Baltimore Catholic Forensic League

Building Future Leaders through Speech

http://www.bcfl.net

Diocesan Director Charles Donovan cdonovan@blakefield.loyola.edu Tournament Director Bob Dacey Daceybob@comcast.net

February 26^th, 2011

Dear BCFL Coaches:

The members of the executive committee present at the last tournament:

· Charles Donovan, Diocesan Director; cdonovan@blakefield.loyola.edu

· Bob Dacey, Tournament Director; Daceybob@comcast.net

· Jared Wastler, Assistant Director of Lincoln/Douglas Debate;

· Steve Sprouse, Assistant Director of Policy Debate;

· Mary Beth Baker Assistant Director of Speech,

· Howard Scott Assistant Director for Congress,

· Patrick Daniels Assistant Director for Public Forum,

· Carl Klein, Secretary/Treasurer.

Had the job to certify the qualifiers for the Championship Tournament in Debate and Speech. Qualifiers for Congress will be finalized following the last BCFL Congress. Their decisions are based upon the cumulative scores posted on the BCFL web site as well as last tournament rounds on that date. The assumption was that all data on the web site PRIOR to BCFL #6 was checked by all coaches and was accurate.

Qualifiers and events

Based upon established league formulas posted on the web site, we are qualifying 8 teams in policy debate, 16 teams in Public Forum and 16 debaters in LD. Additionally we will qualify 14 in Congress, 12 in Drama, 12 in Original Oratory, 12 teams in Duo Interpretation of Literature, 10 in Extemporaneous Speaking, 16 in Oral Interpretation of Literature, and 12 in Oratorical Declamation. All will compete for one of the 6 BCFL positions in each event at NCFL Nationals, held in Albany, New York Memorial Day weekend. Additionally we will conduct championship rounds in our two auxiliary events, Children’s literature where 12 students will compete and Impromptu which will have 12 students competing. It is important to note that students competing in BOTH of these auxiliary events will not be eligible to compete at nationals however their results will be counted into the Championship Tournament sweepstakes totals for each school.

Location and Time

The Championship Tournament will be held on Saturday, March 19, 2011 at Carver Vo-Tech High School (check the school website for directions). Check in of schools, students and judges will begin at 7am AND CLOSE AT 7:30. Student and Judges’ meetings for all events will commence at 7:45 AM. All rounds should begin not later than 8:00 am. We will be running at least 2 round in all speech events thus the need to begin early.

Costs

There is a fee of $20 per student per event to cover the tournament costs. (The cost for a policy team is $40. The cost for a student triple entered in 3 events is $60). Any judging fees incurred should be added to your registration costs.

Email Registration

We will use the Joy of Tournaments web site to register for this tournament. It is extremely important that you register competitors and judges byWednesday March 9^th at 5 PM so that we may have time to do any call-up required.

Judging Requirements, payments, and deadlines

Your judging requirements are as follows:

2 judges per policy team up to a maximum of 6;

2 judges per LD Debater up to a maximum of 6;

2 judges per Public Forum up to a maximum of 6;

1 judge per each 2 entries in speech up to a maximum of 6, and

Judges should be expected to help in multiple events as needed to field clean panels.

So we can provide the best judging possible, it is expected that judges you bring have some experience in the events in which they will be used. No novice judges should be asked to attend. Contacting former participants who have graduated is a great way to provide experienced judges. Additionally, we will try to provide hired judges at a cost of $75 per judge to schools who are short on their quota. We need to know any judging requirements by Wednesday March 9^th. Any judge you will the league to pay for must be approved by the directors and judge a minimum of 3 rounds as determined by the appropriate assistant director. Our web site will list the students who have qualified, and will a have a copy of the invoice should you need one for billing purposes. All payments for judges and entrants are due to Carl Klein the day of the tournament during check in, March 19^th, 2011, at Carver High School. Please do not mail your payments in advance. Bring them the day of the tournament. The cafeteria staff at Carver HS will be selling food to provide an economical lunch for student participants. There are no food establishments close by.

Announcing National Qualifiers

After the awards assembly at the conclusion of this tournament, it will be critical for all coaches who have students with the potential of going to nationals present so that we may certify students who will be attending the Grand National Tournament in Washington, DC. Prior to this time you need to determine from your students if they wish to travel to Washington. Also know in which event they will compete should they qualify in the top 6 of multiple events. Students may only compete in one event at Washington. Students who choose not to travel to Washington will be replaced by the next available call up competitor. THE COACH MUST BE PRESENT to accept a bid for a student. Having the answers to the above questions before the awards assembly will help move things along. It is projected that the awards assembly will be held in the Auditorium and begin about 6:00 PM.

Sincerely,

Robert Dacey Daceybob@comcast.net Charles Donovan cdonovan@blakefield.loyola.edu

BCFL Tournament Director BCFL Diocesan Director