Welcome to the home page for the 2020 10th Annual California Middle School State Championship tournament hosted by Online on May 15-17, 2020 for Middle School students.

Status: Tournament Completed


The 10th Annual California Middle School

Speech and Debate State Championship

May 15-17th, 2020

(Invitation Version 5.0)


Greetings to all middle school speech and debate clubs and schools!


California Middle School Forensics is proud to announce the 10th annual California State Championship.  This tournament is meant to encourage a healthy competition at the state level and provide an opportunity to sharpen competitive speeches before the national tournament.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our entire community, we have decided to continue with the tournament on the scheduled date/times.  However, we have made a few changes.

1.  The tournament will be held entirely online.  Please see the Best Practices Guide for additional information regarding the preparation for Internet preparation.  The Best Practices Guide is available on the tournament registration page.  This guide will have suggestions and policies regarding specific events.

Due to the unusual nature of the circumstances, we may need to adjust this invitation or the best practices document.  Please be patient with us; often times, we have ideas that seem like they will work, and then we need to change our minds because we have found stronger alternatives.  

2.  The board has decided to change the LD and Public Forum topics to the April topics.  That has been reflected in this invitation.  Please disregard the previous invitation which stated that we would use the topics announced on May 1st.

3.  The host has changed, and thus the checks should be made out to Wilshire Academy. 

4.  Throughout the entire tournament, we will have a live help room for anyone having trouble.  The URL will be https://8x8.vc/CMSFHelp

5.  All competitors will be required to have a parental guardian onscreen for the duration of the round or provide a waiver.  Please download the waiver from the tournament registration page.

The tournament will be held on Friday, May 15th - Sunday, May 17th, 2020!  Please feel free to pass this invitation along to anyone who might be interested in attending.


Tab Staff:

Tournament Director - Robert Cannon

Individual Events Tabulation - Mike Kyle

Debate Events Tabulation - Victor Rivas Umana


Rules/Event Descriptions:

All events will follow CMSF rules.  For full list of event descriptions, tournament procedures, and round design, please go to SCJFL.org and click on the RULES & BY-LAWS.  Please note: some tournament procedures in the by-laws are unique to this state tournament only.  Such rules and procedures are marked as “CMSF,” but in the absence of such indications, all other SCJFL rules will apply.  If you have any questions about rules or procedures, please feel free to reach out through the e-mail below.


Postings: 

Postings will be sent to each student before the round begins.  Coaches should update their student rosters on ForensicsTournament.net to include the cell numbers or the e-mail addresses for each student.  Once the posting preference is selected, coaches can test that the cell/e-mail is getting through to the student(s).


Entries:

Entries are due on Friday, May 8th (5/8/20) at 12:00 p.m. (noon) P.S.T.

We must have all judge names entered by the tournament deadline.


  You may access the invitation and entry system at 

https://forensicstournament.net/CaliforniaMiddleSchoolState/20/


Awards:

All competitors advancing to an elimination round shall be awarded for doing so.  The tournament shall award school sweepstakes awards for the top three overall schools.  Points shall be calculated in accordance to the CMSF rules and by-laws.

We plan to source the awards from two different vendors; one in Southern California and the other in Northern California.  After the tournament, we will ask each vendor to create the trophies for the schools in that area.  The trophy vendor will hold the awards for that school to pick up.  Please be patient with us as we get awards to students, but we will make sure that each student who earns an awards receives it.

    The awards ceremony will be streamed onto YouTube for those who would like to watch.  We will send a link to all participants on Sunday, May 17th, just before the awards ceremony begins.


Eligibility:

This event is run by the California Middle School Forensics(CMSF), which is a subsidiary of the Southern California Junior Forensics League (SCJFL).  All schools, clubs, after-schools, and home schools are permitted entry, provided they are in good standing.  No league membership fee is required for this tournament.

Students from 5th grade - 8th grade are permitted to compete at this tournament.



Special Rules:

In keeping with the CMSF by-laws, we would like to call your attention to a few items that may be different from other tournaments.


- No publication requirements for interpretation events.  Students may not write pieces themselves unless the event requires it, but we allow students to use literature from any source, published or non-published.


- Internet access is permitted for Extemp and all debate events.  Students should not use this access to confer with coaches or other direct outside sources, but may use the Internet to access articles and case files.


