be in prose form. Selections from drama are not to be used. The reader must hold the book or the manuscript. Each reader shall give a brief introduction to the reading. The purposes of the introduction are to arouse the interest of the audience and to provide the necessary background for the reading. All selections must be published or commercially available in print, audio or video form.

Contestants must bring the published copies of their selection in either print, audio or video form, with the title page or audio/video credits included to each PHSSL contest. Failure to provide the published copy or photocopy will result in disqualification from the tournament.

The contestant may sing up to 30 seconds when singing is part of the original selection. Violations will result in disqualification from the tournament.

The maximum time limit for the reading, including the introduction, shall be ten minutes. In all individual events, a grace period of thirty (30) seconds over the event is permitted without penalty. If a student is more than thirty (30) seconds over, that student may not be ranked first. Excessive overtime violations should be penalized more harshly.

Oral Interpretation of Poetry

Selections used in this event must be in poetic form. Speeches and selections from drama are not to be used. The reader must hold the book or manuscript. Each reader shall give a brief introduction to the reading. The purposes of the introduction are to arouse the interest of the audience and to provide the necessary background for the reading.

All selections must be published or commercially available in print, audio or video form. Contestants must bring the published copies of their selection in either print audio or video form, with the title page or audio/video credits included to each PHSSL contest. Failure to provide the published copy or photocopy will result in disqualification from the tournament.

The contestant may sing up to 30 seconds when singing is part of the original selection. Violations will result in disqualification from the tournament.

The maximum time limit for the reading, including the introduction, shall be ten minutes. In all individual events, a grace period of thirty (30) seconds over the event is permitted without penalty. If a student is more than thirty (30) seconds over, that student may not be ranked first. Excessive overtime violations should be penalized more harshly.

Impromptu Speaking (only offered at select tournaments)

The speech shall not exceed five minutes in length.

The speech must be delivered without the use of any notes. The student must bring the topic slip to the judge, or a copy of the topic written by the prep room judge. A student who does not speak on the topic drawn will be disqualified from the tournament.

In all individual events, a grace period of thirty (30) seconds over the event is permitted without penalty. If a student is more than thirty (30) seconds over, that student may not be ranked first. Excessive overtime violations should be penalized more harshly.

Dramatic Interpretation

The selection must be serious in nature. Cuttings from more than one published source are not allowed. All selections must be published or commercially available in print, audio, or video form.

Contestants must bring the published copies of their selection in either print, audio or video form with title page or audio/video credits included, to each PHSSL contest. Failure to provide the published copy or photocopy will result in disqualification from the tournament.

The selection is orally presented from memory to evoke a creative imagined response in the mind of the hearer. Characters should be created primarily by voice control and changes in facial expression. Mood and meaning are to be communicated through the use of the voice, gestures, pantomime, and body movement. The interpreter should project the character and action before him/her in the direction of the audience. Any movement, e.g. kneeling, falling down, lying down, which demonstrates acting rather than interpretation is prohibited.

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The contestant may sing up to 30 seconds when singing is part of the original scene. All forms of scenery, set, props, costumes, makeup etc., are prohibited. Violations will result in disqualification from the tournament.

The interpreter should maintain offstage focus rather than make eye contact with audience members except in case of direct address, e.g., the Stage Manager in Our Town. The interpreter shall give a brief introduction to the material. The purposes of the introduction are to arouse the interest of the audience and to provide the necessary background for full appreciation and understanding of the reading.

The maximum time limit, including introduction, is ten minutes. In all individual events, a grace period of thirty (30) seconds over the event time limits is permitted without penalty. If a student is more than thirty (30) seconds overtime, that student may not be ranked first in the round. Excessive time violations should be penalized more harshly.

Duo Interpretation

Cuttings from more than one published source are not allowed. All selections must be published or commercially available in print, audio, or video form. Contestants must bring the published copies of their selection in either print, audio or video form with title page or audio/video credits included, to each PHSSL contest. Failure to provide the published copy or photocopy will result in disqualification from the tournament.

