Welcome to the Cherry Creek Beginner Speech Tournament!
cherrycreekspeechanddebate@gmail.com

Quick Info:
In preparation for ours and your district qualifier, we are hosting a tournament to get final feedback and practice in. Best of luck to all competitors! No entry fee or judging obligations.

This a practice tournament meant for novices in the speech category and is not part of any official circuit or league, meaning no NSDA points can be earned.

See below for FAQs, our honesty policy, and additional notes.

FAQS:
1. Who can enter?
Although this tournament is mainly in-house for Cherry Creek Speech and Debate Students, anyone can enter! The tournament is open to any speech novices looking for an introductory or practice tournament.
If you are entering on behalf of a school, academy, or institution, please obtain permission from your coach, captain, or another lead figure prior to registering. The tournament is open to independent competitors.

2. Are there any fees or judges required?
No, there are no entry or judging fees. Entry is free and competitors do not need to provide a judge. There are no drop fees or entry change/update fees. However, if 10+ competitors are entering on behalf of a single school, academy, or institution, we will contact you if we need a judge provided.

3. What events are available?
We have four divisions: Impromptu, Domestic Extemp, Pro Con Challenge, and International Extemp. Please note that the Impromptu Division does not follow the standard NSDA format to accommodate this tournament's asynchronous structure.

4. Can I enter in more than one event?
Yes, competitors may enter in any number of events since this tournament is asynchronous. However, we urge competitors to be mind of how much prep time and recording time will be required of them if they are entering in more than one event. Impromptu, Domestic Extemp, International Extemp may require up to an hour to prepare for, record, and upload. The time commitment for Pro Con Challenge varies but will generally require more than an hour of work.

5. How do I know what event to enter in?
Since this is a novice tournament, feel free to enter in any division that interests you or to enter in multiple divisions. We will provide a brief description of each event for your reference.
Impromptu: In this tournament, you choose from one of three topics, requiring little to no research, and use 7 minutes to prepare a 3 minute speech. Please note that the Impromptu Division does not follow the standard NSDA format to accommodate this tournament's asynchronous structure. This event is best for pure novices.

Domestic Extemp: You choose from three questions related to current events in the US and, in 30 minutes of prep and research, prepare a seven-minute speech answering the selected question. This event may be challenging for first-time speech competitors.

International Extemp: You choose from three questions related to current events in the world and, in 30 minutes of prep and research, prepare a seven-minute speech answering the selected question. This event may be challenging for first-time speech competitors.

Pro Con Challenge: You are presented with 3 current NSDA topics and you are to prepare two back to back speeches arguing for and against the topic, totalling 10 minutes. This event is best for competitors who may not be interested in impromptu and extemp but do not mind putting in more time to research and prepare speeches.

6. When is this tournament and what is the tournament structure?
This is an ASYNCHRONOUS ONLINE tournament. All entries can be registered and uploaded online. There are no live sessions or events. Entries can be uploaded at any time during the tournament.

In this tournament, all times are in PDT. Registration has already opened.
All entries/judges/drops should be added to the tournament by April 21 by 8 PM.
The tournament begins on April 22 at 8 AM. Meaning, event entries can begin to be uploaded in Tabroom.
The tournament ends on April 24 at 8 PM. All event entries should be uploaded by this time.
If any issues arise with uploading, dropping, or registration, please email us (see below).

7. How will entries be judged, and what is required in a speech?
Competitors are recommended, but not required, to include video in the entries and follow how long speeches are meant to be.

All Cherry Creek judges will follow NSDA judging guidelines (https://www.speechanddebate.org/judge-training/) and will do their best to be objective and unbiased in their ranking and decisions. All volunteer and outside judges will similarly be instructed to follow all NSDA guidelines. If you have any questions about judging, please contact us.

Judges will be instructed to evaluate and scored based on the structure and organization of the speech (for example, having an introduction, main points, and conclusion), how focused the speaker is on the topic and their stance, whether the speech is easy to understand, how engaging the speech is (enthusiasm, confidence), the depth of analysis on the topic, and the speaker's understanding of the topic (including evidence).
All judges will aim to provide positive and constructive feedback in ballots.

8. When will results be released?
Since it will take our judges a while to get through all of the speeches and provide feedback, results are expected to be released by April 28. All feedback, ballots, results, and rankings will be released to competitors.

Honesty Policy:
This is an asynchronous online tournament, meaning it will be difficult to enforce rules and guidelines. However, please try to not exceed designated prep times or violate rules regarding resources that can be used during prep. (See event pages for more detailed rules)
If there is evidence provided that a competitor has broken the honesty policy, their entry for that event will be disqualified.

Additional Notes:
Additionally, please refrain from making any discriminatory, offensive, obscene, or inappropriate remarks in speeches or in feedback to respect other competitors or judges and NSDA policy (Harassment and Discrimination Policy). Competitors who violate this policy will be given a chance to rerecord or edit their speeches and may unfortunately be disqualified if they fail to do so.

If you have any questions, please read through FAQs. If you have any further concerns or problems that are not answered by FAQs, feel free to email the tournament directors at cherrycreekspeechanddebate@gmail.com. We will do our best to get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you and remember to have fun!

This section will be updated throughout the tournament.