National Online Junior Forensics Championship

June 9-14th, 2020

Version 2.0

***Please note that the schedule has changed.  Please see below.***

Greetings to all middle school speech and debate clubs and schools, all over the world!

The SCJFL is proud to announce a synchronous national online tournament!  This national tournament is open to all middle school and elementary school programs, nationwide.  We define middle school as 6th-8th grade, and elementary school is defined as 5th grade or younger.

To be clear, the purpose of this tournament is not to replace existing national tournaments, however, we recognize that many programs in the forensics community have been affected by the cancelation or significant alteration of national tournaments.  This synchronous tournament is an opportunity for young competitive speakers to wrap up the season with a competitive online competition.

The host of this national tournament is the Southern California Junior Forensics League.  The league and the tournament allow for all public, private, and homeschooled students to compete; we do allow for after-school programs to compete as a school.

This tournament is meant to encourage a healthy competition at the national level.  Since the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our entire community, we have decided to offer an online option.  However, we would like schools to be aware of the following:

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

2.  Throughout the entire tournament, we will have a live help room for anyone having trouble.  The URL will be 8x8.vc/NOJFChelp.  If anyone from your team has problems, this virtual room will be the firs place to go.

3.  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.

4.  This invitation is subject to change.  If we need to adjust the schedule or some another aspect to this invitation, we will add a version number at the top and then post the new version on the tournament homepage here.

The tournament will be held on June 9th- 14th, 2020!  Please feel free to pass this invitation along to anyone who might be interested in attending.

Tab Staff:

Tournament director: Robert Cannon (Wilshire Academy)

Middle school events tabulation: Mike Kyle (Nova 42 Academy)

Tabroom support/ombudsman: Danny Cantrell (Mt. San Antonio College)

Elementary events tabulation: Ebru Dogan (Nova 42 Academy)

Rules/Event Descriptions:

All events will follow SCJFL rules unless otherwise noted in this invitation.  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 tournament only (as opposed to the local SCJFL tournament procedures). If you have any questions about rules or procedures, please feel free to reach out through the e-mail below.

Wellness:

We have designed the schedule for this tournament with great care.  We have tried to consider how late rounds would begin for those on the East Coast, and how early rounds would begin for those on the West Coast.  As such, we will need to spread the tournament over the course of several days.

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.

Entries:

Entries are due on Friday, June 5th (5/8/20) at 12:00 p.m. (noon) Pacific.  Fees are frozen at this time, though nuisance fees may be applied.  All judge names must entered by the tournament deadline.

  You may access the invitation and entry system at 

https://forensicstournament.net/NOJFC/20

Awards:

All competitors advancing to an elimination round shall be awarded for doing so.  The tournament shall award school sweepstakes awards for the three overall schools in both elementary and middle school divisions.  The top 10 speakers in both elementary and middle school will also be recognized as individual sweepstakes winners.  Points shall be calculated in accordance to the SCJFL rules and by-laws (SCJFL by-laws).

We plan to ship awards to all competitors after the tournament.  If your students would like to record their unboxing, we ask that they post videos using the hashtag #UnboxingSpeech.  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 (announcement of the placements) will be streamed onto YouTube for those who would like to watch.  We will send a link to all participants on Sunday, June 14th.

Eligibility:

This event is run by the Southern California Junior Forensics League (SCJFL).  This tournament is open to the World, including all schools, clubs, after-schools, and home schools, SCJFL schools must be in good standing with the league.  No league membership fee is required for this tournament.

Students from Kindergarten - 5th grade are permitted to compete in the elementary division, and 6th - 8th grade are permitted to compete in the middle school division at this tournament.

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).  Students and judges do not need to create their own accounts on ForensicsTournament.net.  Please take time to update your school’s roster (both competitors and judges).  Here is an article which explains how to do that.

Judges:

Each school must supply at least one judge.  One of our biggest concerns is that we do not run late.  Judges must be existing 10th grade or higher. If it is a high school age judge, we require they have a minimum of 2 competitions worth of experience. 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 take notes on paper while viewing the round, and then transcribe the notes to the eBallot after the round has concluded.

It should be noted that the Internet is the responsibility of the person using it.  While the tournament will attempt to accommodate those with Internet problems, it cannot do so at the expense of fairness or delay of the tournament.  Please read the best practices guide thoroughly.