- SPAR times are the following: (2 prep) Pro 2; Con 2; Cross 4; Pro 2; Con 2.


- Performative plagiarism, as outlined on in the CMSF Rules & By-laws, prevents the “copying the performance of other performers.”  Please review this section of the rules for all students entered in interpretation events. 


- This tournament will not break brackets for debate outrounds.


Wellness:

We have designed the schedule for this tournament with great care.  While we have tried to provide students with the opportunity to compete in as many events as possible, this comes at a potential risk.  We ask that students carefully consider the schedule before deciding to enter multiple events.  The tournament will not delay rounds for students who did not attend a round on time.  Furthermore, students who insist on doing both speech and debate events may risk missing lunch breaks.


Judges:

One of our biggest concerns is that we do not run late.  We require each judge to have a reliable Internet connection and use a laptop or desktop computer to evaluate the round.  While tablets and mobile devices are possible, we do not encourage the usage for judges since they will be managing the eBallot and the video screen at the same time.  We recommend that judges open the eBallot on one tab and the video on another.  Judges should be able to toggle between the two easily.  Alternatively, judges can open a new window for the video and position it to the side of the eBallot so that they can view both at the same time.

Events:


Pattern A (Students may not enter events in pattern D)


- Lincoln-Douglas Debate (Resolved: Predictive policing is unjust.)


- Public Forum Debate (Resolved: The United States should remove nearly all of its military presence in the Arab States of the Persian Gulf.)

- Big Questions (Resolved: Objective morality exists.)


Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, and Big Questions will all be randomly assigned for the first two rounds and then power-matched for the remaining preliminary rounds.  All elimination rounds will be standard bracket rounds.  SPAR rounds are paired and run similar to an IE event.  Please see the CMSF Rules & By-laws for more specific information.


Debate only schedule:


Friday: May 15th, 2020

8:00 a.m. Round 1 Pattern A (PF, LD, Big Q)

12:00 p.m. Round 2 Pattern A (PF, LD, Big Q)

3:00 p.m. Round 3 Pattern A (PF, LD, Big Q)

6:00 p.m. Round 4 Pattern A (PF, LD, Big Q)


Saturday: May 16th, 2020 

11:00 a.m. Rd. 5 Pattern A (PF, LD, Big Q,)

12:30 p.m. Debate lunch

2:30 p.m. Double-octas Pattern A (PF, LD)

6:00 p.m. Octafinals Pattern A (PF, LD) / Semifinals Big Q)


Sunday: May 17th, 2020

11:00 a.m. Debate lunch break

12:00 p.m. Pattern A Quarterfinals (PF, LD)

3:30 p.m. Semifinals Pattern A (PF, LD) / Finals (Big Q)

5:00 p.m. Finals Pattern A (PF, LD)

8:30 p.m. Awards


Pattern B

(may enter no more than two from the following):

Prose (use of manuscript required, 7 min. maximum)

Humorous Interpretation (10 min. maximum)

Original Oratory (no visual aids allowed, 10 min. maximum)

Duo Interpretation (10 min. maximum)

Speech to Entertain (no visual aids allowed, 5 min. maximum)

Impromptu (7 min. bank)

Round 1 - Concrete nouns

Round 2 - Abstract nouns

Round 3 - Proverbs 

Quarterfinal Round - Quotations

Semifinal Round - Quotations

Final Round - Quotations



Pattern B Individual Events Only


Saturday: May 16th, 2020 

8:00 a.m. Round 1 B (Pro, HI, OO, Duo, STE, Imp)

9:30 a.m. Round 2 B (Pro, HI, OO, Duo, STE, Imp)

11:00 a.m. IE Lunch break

1:00 p.m. Round 3 B (Pro, HI, OO, Duo, STE, Imp)

4:00 p.m. Semifinals Pattern B (Pro, HI, OO, Duo, STE) / Quarterfinals  (Imp)

7:30 p.m. Finals Pattern B (Pro, HI, OO, Duo, STE) / Semifinals  (Imp)


Sunday: May 17th, 2020

5:00 p.m. Finals Pattern B (Imp)

8:30 p.m. Awards



Pattern C


(may enter no more than two from the following):

Dramatic Interpretation (10 min. maximum)

Declamation (10 min. maximum)

Poetry (use of manuscript required, 7 min. maximum)

Storytelling (5 min. maximum)