Material may be serious, humorous, or both, and must be from only one source. Each speaker may present multiple characters. Speakers may not take lines belonging to one character and apply them to a different character, nor may they add lines to the selection.

Introduction and/or narration may be presented by one or both speakers. If lines from the selections are used in the introduction, the speakers must adhere to rules of the event. Mood and meaning are to be conveyed by use of the voice, gestures, pantomime, and body movement. The interpreter should project the characters and action before him/her in the direction of the audience. The selection is orally presented from memory to evoke a creative imagined response in the mind of the hearer.

Speakers may exchange places, pivot from side to side, turn around, or position themselves behind each other. The duo team may sing up to 30 seconds when singing is part of the original scene.

The violation of the following rules will result in disqualification from the tournament. They must remain standing. Any movement, e.g. kneeling, falling down, lying down, which demonstrates acting rather than interpretation is prohibited. Physical contact with each other is not allowed. No properties or costumes may be used. During dialogue, focal points are to be employed. During direct address, e.g., the Stage Manager in Our Town, eye contact is with specific audience members. Eye contact with specific audience members during introductions, narration and transition is required. The selection must begin from center stage.

Students qualify to the State Tournament as a team; no substitutions are allowed. The maximum time limit, including introduction, is ten minutes. In all individual events, a grace period of thirty (30) seconds over the event time limits is permitted without penalty. If a student is more than thirty (30) seconds overtime, that student may not be ranked first in the round. Excessive time violations should be penalized more harshly.

Humorous Interpretation

The selection must be humorous in nature. Cuttings from more than one published source are not allowed. All selections must be published or commercially available in print, audio, or video form. Contestants must bring the published copies of their selection in either print, audio or video form with title page or audio/video credits included, to each PHSSL contest. Failure to provide the published copy or photocopy will result in disqualification from the tournament.

The selection is orally presented from memory to evoke a creative imagined response in the mind of the hearer. Characters should be created primarily by voice control and changes in facial expression. Mood and meaning are to be communicated through the use of the voice, gestures, pantomime, and body movement. The interpreter should project the characters and action before him/her in the direction of the audience. Any movement, e.g. kneeling, falling down, lying down, which demonstrates acting rather than interpretation is prohibited. The contestant may sing up to 30 seconds when singing is part of the original scene. All forms of scenery, set, props, costumes, makeup, etc., are prohibited. Violations will result in disqualification from the tournament.

The interpreter should maintain offstage focus rather than make eye contact with audience members except in case of direct address, e.g., the Stage Manager in Our Town.The interpreter shall give a brief introduction to the material. The purposes of the introduction are to arouse the interest of the audience and to provide the necessary background for full appreciation and understanding of the reading. The maximum time limit, including introduction, is ten minutes. NO MINIMUM TIME REQUIREMENT.

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In all individual events, a grace period of thirty (30) seconds over the event is permitted without penalty. If a student is more than thirty (30) seconds over, that student may not be ranked first. Excessive overtime violations should be penalized more harshly.

Extemporaneous Speaking

The speech shall not exceed five minutes in length. The speech may be informative or persuasive in nature. Up to 50 words of notes may be used. The student must bring the topic slip drawn for that round, to the judge, or a copy of the topic written by the prep room judge. Substituting a different topic for the topic drawn will result in disqualification from the tournament.

Plagiarism or fabrication of evidence is prohibited and will result in a student being disqualified from the tournament.

In all individual events, a grace period of thirty (30) seconds over the event is permitted without penalty. If a student is more than thirty (30) seconds over, that student may not be ranked first. Excessive overtime violations should be penalized more harshly.

Extemporaneous Commentary

The speech shall not exceed seven minutes in length. The speech may be informative or persuasive in nature, but should express the speaker’s point of view on the topic. Up to 50 words of notes may be used. The student must bring the topic slip drawn for that round, to the judge, or a copy of the topic written by the prep room judge. Substituting a different topic for the topic drawn will result in disqualification from the tournament.

Plagiarism or fabrication of evidence is prohibited and will result in a student being disqualified from the tournament.