Special Rules:

In keeping with the SCJFL 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 SCJFL 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.

- Regardless of event size, no IEs will break more than quarterfinals.  No debates will break more than double-octafinals.

The Official NOJFC Shirt: 

Show everyone that you made it to Nationals during this tough time. Top quality material that will last through multiple pandemics. Support the non-profit league that has helped keep this activity alive and LIVE! Please order by June 12th, 2020. Please make sure coaches are aware of your request for the T-shirt. T-shirts will be purchased and shipped through the coaches.

(competitors may enter as many of the patterns as they would like))

Pattern A

(Students may enter only one of the following for this pattern):

- Lincoln-Douglas Debate (Resolved: The intergenerational accumulation of wealth is antithetical to democracy.)

- Public Forum Debate (Resolved: On balance, charter schools are beneficial to the quality of education in the United States.)

- Big Questions (Resolved: Objective morality exists.)

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

______________________________

Pattern B

(Students may enter no more than two of the following for this pattern):

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

Semi-final Round - Quotations

Final Round - Quotations

______________________________ 

Pattern C 

(Students may enter no more than two of the following for this pattern, except Extemp):

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)

(Students may enter only one of the following for this pattern):

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

Round 1 - Asia

Round 2 - Europe

Round 3 - Economy

Semi-final Round - The Americas (non-U.S.)

Final Round - Domestic News

______________________________ 

Pattern D 

(Students may enter only one of the following for this pattern):

- SPAR (Topics will be provided at the tournament)

______________________________

Elementary School Events (5th grade and below):

(competitors may enter as many of the patterns as they would like))

______________________________

Pattern E (Elementary only)

(Students may enter no more than two of the following for this pattern):

Declamation (5 min. maximum)

Poetry (use of manuscript required, 5 min. maximum)

Storytelling (5 min. maximum)

Informative (visual aids are allowed, 5 min. maximum)

OO/Persuasive (no visual aids allowed, 5 min. maximum)

Duo Interpretation (6 min. maximum)

Impromptu (7 min. bank)

Round 1 - Concrete nouns

Round 2 - Abstract nouns

Round 3 - Proverbs 

Semi-final Round - Quotations

Final Round - Quotations

______________________________

Pattern F (Elementary only)

(Students may enter only one of the following for this pattern):

- SPAR (Topics will be provided at the tournament)

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

______________________________

Updated Middle School Schedule*:

(All times are Pacific)

Thursday: June 11th, 2020

1:00 p.m.  Team registration/judge orientation 1

5:00 p.m.  Opening Ceremony 

Friday: June 12th, 2020

Saturday: June 13th, 2020 

Sunday: June 14th, 2020

Updated Elementary Schedule*:

(All times are Pacific)

Thursday: June 11th, 2020

1:00 p.m.  Team registration/judge orientation 1

5:00 p.m.  Opening Ceremony 

Saturday: June 13th, 2020

Sunday: June 14th, 2020

6:00 p.m. AWARDS

*The Tournament schedule may be adjusted depending on number of entries and time accommodations.  Please check the postings on the registration website for updated schedule changes.

Fees will be assessed on Friday June 5th, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. Pacific.  Any changes after this date will be subject to the following penalties.  Please enter all judges through the forensicstournament.net registration website mentioned previously.  

All fees will be frozen on June 5, 2020.  Payments must be made by credit card by Monday, June 8th at 12:00 p.m. (noon) Pacific.  An invoice will be generated through the registration site.

$50 school fee

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

$40 per Lincoln Douglas/Public Forum/ slot

Each school must supply at least one judge.  

$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, June 5th, 2020 (6/5/20) at 12:00 p.m. (noon) Pacific.

$50 No-show fee per competitor.

$50 No-show judge fee per round.*

$200 dropped judge fee after Monday, June 8th at 12:01 a.m. Pacific.

*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.

Contact:

If you have any questions or comments before the tournament, please feel free to reach out to us.

Tournament Director - Robert Cannon: Robert@Cannonballofdeath.com

Middle School Tabulation - Mike Kyle: mike@nova42.com

Tab Support - Danny Cantrell: danny@forensicstournament.net

Elementary Tabulation - Ebru Dogan: hafize.ebru.dogan@gmail.com

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

Link to NOJFC Parental Presence Waiver:

https://forms.gle/Co2cC3xQf5MJ2Nd68