Informative (visual aids are allowed, 10 min. maximum)

Program Oral Interp (use of manuscript required, 10 min. maximum)


(may enter only one from the following):

Extemporaneous Speaking (30 min. of prep / 7 min. maximum)

Round 1 - South America

Round 2 - Technology and Science

Round 3 - Africa and the Middle East

Semi-final Round - Economy

Final Round - Domestic News



Pattern C Individual Events Only


Sunday: May 17th, 2020

7:30 a.m. Extemp Draw

8:00 a.m. Rd. 1 Pattern C (DI, Dec, Poe, Sty, Ext, POI, Info) 

9:30 a.m. Rd. 2 Pattern C (DI, Dec, Poe, Sty, Ext, POI, Info)

11:00 a.m. Rd. 3 Pattern C (DI, Dec, Poe, Sty, Ext, POI, Info)

12:00 p.m. IE Lunch break

1:30 p.m. Semifinals Pattern C (DI, Dec, Poe, Sty, Info, Ext, POI)

5:00 p.m. Finals C (DI, Dec, Poe, Sty, Info, Ext, POI)

8:30 p.m. Awards



Pattern D (Students may not enter events in pattern A)


- Congress - Congress docket is available at the tournament registration page: https://forensicstournament.net/CaliforniaMiddleSchoolState/20


- Policy Debate (Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially reduce Direct Commercial Sales and/or Foreign Military Sales of arms from the United States.)


Policy will be randomly assigned for the first two rounds and then power-matched for the remaining preliminary rounds.  All elimination rounds will be standard bracket rounds.  The schedule for outrounds may be adjusted depending on entry numbers.  In the case that additional Policy outrounds are added, competitors may have to choose between competing in the additional outround or competing in pattern C events.



Pattern D only Schedule:


Friday: May 15th, 2020

8:00 a.m. Round 1 Pattern D (Policy, Cong)

3:00 p.m. Round 2 Pattern D (Policy, Cong)


Saturday: May 16th, 2020 

11:00 a.m. Round 3 Pattern D (Policy, Cong)

12:30 p.m. Congress Lunch 

2:30 p.m. Round 4 Pattern D (Policy) Semifinals (Cong)

6:00 p.m. Final Round (Cong) / Round 5 (Policy)


Sunday: May 17th, 2020

12:00 p.m. Semifinals Pattern D (Policy)

3:30 p.m. Finals Pattern D (Policy)

8:30 p.m. Awards


Pattern E 


- SPAR (Topics will be provided at the tournament) 


***Please note that the finals of SPAR will occur at the same time as finals of pattern B.***


Pattern E only Schedule:


Friday: May 15th, 2020

10:00 a.m. Round 1 Pattern E (SPAR)

11:30 p.m. Lunch break

1:30 p.m. Round 2 Pattern E (SPAR)

4:30 p.m. Round 3 Pattern E (SPAR)

7:30 p.m. Quarterfinals Pattern E (SPAR)


Saturday: May 16th, 2020

7:30 p.m. Semifinals Pattern E (SPAR)


Sunday: May 17th, 2020

5:00 p.m. Finals Pattern E (SPAR)

8:30 p.m. Awards (earlier if possible)




Full Combined Schedule*:

Friday: May 15th, 2020


8:00 a.m. Round 1 Pattern A (PF, LD, Big Q)/ Pattern D (Policy, Cong)

10:00 a.m. Round 1 Pattern E (SPAR)

11:30 p.m. Lunch break

12:00 p.m. Round 2 Pattern A (PF, LD, Big Q)

1:30 p.m. Round 2 Pattern E (SPAR)

3:00 p.m. Round 3 Pattern A (PF, LD, Big Q) / 

                    Round 2 Pattern D (Policy, Cong)

4:30 p.m. Round 3 Pattern E (SPAR)

6:00 p.m. Round 4 Pattern A (PF, LD, Big Q)

7:30 p.m. Quarterfinals Pattern E (SPAR)


Saturday: May 16th, 2020 

8:00 a.m. Round 1 Pattern B (Pro, HI, OO, Duo, STE, Imp)

9:30 a.m. Round 2 Pattern B (Pro, HI, OO, Duo, STE, Imp)

11:00 a.m. Round 5 Pattern A (PF, LD, Big Q) /

                    Round 3 Pattern D (Policy, Cong)