In all individual events, a grace period of thirty (30) seconds over the event is permitted without penalty. If a student is more than thirty (30) seconds over, that student may not be ranked first. Excessive overtime violations should be penalized more harshly.

Persuasive Speaking

Students must prepare to speak on a subject of their own choosing. The general purpose of the persuasive speech is to get the members of the audience to change or modify their beliefs, to believe more strongly, or to take a specific action.

The speech may not exceed ten minutes in length. The student is expected to speak extemporaneously. Notes and visual aids may be used. Violations of the following rules will result in a contestant being disqualified from the tournament. Quoted material shall not exceed a total of 150 words. Plagiarism or fabrication of evidence and extensive paraphrasing are strictly prohibited.

In all individual events, a grace period of thirty (30) seconds over the event is permitted without penalty. If a student is more than thirty (30) seconds over, that student may not be ranked first. Excessive overtime violations should be penalized more harshly.

Informative Speaking

Students must prepare to speak on a subject of their own choosing. The general purpose of the informative speech is for the members of the audience to gain understanding and/or knowledge.

The speech may not exceed seven minutes in length. The student is expected to speak extemporaneously. Notes and visual aids may be used. Violations of the following rules will result in a contestant being disqualified from the tournament. Quoted material shall not exceed a total of 150 words. Plagiarism or fabrication of evidence and extensive paraphrasing are strictly prohibited.

In all individual events, a grace period of thirty (30) seconds over the event is permitted without penalty. If a student is more than thirty (30) seconds over, that student may not be ranked first. Excessive overtime violations should be penalized more harshly.

Student Congress

Students will write an original bill to be presented to the legislature, and will argue both in favor of that bill, and in opposition to a bill presented by another student. Additional information may be found in the Congress Handbook.

Impromptu Speaking

Students draw three topics, select one, and deliver a speech on that topic not to exceed 5 minutes total thinking/speaking time.

VOICES – Debate Event Descriptions

Policy Cross Examination Debate (CX)

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Two-person teams, debating the national resolution for the entire year. Rounds are timed 8-3-5, with 5 minutes for preparation for each team. Rigorous research and technical requirements. Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its economic engagement toward Cuba, Mexico or Venezuela.

Public Forum Debate (PFD)

Two-person teams, debating current events topics that change from month-to-month. Based on current news and with less research, and judged by lay-standards. Crossfire and grand crossfire are meant to mimic cable television news debate formats.Oct. - Resolved: Unilateral military force by the United States is justified to prevent nuclear proliferation.

Lincoln-Douglas Debate

One-on-one format. Topics change every other month, and are always values-intensive, rather than fact-intensive. Requires a philosophical framework, and emphasizes communications skills and logic.October - Resolved: In a democracy, voting ought to be compulsory.

Parliamentary Debate (Parli)

Three-person teams, debating one of six topics below each month in a format that is similar to the British parliamentary system. Interruption for points of information and personal privilege are encouraged, as is having lots of fun.For October, teams will debate: “This house will allow prisoners to choose death over a life sentence.”

Prepared Topic for State Competition: “The house believes that important decisions about children’s health should be made by medical professionals and not by their parents.”

IMPROMPTU TOPICS (One debated each month)1. This house believes that there should be a greater US military presence in East Asia.2. This house will allow prisoners to choose death over a life sentence.3. This house believes that social movements in democratic countries should drive social change through the courts rather than the legislature.4. This house believes that Pennsylvania should abandon Keystone exams as a graduation requirement from high school.5. This house believes that the US government should retaliate against Chinese cyber-attacks.6. This house believes that in the instance of terrorism it is morally correct to sacrifice the rights of law abiding citizens to further public safety.

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JUDGING INFORMATION

ARRIVING AT THE TOURNAMENTMost speech tournaments take place on Thursdays after school. Students from over 20 schools compete in many different events. Our team leaves Conestoga by bus at 2:30pm. Competition generally begins at 3:30pm, ending at 6:00pm. Materials needed to judge include paper, a ball-point pen and a stopwatch or other kind of timer.

