CMSF

13TH ANNUAL CALIFORNIA MIDDLE SCHOOL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

20-21 May 2023

DEADLINE

13 May 2023
NO REFUNDS AFTER THIS DATE

ELIGIBILITY

Open to 5th-8th graders

PLATFORM

Online through
forensicstournament.net and 8x8

Information

Greetings to all middle school speech and debate clubs and schools!

California Middle School Forensics is proud to announce the 13th annual California State Championship. This tournament is meant to encourage a healthy competition at the state level and provide an opportunity to sharpen competitive speeches before the national tournament.

The schedule may need to be extended, depending on interest in events. For example, in previous years, additional elimination rounds for Impromptu and SPAR have been needed to accommodate the number of entries. We will try to notify teams of any schedule changes as soon as possible.

Rules/Event Descriptions:
All events will follow CMSF rules. 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 state tournament only. Such rules and procedures are marked as “CMSF,” but in the absence of such indications, all other SCJFL rules will apply. If you have any questions about rules or procedures, please feel free to reach out through the e-mail below.

Postings:
Postings will be sent to each student before the round begins.

Awards:
All competitors advancing to an elimination round shall be awarded for doing so. The tournament shall award school sweepstakes awards for the top three overall schools. Points shall be calculated in accordance to the CMSF rules and by-laws.

Eligibility:
This event is run by the California Middle School Forensics (CMSF), which is a subsidiary of the Southern California Junior Forensics League (SCJFL).
Students from 5th grade - 8th grade are permitted to compete at this tournament.

Special Rules:
In keeping with the CMSF 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. While students may not write pieces themselves unless the event requires it, but are allowed students to use literature from any source, published or non-published.
SPAR times are the following: (2 prep) Pro 2; Con 2; Cross 4; Pro 2; Con 2.
Performative plagiarism, as outlined on in the CMSF 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.

Wellness:
We have designed the schedule for this tournament with great care. 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.

Judges:
One of our biggest concerns is that we do not run late. We require each judge to use a laptop or mobile device to record onto ballots. All judge training shall be the responsibility of that judge. Schools who register judges that are not well-equipped or properly trained may be fined delay of tournament fees.

Events & Double Entry Restrictions:

Pattern A (Students may not enter events in pattern D)

- Lincoln-Douglas Debate (Resolved: Nationals topic announced May 1st, 2023)
- Public Forum Debate (Resolved: Nationals topic announced May 1st, 2023)

Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, and Big Questions will all be randomly assigned for the first two rounds and then power-matched for the remaining preliminary rounds. All elimination rounds will be standard bracket rounds. SPAR rounds are paired and run similar to an IE event. Please see the CMSF Rules & By-laws for more specific information.

Pattern B (may enter no more than two from the following):

Prose (use of manuscript required, 7 min. maximum)
Humorous Interpretation (10 min. maximum)
Persuasive/Original Oratory (no visual aids, 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
Semifinal Round - Quotations
Final Round - Quotations

Pattern C (may enter no more than two from the following):

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)

(or may enter only one from the following):
Extemporaneous Speaking (30 min. of prep / 7 min. maximum)
Topic areas (in no particular order):
The Americas
US Economy
Middle East
Domestic News
Science & Technology

Fines:

$20 per any entry changes after May 10th
$50 no-show fee per competitor (event fees will not be refunded for drops after May 10th)
$200 dropped judge fee (per day) after May 14th
$20 No-show judge fee (first offense)*
$40 No-show judge fee (second offense)
$50 No-show judge fee (each subsequent offense)
Judges who do not write sufficient feedback to the competitors will be fined $20 per round. Unsatisfactory ballots will be determined by the tabulation staff.

*Ballots will be sent to judges approximately 10 minutes before the beginning of each round. Those who do not receive a ballot but are scheduled to judge that round will be sent a standby notice. Standby judges should go to help room and wait for their name to be called. If a judge is put on standby but does not accept a ballot when their name is called in the judge standby room, that judge will be deemed as a no-show, and penalty fees will apply.

