You are invited to the Second Annual Great Hearts Junior High Invitational. Our first junior high tournament last year was a big success! If you didn't come last year, make it a point to be there this year! Thanks to Chandler Preparatory Academy which will again be serving as the tournament site.
This invitation is extented to all Great Hearts Academies. Students may attend if they are in grades 6 through 8. If you are a charter school not part of Great Hearts, and want to participate email me. Please read the event descriptions on the "Events" page carefully. They are not the same as the high school events, and are specifically designed for junior high students with a limited time to prepare for the tournament. If your school is completely new to speech and debate and would like an information night for students, parents and teachers in order to get a program started, email me, I would be glad to schedule something for you.
The tournament will start at 3:30 sharp on Friday, May 7th. The schedule will be tight, so please go over with your students the logistics of getting around to each event. The Debate event will be interleaved with the speech events, so everyone will need to pay close attention to the schedule. Last year a few kids missed rounds by not paying attention.
Competitors should dress professionally, not in school uniforms. Slacks, shirt and tie at the minimum.
Entries
All entries are entered via JoyOfTournaments. Students can enter Debate plus two speech events. Please explain the logistics to your students and maybe have your team members "direct traffic" so the tournament doesn't slow down with students rushing to multiple events. If you are new to Speech & Debate and have any questions, please email or call me.
Judges
There is only a single judge pool. Judges will be expected to judge speech and debate events. The following may serve as judges at this tournament:
Parents
Coaches
Alumni
11th and 12th graders that are currently on your Speech & Debate team .
Parents
It would be excellent if parents show their support by bringing some snacks and drinks.
Awards
There will be a trophy for the top contestant in each event, except debate where both finalists will receive a trophy. There will be ribbons or medals for 2nd through 6th places. There will be first, second and third Overall Champion trophies for the students with the 3 highest point totals. There will be a single sweepstakes trophy for the school with the most points.
Questions?
Please email me!
Your tournament director, John Wolnisty (Tempe Prep)
TPADebate@Cox.net
