Shamrock Invitational with Wyatt Debate

2025 — Louisville, KY/US

• Invite
• Entries
• Judges
• Live Updates
• Register

Storytelling

Event Description:

STORYTELLING—Junior and Senior Divisions

Judge Instructions

Summary of Rules

1. The maximum time for Storytelling is ten minutes, including a required and memorized introduction. There is a thirty second grace period, after which the student must be dropped in rank/rating in preliminary rounds. Time signals may be given at the request of the competitor. No violation of the grace period in Regional/State Quarterfinal, Semifinal, or Final rounds may result in disqualification. No performance violating the grace period may receive ‘1’ in the round.

1. Either a complete story or an excerpt from a longer one may be used, and the story may be either humorous or serious.

1. The story must be memorized, and the storyteller may sit on the floor (not in a chair), stand, or use a limited stage area to tell the story.

1. The use of costumes, props, or furniture of any kind is prohibited.

Judge Guidelines

1. Students should be judged for quality of performance, entertainment, and versatility.

1. The narration should be the major portion of the story, not excessive dialogue with a bit of narration.

1. Movement should be appropriate.

1. Base your decision on the performance, not on your taste in stories.

Criteria for Judging

I. Introduction of Selection

Did the student provide necessary information to prepare the audience to listen? Did the student establish the mood and/or meaning of the selection?

II. Presentation of Selection

Was the student in control of the performance and the audience? Did the student demonstrate good speech habits as they would pertain to the story? Did the student develop character posture, facial expressions, and gestures appropriate to the story and to the characters in the story? Were various incidents clearly related?

III. Effectiveness of Selection

Was the story suitable to the performer? Was it a unified piece which had a plot and emphasized narration, rather than excessive dialogue?

Note for judges about script selection:

The suitability of the material to the maturity level of the performer should be considered” with the following: “Students will perform material that may be controversial to some audiences, but that’s an important part of growing and learning and engaging in important dialogue in our communities. Therefore, students should never be punished for tackling difficult or controversial topics. However, it’s certainly possible that the student who is tackling that controversial topic is not adequately conveying the message in a believable way. This could be due to maturity level.

********Judge Notice********

In an effort to ensure fairness in judging practices, KHSSL has standardized the point values given to student performances. Please use the following rubric in order to assign point values to each student's performance. Students may not receive the same point value. Students may not receive more points than an individual more highly ranked. Judges are strongly encouraged to justify the reason for the rating on the ballot.