Entry Price

One speech event $70
Two speech events $90
Three speech events $110

LD only $90
LD and one speech $110
LD and two speech $130
LD and three speech $150

PF only $70
PF and one speech $90
PF and two speech $110
PF and three speech $130

If your child is doing speech and you are opting out of judging, you will pay an additional $80.
If your child is doing debate and you are opting out of judging, you will pay an additional $150.
If your child is doing both speech and debate and you are opting out of judging, you will pay an additional $160.

Parent Judges: First Missed Ballot - $20 / Subsequent Missed Ballots - $50
*please accept all ballots that have been sent to your email or wait in the standby room when you don't get one to avoid these charges

Each person in a PF team would be responsible of providing their own judge, so one PF team would need to either provide two judges, both pay the judge fee, or one of each option.

Registration will not be complete until payment is received.

NOTE: We will charge set up fees if we have to create tabroom.com accounts for judges. It is recommended you do so on your own.

Schedule

Full Combined Schedule*:
*Specific schedule for each pattern can be found to the right of the combined schedule.
Pattern A is PF and LD debate.
Pattern B and C are speech events.
Pattern D is Congress (this is for students in the GSA elementary classes only)
Patter E is SPAR (this is for students in the GSA elementary classes only)

Saturday: May 20, 2023
8:00 a.m. Round 1 Pattern B (Pro, HI, Per, Duo, STE, Imp, SPAR)
9:30 a.m. Round 2 Pattern B (Pro, HI, Per, Duo, STE, Imp, SPAR)
11:00 a.m. Round 1 Pattern A (PF, LD) / Pattern D (WS, Cong, Po)
1:00 p.m. Round 3 Pattern B (Pro, HI, Per, Duo, STE, Imp, SPAR)
2:30 p.m. Round 2 Pattern A (PF, LD) / Pattern D (WS, Cong, Pol)
4:00 p.m. Elim 1 Pattern B (Pro, HI, Per, Duo, STE, Imp, SPAR)
6:00 p.m. Round 3 Pattern A (PF, LD) / Pattern D (WS, Cong, Pol)
7:30 p.m. Round 4 Pattern A (PF, LD)

Sunday: May 21, 2023
8:00 a.m. Round 1 Pattern C (DI, Dec, Poe, Sty, Info, POI, Ext)
9:30 a.m. Round 2 Pattern C (DI, Dec, Poe, Sty, Info, POI, Ext)
11:00 a.m. Round 3 Pattern C (DI, Dec, Poe, Sty, Info, POI, Ext)
12:00 p.m. Round 5 Pattern A (PF, LD)
1:30 p.m. Elim 1 Pattern C (DI, Dec, Poe, Sty, Info, POI, Ext)
3:30 p.m. Semifinals Pattern A (PF, LD)
5:00 p.m. Finals Pattern A (PF, LD)
8:30 p.m. Awards

Drop Fee

Changes or drops after May 11th will be charged a $20 nuisance fee. Drop requests should be made to Victor and Nadia.

Please do not drop out last minute to avoid being charged these fees.

Contact Info

Victor Rivas Umana
Contact email: vrivasumana@tgsastaff.com
Nadia Budiman
Contact email: nbudiman@tgsastaff.com
Or info@tgsastaff.com

Registration Form

STUDENT INFORMATION
Suggested attire for the tournament can be found here.

Competitor Guide
Judge Guide
Tournament Best Practices

* Indicates required field

Student Name *

First

Last

Student Email *

Student Phone Number *

If I have not done so in the past, I need to verify my email and agree to the competitor waiver from the Forensics website. I will look out for the notification requests in the next 24 hours. *

YES I UNDERSTAND

PARENT CONTACT INFORMATION
Your email address will be the one included when we send the logistics email.

Parent Name *

First

Last

Parent Email *

Parent Phone Number *

EVENT SELECTION
Make sure you have checked the schedule carefully.
If you wish to double or triple-enter, you are responsible for your own schedule. We are not responsible for conflicts.
*Some elimination rounds happen at the same time even if the preliminary rounds do not. So if you make it to both, you'll need to choose one to forfeit.

JUDGE PROVISION

If you are signing up to judge, you must be available for the entire tournament schedule of your child's division (eg. if your child is competing in middle school, you need to be present for the whole middle school tournament.

