Class A State Tournament Invitation

Belgrade High School is pleased to invite you to the Montana Class A Speech, Drama, and Debate Tournament on Friday and Saturday, January 25th and 26th. Preliminary rounds of Debate will be held at Belgrade Middle School (410 Triple Crown Rd, Belgrade, MT 59714). Preliminary rounds of Speech and Drama will be held at Belgrade High School (303 N Hoffman St, Belgrade, MT 59714). All Speech, Drama, and Debate Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals will be held Belgrade High School.

REGISTRATION

The tournament has been created on Forensics Tournament at this URL: https://forensicstournament.net/ClassAState/19. Please enter your competitors by midnight on Sunday, January 20th, as we will begin pairing on Monday morning.  We will cross check your registration against the official record we receive from the divisional hosts. Also, alternates will be determined upon final receipt of divisional tournament results.

We’ll have the check in table open from 7 to 8 pm on Thursday, and again from 2:45 to 3:30 on Friday. When you arrive on Friday (even if you did Thursday check in), please send a coach into the school to pick up final packets and first round pairings. (Please see detailed instructions below.)

MHSA Rules

ALL MHSA rules will be enforced at this tournament.

FOOD

Concessions will be available at the high school.  Most of your student meals should be accounted for on your invoice.  However, students may buy additional items with cash. In addition, our concessions stand will keep a tab for your school if needed.  If a tab is used, you can settle with a credit card at the end of the day, or we can bill you for the total.

Box lunches will be provided for the evening meal for debaters at the Middle School. Lunch will be provided in the hospitality room for judges and drivers.  Coaches will pick up their lunches at the concessions stand.

NOTE: We’re not providing food at the Middle School on Saturday morning. Debaters will need to hustle over to the High School concession stand before quarterfinals start at noon.

COMPETITION SITE

Preliminary debate rounds will be held at Belgrade Middle School. There is a cafeteria area for students. Students should stay in the cafeteria when not in rounds. When the students migrate to the high school after the fifth round, please ensure they pick up their area.

All speech and drama rounds, as well as debate elimination rounds, will be held at Belgrade High School. There will be a commons area for students. Students should stay in the commons when not in rounds.

Students may not enter competition rooms until a judge or coach is present. Please be sure that your students clean up their area when they’re leaving the tournament.

ARRIVAL INSTRUCTIONS

We’re going to be running a very tight schedule for first rounds. We’ll have the kids in rounds at 4, and extemp draw at 3:30, but our classes won’t be released until 3:30. To make that work, we’ll all have to do things very carefully:

• AS YOU ARRIVE (any time between 2:30 and 3:30):
  You can pull your buses into the parking lot on the west side of the high school (Events Center side, off Grogan - look for a sign that says “Competitors Enter Here”). Please hold your kids (except extemp; see below) on the bus until 3:40, when our kids will be out of the buildings. The rest rooms in the Events Center (the big gym) will be available for kids to change or to use the restroom.
  
  

• COACHES CHECK IN:
  We’ll be set up to check in coaches starting at 2:45. Please come in the Activities Office door just south of the Events Center. We’ll have a sign on that door saying “Competitors Enter Here.” We’ll give you all your paperwork and copies of the postings for the first round. You can let the kids know about their first rounds on the bus.
  
  

• SEND IN YOUR EXTEMPERS:
  At 3:15, your extempers can make their way to the Extemp Draw room. We’ll have signs directing them from the Activities Office Door to the draw room in the basement. Draw will begin at 3:30, and that’s also when classes get out. If the kids don’t make it to the draw room by then, they’ll be swimming against the current.
  
  

• SEND IN YOUR TEAMS:
  By 3:40, our schools should be empty. Send your kids into the common areas to claim their space, then off to their competition rooms.

SCHEDULE

There will be five preliminary rounds, Semifinals, and Finals for all events. Debate will also have a quarterfinals round. The schedule for the rounds is:

COMPETITION

All events will be conducted in accordance to the MHSA Handbook.

LD and PFD topic will be the January topic:

LD:
Resolved: The United States ought not provide military aid to authoritarian regimes.

Public Forum:
Resolved: The United States federal government should prioritize reducing the federal debt over promoting economic growth.

Policy:
Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially reduce its restrictions on legal immigration to the United States.

If you have any questions, contact Rich Robinson at 406.209.9874 or by email at belgradeforensics@gmail.com.

STATE TOURNAMENT T-SHIRTS:

Universal Athletics will be on site to print State Tournament T-Shirts and Hoodies, so let your kids know that they’ll be available for purchase.