We travel to each tournament by school bus. You may ride the bus, or may meet the team at the host school. When we arrive at the tournament school, the coach will check in while the team members head to the cafeteria for a snack. Judges should go to the cafeteria stay there awaiting judging assignments.

JUDGING ASSIGNMENTS & BALLOTSBefore the tournament begins, the coach checks in the team. Once the tournament begins, postings of judging assignments will be made. If you see that you are assigned to judge, pick up your ballots from the tab table, and proceed to your assigned room. Be sure to check the postings often and do not stray far, even between rounds, in case you are called in to substitute for a missing or late judge. Judges should not leave the building or observe other rounds without first obtaining permission from the tournament host.

Judges should make every effort to arrive at their rounds on time. Often you must transfer the participants’ codes or names onto the ballots. When you receive your ballots, look at all of them to see what time you're supposed to be in the assigned room. After you have judged a round, promptly turn your ballot into the tab table before going on to your next round. This should be done even if it makes you late for your next round.

Never switch judging assignments with another judge. The tab room keeps track of which judges have judged each contestant, in order to prevent judges from seeing the same participants more than once. This is especially critical for final rounds, where the tournament directors must find “clean” judges (judges who have not judged these competitors at this tournament) for every final round. If you change your ballots with someone else, problems may occur when they are assigning judges for final rounds.

GETTING THE ROUND STARTED Before entering a room, check to make sure that the previous round is over. If a door is shut, listen for speakers. If a door is locked, send one of the competitors to the cafeteria to report the situation.

Upon entering the room, choose a seat toward the back of the room away from where the students are sitting. Make sure that you have a good view of the area that will be used for competition. Try to seat yourself so that the competitors and observers cannot see what you write down.

If you judge Individual Events, you will judge a variety of different events. Usually there will be 5-6 competitors, whom you will rank after seeing each of them speak. Check the code numbers of the competitors present.

Judges should never smoke, eat, or drink in the competition rooms. Schools do not allow smoking in their buildings, even for judges. We must honor their rules. During the round, pay animated attention to the competitors. Do not act impassive or neutral, as this is very disconcerting! Also, do not slouch, doodle, or stare off into space, for the same reason. Your facial expressions and nonverbal cues have a huge affect on the competitors. Good eye contact and a relaxed expression and a smile indicate that things are going well, while a furrowed brow or frown indicates problems. You may indicate non-verbally that you cannot hear a competitor, but otherwise do not interrupt the speech. Likewise, make sure that the other competitors in the room respect the speaker by not talking, whispering, or making noise. No one should leave or enter the room during a speech. Keep the door closed and allow students to leave or enter between contestants only if absolutely necessary.

Try to begin on time, but allow a 15 minute grace period for late competitors.

Call the first competitor. The contestant may have written his or her title and competitor number on the board. Otherwise, the contestant should announce the title of the selection before beginning. Write the title down next to the competitor's number on the ballot. In extemporaneous speaking, the speaker will hand you a small piece of paper with the question he is supposed to speak on written on it. Have your paper handy so you can write down items that you notice. Sit back and prepare to carefully listen to and observe the speech. Following the first selection, call a second student and repeat the process. Continue to do so until all those listed on your ballot have spoken.

TIME SIGNALSMost competitors will ask for time signals of varying forms. Usually, they want a hand signal at 3-2-1 and ½ minutes remaining—the “count down” method. Hold your hand signal up for about 15 seconds, and try to determine that the competitor has seen the signal, without expecting him to acknowledge it, since to do so will break his train of thought and possibly mar his speech. If the contestant does not see the signal after 15 seconds or so, lower your hand and simply try again at the next signal. Some contestants

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are too nervous to acknowledge or even see your signals. Do not use voice time prompts. Timing in debate events is different, as competitors must stop speaking when time expires.

JUDGING THE ROUNDTake notes on the ballot form that will help you remember each speech, and that will give the speaker and his/her coach constructive criticisms. You can keep a running ranking by the + - system. Continue until the last participant, double check your ranking against your notes, and transfer your rankings to the master ballot sheets after the end of the round.

