Making Online Tournament Administration a Breeze!
ForensicsTournament.net can handle online competition rooms, ePostings, and eBallots with the push of a button. Rather than sending postings or ballots to PDF, just send them to competitors & judges via email or text.
We charge no extra fees for online tournament features.
When COVID-19 shut down forensics in March 2020, ForensicsTournament.net stepped up to create a turnkey online tournament system. Within 6 weeks, we hosted the National Online Forensics Festival featuring 26 schools, 120 students, and 76 judges in speech and debate events. Opening ceremonies, final rounds, and the awards ceremony were streamed live to YouTube.
By May, we hosted the 10th annual California Middle School Forensics State Championship with 37 schoools, 600 students, 300 judges, and 1100 sections over the course of 3 days. 37,000 emails and 7,000 texts were sent.
ForensicsTournament.net is ready to step in and help tournaments move online this year. We are proud to offer a straightforward solution for competitors, judges, and coaches alike. We continue to add new features and make online tournaments as easy as possible.
Coach Guide
Quick introduction to online tournaments for coaches attending online tournaments. Information on how to save email and/or cell phone numbers for students & judges. (PDF )
Competitor Guide
Helpful information for students on ePostings, how to use 8x8 video conferencing, and steps to help compete successfully. (April 2020)
Judge Guide
Information on filling out eBallots, the 8x8 video conferencing solution, and other best practices for judges at online tournaments. (April 2020)
Synchronous Tournament Guide
Quickstart guide for tournament directors includes tournament setup, best practices, and information on awards. (September 2020)
Asynchronous Tournament Adaptation
Quickstart guide for tournament directors includes tournament setup, best practices, and information on awards. (October 2020)
Fees
ForensicsTournament.net doesn't charge anything extra for our online tournament solution. We still charge the same $5 per school. Because our video competition room solution uses a complimentary service, there are no additional fees to pass along for video services. And streaming awards to YouTube means no costs there either. We spent a lot of time debating over which video software made the most sense - and it seemed pretty clear the free one that's easy and straightforward to use won out.
Resources
Video Series explaining the steps to hosting online tournaments with ForensicsTournament (August 2020)
Overview Google Slides showing many screen shots of the process. You can see my presentation on YouTube. (presented at the H.O.S.T. online tournaments conference, July 2020)
Reflections (Google Slides) on hosting the 2020 National Online Forensics Festival (presented at the 2020 NDC-IE conference, June 2020)
Best Practices Guide developed by the Southern California Junior Forensics League who hosted 10+ online tournaments since March 2020.
PSCFA Warmup Thoughts shared by Prof. Twee Pham (Mt. SAC) - Tournament Director for the 2020 PSCFA Warmup tournament.
Tournament Directors Facebook Group spot to share lessons learned.