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The Laird Lewis Invitational Tournament prides itself on our event offerings. This and the Joy of Tournaments page provide the official rules for the 2010 Laird Lewis Invitational.

Lincoln-Douglas Debate :: Open & Novice
This popular style of debating features one person on each side. Propositions of value are debated with the emphasis on developing logical argumentation rather than an accumulation of information. You will learn values analysis, argumentation skills, sound and ethical uses of persuasion, and clear audience centered communication. The topic will be the January/February NFL topic, TBA.

Public Forum Debate :: Open & Novice
Public Forum Debate is audience friendly debate. You and a partner will debate controversial issues that are "stripped" from the newspaper headlines. A new topic will be announced the first day of each preceding month at www.nflonline.org. A Public Forum Debate round begins with a flip of a coin between the competing teams to determine your side and speaker position. Public Forum will test your skills in argumentation, cross-examination, and refutation. The topic will be the January NFL topic, TBA

Congressional Debate :: Open & Novice
This is individual debate in a large group setting. Legislative debaters research and write pieces of Congressional legislation that they feel will better the society in which we live. At a tournament, debaters will then speak on the legislation while using proper parliamentary procedure. Judges score each competitor based on argumentation ability, speaking technique, knowledge of parliamentary procedure, and overall participation.

Extemporaneous Speaking
Contestants shall speak on a topic of current interest which will be chosen from three topics drawn thirty minutes before competition. The time limit shall be 7 minutes with a 30 second 'grace period.'

Impromptu Speaking
Contestants will deliver a speech of from 3-5 minutes in length on a topic of general interest. Topics may be humorous or serious in nature. The impromptu speech does NOT have to be humorous to be deemed worthy and appropriate. Each speaker will choose from two or three topics provided by the judge. Prep time is 3 minutes. Contestants can jot down brief notes for reference in their speech.

Original Oratory
As orator you will be expected to research and speak intelligently, with a degree of originality, in an interesting manner, and with some profit to your audience, about a topic you have chosen. Although many orations deal with a current problem and propose a solution this is not the only acceptable form of oratory. Your oration may simply alert the audience to a threatening danger, strengthen its devotion to an accepted cause, or eulogize a person. An orator is given free choice of subject and judged solely on the effectiveness of development and presentation. The time limit shall be 10 minutes. However, each contestant is given a 30 second “GRACE PERIOD” without penalty.

Oral Interpretation
Contestants will perform selections from prose and/or poetry, or combination thereof with thematic purpose. Presentations must be read from a manuscript. The time limit shall be 10 minutes. However, each contestant is given a 30 second “GRACE PERIOD” without penalty

Oratorical Declamation :: JV
Students in 9th and 10th grade may participate in Declamation. In this event, students deliver a speech that has been previously delivered in public. The script must be memorized. Time limit of 10 minutes.

Dramatic Interpretation
This is an individual category in which the selections are dramatic in nature. Selections shall be cuttings from published-printed novels, short stories, plays, poetry, or any other printed-published materials. Presentations must be memorized, without props or costumes. The time limit is 10 minutes which includes an introduction. There is no use of physical objects or costume. The time limit shall be 10 minutes. However, each contestant is given a 30 second “GRACE PERIOD” without penalty. A cutting must be from a single work of literature: one story, or one play, or one novel or one or more poem(s). Use of focal points and/or direct contact with the audience should be determined by the requirements of the literature being interpreted.

Duo Interpretation
This is a two-person category in which the selection may be either humorous or dramatic in nature. In Duo Interpretation, focus may be direct during the introduction and the performers may look at each other, but must be indirect [off-stage] during the performance itself. All other rules are the same as Dramatic Interpretation.

Humorous Interpretation
This is an individual category in which the selections are humorous in nature. All other rules are the same as Dramatic Interpretation.

Radio Speaking
Contestants will deliver a radio broadcast of 3 minutes (no grace period). Students do not appear before the judge and are evaluated solely on what is heard. More information can be found on the Radio Speaking page on the Joy of Tournaments site.

