SCJFL SPEECH

SCJFL SPEECH TOURNAMENT

Friday, 3 April 2026

DEADLINE

28 Mar 2026
NO REFUNDS AFTER THIS DATE

ELIGIBILITY

Speech only
Open to middle school students

PLATFORM

Online through
forensicstournament.net and 8x8

Information

Greetings! For the 2025-2026 season, the SCJFL is happy to announce three online tournaments. All times are Pacific.

Location: online

Events:
Declamation/OI
DI
Duo
Extemp
HI
Impromptu
Informative
Persuasive

Double Entry: Students may enter up to two events.
Postings will be e-mailed.
Rules: For a complete list of rules, please visit the SCJFL.org website and click on RULES & BY-LAWS.

Judging Instructions:

Please remember that judge training is the responsibility of the judge himself/herself.
Judges who do not accept their assigned ballot will be charged a $25 no-show fee for the first offense. The second offense will be $50. Each subsequent no-show from the judge will warrant a $50 charge.
Judges can avoid this fee by coming to the judge table/standby room for their ballot assignment and notifying tournament staff; sometimes e-mails delay delivery for any number of reasons that are outside the control of the tournament staff. By notifying the tournament staff, judges can be messaged their ballot directly so that they aren’t marked as having missed the round.
All judges must submit their ballots electronically. Thus, each judge should bring a laptop or tablet to complete the ballot.
Judges who submit incomplete eBallots (with little to no substantive feedback) may be charged a judge no-show fee for failing to complete their judge assignment which includes both ranking the speakers along with giving sufficient comments. Unsatisfactory ballots will be determined by the tabulation staff.
Delay of tournament fees may be assessed from $20-$100 based on the severity of the delay.

Judge Preamble

All judges at SCJFL tournaments shall begin each round by reading the official SCJFL Judge Pre-Round Preamble. This preamble ensures consistency across all events, provides competitors with reminders about rules and procedures, and sets a professional tone for the round.
The text of the preamble shall be published by the SCJFL Board and included in tournament materials. Judges are required to read the preamble aloud verbatim before the round begins, making adjustments only as necessary to fit the specific event (e.g., clarifying time signals, online procedures, or rules about Internet use).

“Hello everyone, and welcome.
My name is [Judge Name], and I will be your judge for this round of [Event Name]. I have read the rules for this event and will follow them as I make my decision. Before we begin, I need to share a few reminders:
- [If online] Please keep your video cameras turned on during the round.
- [If online] Keep your microphones muted unless it is your turn to speak.
- According to the rules for this event, Internet use is / is not allowed. If I am uncertain, I will contact the tab room before we proceed.
- For time signals: in this event [the judge should state whether time signals are being used, and if so, explain what the signals are].
- If you have any questions about the rules or about how the round will run, please ask me now.
- If there is something you need to check with the tab room, please do so before we begin.
Once everyone is ready, we will start the round.”

Entry Price

One Speech Event and parent is judging $70
Two Speech Events and parent is judging $90

One Speech Event and parent is OPTING OUT OF judging $140
Two Speech Events and parent is OPTING OUT OF judging $160

Registration will not be complete until payment is received.

Fines, please read:

Judges who do not accept their assigned ballot will be charged a $25 no-show fee for the first offense. The second offense will be $50. Each subsequent no-show from the judge will warrant a $50 charge. Judges can avoid this fee by coming to the judge table/standby room for their ballot assignment and notifying tournament staff; sometimes e-mails delay delivery for any number of reasons that are outside the control of the tournament staff. By notifying the tournament staff, judges can be messaged their ballot directly so that they aren’t marked as having missed the round.
All changes or drops after the deadline will be charged a $25 nuisance fee for each change.
Students who drop from the tournament will be charged a $25 no show fee for each student if the coach notifies the tournament before the first dropped round.
Students who drop without notifying the tournament will be charged a $35 no show fee.
Judge changes after the close of registration will be charged a $50 judge nuisance fee.
Judge drops on the day before the tournament will be charged a $150 judge no-show fee in addition to any fees generated from having uncovered event-entries.
Judges who submit incomplete eBallots (with little to no substantive feedback) may be charged a judge no-show fee for failing to complete their judge assignment which includes both ranking the speakers along with giving sufficient comments. Unsatisfactory ballots will be determined by the tabulation staff.
Delay of tournament fees may be assessed from $20-$100 based on the severity of the delay.

Schedule

Schedule - PST:
4:00 PM – Round 1
5:30 PM – Round 2
6:30 PM – Round 3
8:00 PM – Final Round
9:30 PM – Awards

Drop Fee

All competitor changes or drops after the deadline will be charged a $25 nuisance fee for each change or drop. Judge drops on the day before the tournament will be charged a $150 judge no-show fee.

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

Contact Info

Victor Rivas Umana
Contact email: [email protected]
Nadia Budiman
Contact email: [email protected]
Or [email protected]

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 had not done so in the past, I need to verify my email with forensicstournament.net and agree to the competitor waiver. A notification for these will be sent to the competitor email within 24 hours of signup. *

YES I UNDERSTAND AND WILL DO

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
You may enter up to two events.

JUDGE PROVISION

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.

Judge fines, please read:

Judges who do not accept their assigned ballot will be charged a $25 no-show fee for the first offense. The second offense will be $50. Each subsequent no-show from the judge will warrant a $50 charge.
Judges can avoid this fee by coming to the judge table/standby room for their ballot assignment and notifying tournament staff; sometimes e-mails delay delivery for any number of reasons that are outside the control of the tournament staff. By notifying the tournament staff, judges can be messaged their ballot directly so that they aren’t marked as having missed the round.
Judge changes after the close of registration will be charged a $50 judge nuisance fee.
Judge drops on the day before the tournament will be charged a $150 judge no-show fee in addition to any fees generated from having uncovered event-entries.
Judges who submit incomplete eBallots (with little to no substantive feedback) may be charged a judge no-show fee for failing to complete their judge assignment which includes both ranking the speakers along with giving sufficient comments. 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 *

Judge phone *

First time judging?
This is a great collection of short videos that one of the leagues have put together to learn each event: click here.
Click here to find other training and official certification resources. 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 $50 judge nuisance fee. Judge drops after this date will be charged a $100 judge no-show fee.

TOURNAMENT UPDATE REGARDING JUDGE BALLOTS:

We will need to begin implementing the fine for blank/nearly blank/insufficient 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 CONSTRUCTIVE 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

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 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: [email protected]

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

Dublin: Loving Tree Academy, 6693 Owens Dr, Pleasanton, CA 94588