11:00 a.m. IE Lunch break

12:30 p.m. Debate/Congress lunch break

1:00 p.m. Round 3 Pattern B (Pro, HI, OO, Duo, STE, Imp)

2:30 p.m. Double-Octafinals Pattern A (PF, LD) / 

                    Semifinal Pattern D (Cong) /

                    Round 4 Pattern D(Policy)

4:00 p.m. Semifinals Pattern B (Pro, HI, OO, Duo, STE, Imp) 

6:00 p.m. Octafinals Pattern A (PF, LD) /

                    Semifinals Pattern A (Big Q)/ 

                    Round 5 Pattern D (Policy) / Finals (Congress)

7:30 p.m. Finals Pattern B (Pro, HI, OO, Duo, STE, Imp) / 

                    Semifinals Pattern E (SPAR)


Sunday: May 17th, 2020

8:00 a.m. Round 1 Pattern C (DI, Dec, Poe, Sty, Info, POI, Ext)

9:30 a.m. Round 2 Pattern C (DI, Dec, Poe, Sty, Info, POI, Ext)

11:00 a.m. Round 3 Pattern C (DI, Dec, Poe, Sty, Info, POI, Ext) 

11:00 a.m. Debate lunch break

12:00 p.m. Quarterfinals Pattern A (PF, LD) / Pattern D (Policy)

12:00 p.m. IE Lunch break

1:30 p.m. Semifinals Pattern C (DI, Dec, Poe, Sty, Info, POI, Ext)

3:30 p.m. Semifinals Pattern A (PF, LD) Finals Pattern A (Big Q) /

                    Finals Pattern D(Policy)

5:00 p.m. Finals Pattern C (DI, Dec, Poe, Sty, Info, POI, Ext) /

                    Finals Pattern E (SPAR) / Finals Pattern A (PF, LD)

8:30 p.m. Awards



Fees will be assessed on Friday May 8th, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. PST.  Any changes after this date will be subject to the following penalties.  TBA judges will no longer be permitted after this date.  Please enter all judges through the forensicstournament.net registration website mentioned previously. 


Please pay all fees to an account below by Wednesday, May 13th at noon Pacific.  All schools with unpaid entries by that time will have their entries dropped.

Please make all checks out to: Wilshire Academy.  Alternatively, you may pay through Zelle or Venmo, using the following accounts:

Venmo: Alex Jung (HongJoon-Jung)

Zelle: jung.wilshireacademy@gmail.com  



$50 school fee

$15 per IE/Congress/Spar slot ($30 per Duo team)

$40 per Lincoln Douglas/Public Forum/ slot

$30 judging fee per uncovered IE slot (One judge covers 5 IE slots)

$125 per uncovered debate slot (One judge covers 2 LD/PD/PFD slots)

$20 per change after Friday, May 8th (5/8/20) at 12:00 p.m. (noon) P.S.T.

$50 No-show fee per competitor.

$50 No-show judge fee per round.*

$200 dropped judge fee after May 15th at 12:01 a.m. PST.

*To ensure that the tournament starts on time and runs smoothly, each judge will have a 5 minute window to accept his/her ballot.  If the judge does not accept during this time, the ballot may be pushed to another judge, and the no-show judge’s school will be penalized the $50 no-show fee.  Coaches should update their rosters on ForensicsTournament.net, change their ballot preferences to e-mail/text, and double-check that their judges have a reliable Internet connection.


Coaches’ Meeting:

We will host a coaches’ meeting for all schools on Saturday, May 16th (virtual room to be announced).  The purpose of the meeting is to ask for community guidance and direction.  We will also hold elections during this meeting.  In accordance with our by-laws, the meeting will be audio recorded and then distributed to members after the competition.  We encourage each school to send a representative to the meeting to give voice to your school’s concerns and thoughts. 


Contact:

Tournament Director - Robert Cannon: Robert@Cannonballofdeath.com

Individual Events Tabulation - Mike Kyle: mike@nova42.com

Debate Events Tabulation - Victor Rivas Umana: vrivasumana@tgsastaff.com



Throughout the entire tournament, we will have a live help room for anyone having trouble.  The URL will be https://8x8.vc/CMSFHelp




Timetable
  • Fri 05/08/20 12:05 pm Pacific
    Close registration (schools can not edit their registration)

Documents