If you call a contestant and no one responds, go on to the next one. That competitor may be late or withdrawn from competition. In most events, a student should not be penalized for being late to a round unless he or she is more then 15 minutes late. If, after you have heard all the competitors present in the room, you still have a missing contestant, you may send someone to the cafeteria to see if the person has dropped from competition. If he still doesn't appear, write “no show” on his ballot and assign your ranking on the reduced number of competitors.

Now fill in the most important part of the ballot to the competitors: the comments. Please write positive comments on each ballot as well as advice on areas to improve, stated as constructively as possible. The students anticipate reading your assessments; this is how they decide what to improve for the next tournament. Assign points according to the ballot sheet, which will usually offer a range of numbers for “excellent,” “good,” and so on. Assess the speech according to the type of event it is. Each ballot gives guidelines for judging the event. Most ballots contain a list of detailed criteria to judge. However, these lists can be boiled down to the three primary categories to be judged: choice of material, delivery, and interpretation.

Choice of material: Choice of material has to do with the appropriateness and absolute value of the piece. Is the piece age-appropriate? Has the student exhibited good taste in his choice and cutting of the piece? Are its themes universal and important?

Delivery: Delivery refers to the student’s presentation, including voice, inflection, posture, gestures, and so on. Is the performance dramatically compelling and persuasive?

Interpretation: Interpretation refers to the student’s understanding and conveyance of the meaning of the piece. Although high school students may not have a sophisticated understanding of the piece, they should express it in a way that demonstrates their preparation and close study of its meaning.

Double check that you have marked the rankings on the correct ballots. Then, sign your master ballot and return it to the office tab person before picking up your ballots and going on to your next round.

Completed ballots are distributed to the team coaches after the tournament, which means that students will not get any written feedback until after the tournament ends. Therefore, students expect a critique at the end of each round. You may refer to your notes to briefly tell a competitor how he did. Do not reveal their ranking. If you do critique a student, make sure that you comment on the positive and negative aspects of his performance.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS There are as many different techniques for judging as there are judges. Each judge looks for some items that are different from what another judge would look for. It is very subjective. Whatever you decide should be based upon the rules of the tournament and the general guidelines given here. The more judging you do, the more confident you will be as a judge. Feel free to ask questions whenever something happens that you don't understand or are unsure of. Take this responsibility of judging seriously. What you say and what you do, how you act and react affects the students who have entered the tournament. Be sure to make a positive contribution. Any judge who must indicate to his contestants that he does not know how to judge a certain event is a poor judge, but the coach of that school is held responsible. If we expect high caliber speaking performances and general conduct from these young people, then, as adults, we must provide a similar standard in judging, in punctuality, sportsmanship, and general conduct.

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Do’s and Don’t’s

1. DO look interested: DO NOT look bored, doodle, look out the window, etc.! 2. DO be available and meet all assignments given you by a host coach. DO NOT switch assignments. 3. DO start a round on time (allowing for the tournament-required grace period for late contestants). 4. DO permit visitors to enter your room during a round. DO NOT permit them, however, to enter during a

speech or to disrupt speeches by whispering or speaking. 5. DO know how many judges are assigned to a round and then wait to begin until all arrive. 6. DO call on speakers in order of the appearance of their names on the ballot. 7. DO know the rules. DO NOT plead “inexperience.” 8. DO remember that a rank of 1 means “best”. 9. DO record your own private judgment as a score. DO NOT confer with other persons or judges. 10. DO avoid revealing your scoring to anyone. 11. DO avoid stopping a speaker even though he may be overtime or your judgment is made. 12. DO comments on each ballot and ranking while the speaker is speaking. There is no time later.13. DO sign your ballots. 14. DO be objective in your comments and avoid personal opinions and prejudices. Comment on logic and

reasoning and/or interpretation of character, not on whether it agrees with your views. 15. DO offer positive critiques after a round and after your ballot is marked. DO NOT reveal your ranking

to a speaker. DO NOT attempt to coach a speaker. 16. DO turn properly marked ballots in immediately after a round.