Judges are obligated to be on standby for each round. If you do not get a ballot, please go to the help room and wait there in case you get called to cover for a no-show judge. This tournament is very strict in using fines for enforcing punctuality and judge presence, so make sure to follow all their rules to avoid getting charged.
Judges who do not accept their assigned ballot will be charged a $20 no-show fee for the first offense. Each subsequent no-show from the judge will warrant a $50 charge. Judges can avoid this fee by coming to the judge standby room for their ballot assignment; sometimes e-mails delay delivery for any number of reasons that are outside the control of the tournament staff. By coming to the standby room, judges can be messaged their ballot directly so that they aren’t marked as having missed the round.
Judge drops after the registration deadline will be charged a $100 no-show fee.
Judges who do not write sufficient feedback to the competitors will be fined $20 per round. Unsatisfactory ballots will be determined by the tabulation staff.
See good ballot examples here

Will you (parent) be judging at this tournament? *

Judge Name *

Judge email (do not leave blank if judging) *

Judge phone *

If I have not done so in the past, I need to verify my email with the Forensics website. I will look out for the notification requests in the next 24 hours. *

YES I UNDERSTAND

TOURNAMENT UPDATE REGARDING JUDGE BALLOTS:

We will need to begin implementing a fine for blank/nearly blank ballots.
Oral Critiques: No ballot may be returned without a written reason for decision. Oral commentary is not considered a substitute for the written ballot.
Judges who are unfamiliar with events may be removed from the tournament at the discretion of the tournament staff, and fines may be applied.
A good concept in writing a ballot is the compliment sandwich (write a compliment, add some constructive feedback, and end with another compliment). It is frustrating for students to receive a speech ballot that says, “Great job!” with a 5th place ranking and with no actual useful feedback.

Please confirm that, *

I HAVE READ THE BALLOT UPDATE TO THE RIGHT AND UNDERSTAND THAT I NEED TO WRITE A THOROUGH WRITTEN BALLOT WITH USEFUL AND CONSCTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK OR I WILL BE FINED. IF TIME IS RESTRICTED, I WILL MAKE SURE TO SUBMIT A RFD FIRST, THEN RETURN AND FIX MY FEEDBACK ONCE THE OTHER ROUNDS ARE OVER. Not judging

First time judging? Click here to learn how to do it!
Or watch our Youtube playlist here.
Next, we found this judging guideline from the platform that we will be using.
Also, if you are using eBallots for the first time, check out how they work on this link here.
There are also these training cards available that include a summary of each event's rules and comments.

*Judges changes after the deadline will be charged a $20 judge nuisance fee. Judge drops after the registration deadline will be charged a $100 judge no-show fee.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

I will keep a copy of this form for reference. *

YES

We are signing up with the understanding that my child will work to be ready by the tournament date. If we choose to drop out because my child is not ready that will be considered when making assessments for future classes. *

YES

I understand that if I fail to drop the tournament before the deadline that I will still be responsible for the fees of both my son or daughter, along with that of his or her partner and the fines. *

YES

I understand that if payment is not received we won't be registered and our spot will be given up to someone else. *

YES

I confirm that I have completed all necessary paperwork for this tournament. *

YES

I understand that The Golden State Academy has no control over tournament entries other than the initial sign up. I understand that my child's priority will be based on either the last time I signed up OR the date paid, whichever is latest. *

YES

I understand that my child must check in and check out periodically at the tournament with the coach and that if I do not my child will be barred from participating in following tournaments. This is to ensure coaches can see where students are at competitively and to give any initial feedback for improvement. *

YES

I understand that I can check my entry status through forensicstournament.net. *

YES

I am a consenting adult. I understand that by submitting this form I agree to all that has been covered. *

YES

Submit/take to payment

We would love to have you visit soon at one of our open houses.
Check our home page for the schedule!

School year Hours

M-F: 3:45 pm - 8:30 pm
Sun: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Telephone

510-270-8480
510-470-0531

Email (preferred)

For more info email us at: info@tgsastaff.com

Locations

Fremont: 200 Brown Rd #201, Fremont, CA 94539

Cupertino: 20432 Silverado Avenue Suite 211, Cupertino, CA 95014

Aborn Institute: 2804 Riedel Road, San Jose, CA 95135