Impromptu Duet Acting (IDA) - Supplemental Event
Students will pair up with a teammate and deliver a performance revolving around two characters and a situation. The students will draw three topics, choose one, and receive 3 minutes of prep time in which they may communicate quietly with their partner. The time limit shall be 5 minutes. However, each contestant is given a 30 second “GRACE PERIOD”without penalty. Creativity and originality play a large role in the judges decision. Students will re-register for this event after round 5. Students may team up with anyone in the tournament who has been eliminated from all entered events after round 5. ONLY students who have registered to be in IDA through Joy of Tournaments may register. STUDENTS MUST HAVE COMPETED IN A PRIMARY EVENT IN ORDER TO COMPETE IN IDA. Pre-registration is $10 on the JOT system, late registration is $20 on Saturday, Jan 10.

Event Divisions
All students are elgible for the Open division. Students in their first two years of debate are classified as JV. Students in their first year of debate are classified as Novice. In partner events, both students must be elgible for the event division.

Double Entry
Double entry will be allowed in all events, with the exception of Congress. Debaters cannot enter into two debate events. Event pattern information can be downloaded here.

Event Rules
The Laird Lewis Invitational Tournament will use National Forensic League rules for all events, with the exception of Oratorical Declamation, which will follow National Catholic Forensic League rules.

Laptop Computers
At the Laird Lewis Invitational, the use of laptops and all other electronic retrieval devices is prohibited in any round of any event and in Extemporaneous Speaking preparation.

Judges & Judging Obligations
Only high school graduates will be allowed to judge at the Laird Lewis Invitational. Please provide judges who you know to be competent and experienced, or, in the case that this is their first time judging, judges that you have personally trained. Judges should expect to judge both Open and Novice divisions where applicable. Please apply the following formula to determine your judging obligations:

Congressional Debate - Schools entering Congressional Debate must provide one dedicated Congressional Debate judge. If it has more than 12 Congressional students, it must provide an additional judge for Congressional Debate.
Lincoln-Douglas & Public Forum Debate - Schools provide 1 judge for every 4 total entries, or fraction thereof (Open and Novice)
Individual Events - Schools provide 1 judge for every 5 total entries, or fraction thereof.

LD judges may be hired for $130.00. No school may hire more than one LD judge. Speech, PFD, and Congress judges may be hired for $110.00. No school may hire more than 2 Speech/PFD/Congress judges. NOTE: No judges are required for Impromptu Duet Acting.

2008 Tournament Fees
The tournament entry fee is $20.00, assessed per student, per event. Double entered students, Public Forum and Duo Interpretation teams will be assessed $40.00. Registration fees are payable during final registration at the start of the tournament. Please make checks payable to Myers Park Debate Boosters. Please be reminded that registration for the Laird Lewis Invitational must be completed via Joy of Tournaments by 4:00pm, January 6, 2010.

Drops - Drops from the tournament will be assessed the entry fee if they are made after 4:00pm Wednesday, January 7, 2009. In order to best insure a smooth start for our tournament, PLEASE make every effort to notify us in advance of final registration of drops. “No Shows” the day of the tournament will be treated as unreported drops and be assessed $30.00 per “no show" in addition to tournament entry.
Additions - No additions to your entry will be accepted after 4:00 pm Tuesday January 6, 2009.
Name Changes - Name Changes will be accepted through the end of final Registration with no additional fee assessed.

Flighted Rounds
Open division debate rounds will be single flighted. All other events will be flighted, in a patterned format. Download a list of which events are in which patterns here later this summer.

Congressional Debate
Each student participating in Congressional Debate may submit one piece of legislation. The tournament directors will select legislation and post it here on December 15, 2008. All submitted bills must be in Microsoft Word 2003 format and formatted properly. Please email all bills to bills@lairdlewis.org. Bill submissions are due on December 9, 2009 at 3:00pm.

Ethics
Myers Park Debate upholds ethics to an extremely high standard and the same will be true at the Laird Lewis Tournament. Plagarism and falsifying of statistics/pieces will not be permitted. All students must have ALL research/statistics/cuttings/speeches, etc. present at the tournament. If a challege is presented, and this cannot be provided, a competitor will be disqualified.

Supplemental Event | IDA
The supplemental event, very similar to "Whose Line is it Anyways?" sketches, will be offered for non advancing students. There will be an additional registration fee. More details will be posted, including event rules, at a later date. Pre-registration is required for IDA and entry numbers will be limited to ensure that room usuage quotas can be met.