Fire on the Ridge 2017!
Dear Coaches and Competitors,
It’s time for Fire on the Ridge! We cordially invite you to come compete on the Western Edge of Greeley on December 2nd, 2017. We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve again received approval as a bid school for the 2017 NIETOC (more info below)! We’ll run Wave A and Wave B with debate running on its own time schedule.
Wave A: DX, DUO, OO, POI, Congress A
Wave B: HI, FX, DI, INF, POE, Congress B, Extemp Commentary (new event this year details below)
Debate Wave - will be on its own schedule.
There will be finals and potentially honors finals where NIETOC bids are on the line!
Congress Details

We have a revolving congress session. We will make every effort to maintain the same judge for all 3 rounds, but if that is not possible, there will be a different judge each round and results will be averaged to determine awards… the student must be in all three rounds to be eligible for an award and the last PO gets the PO award. Legislation will be emailed out to all coaches Monday of tournament week. If schools do not submit legislation, I will provide the docket. No walk up legislation. Judges will have the power to dismiss a student from the congress session if that person is not following proper decorum.

Extemp Commentary

This is just the name that Speechwire uses. What this event is going to be is a “team” extemp. I’ve spoken with a few people about this idea in the last couple of years, and I’m going to debut it this year. I want schools to create a “team” for extemp based on who might be the best in a given subject area. Individuals can only be on one team, and a person cannot do all the rounds by him/herself; thus, a team would be made up of at least 2 people but up to 4. If you are thinking about using a debater for one of the prelim rounds, don’t. A debater can only be in a round if he/she is not competing in the 5th debate round. For entries on this event, please just enter “School Name 1,” “School Name 2” etc.

Round 1 – Hollywood Round 2 – Music Round 3 – Sports Round 4 – Potpourri

Students will draw in round (draw 3 choose 1), and will have 5 minutes to prepare for the speech. They are allowed to use a note card. They can speak up to 5 minutes on the topic. They do not have to answer yes or no to the question, but they can if they choose. They are expected to provide commentary on the question.

Sample questions: How much should we care about the Kardashians being renewed for seasons up to 2020? Is country music still relevant? Does Hollywood care too much about couple’s names? Is the current NFL season a bust? Is drug use in sports something we should just accept? Will we ever have another Twilight or Harry Potter young adult reading craze?

For this event, I have to charge a little most because all of the competitors on the team will get an award, and we’ll recognize the top 6 teams on stage and at least the top 3 will get medals.


Entry Fees
Entries will be accepted until 50 rooms are filled. We strongly encourage early entries so we can plan for judges accordingly. Fees are $8.00 per single entry, $16.00 for DUO, $12.00 for ExtCom because of how many kids will get awards, and $5.00 per student congress entry. For debate, 10 for LD and 20 for PF because all competitors get 4 rounds of competition, and a 5th round for undefeated debaters unless only one is left of course.
Judges
PLEASE HELP US WITH JUDGES. I will contact the judges if you provide me with phone numbers, or email. If you want us to run on time, we must have the judges. ALL coaches who are not working at the meet will judge 2 rounds during the day. No matter the circumstance, every team is required to donate two rounds of judging by any coach – head or assistant will do. Coaches not wishing to judge or who do not provide a judge for the 2 donated rounds will be asked to pay a $30 judge fee.
NIETOC Information: This is an official bid tournament. Students advancing to bid rounds of this tournament will earn one official bid for the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions held May 11-13, 2018 at Denver East High School!
NIETOC Events: Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Duet Acting (not offered at Fire on the Ridge) and Original Oratory; supplemental events of Prose and Poetry and Expository. Champions in Main Events and Supplemental Events will receive scholarships.
How to earn a bid or bids for NIETOC:
0-25 contestants = FIRST PLACE BID

26-49 contestants = FIRST, SECOND & THIRD PLACE BID

50-74 contestants = FINAL ROUND BID

75-99 contestants = SEMIFINAL ROUND BID

100 + contestants = QUARTERFINAL ROUND BID


http://www.nietoc.com/how-to-qualify.asp
Facebook for judges:
**Courtesy of Sarah French-Hahn we have a Facebook page for Northern Colorado judges. Please tell your judges to search for ‘Rocky Mountain North Forensics Judges’ and ‘like’ the page.
Please make the checks payable to: Northridge HSSpeechand Debate
100 N. 71st Ave
Greeley, CO 80634
REGISTER ON Speechwire.com
Enclosed is further information, including a tentative schedule. If you have any questions, you can contact me at: Cell phone:(785) 230-0705or email:


Schedule of Events
BE ON TIME and we’ll have a much greater likelihood of getting out on time!
6:55-7:25 Registration – Park in the lot West of Northridge and coaches come to the library to register and competitors will be guided to the cafeteria. If you are running late, grab a cell phone and call my cell phone so we can schedule the tournament and assign judges before you arrive!!!
7:50 Round 1 DX and FX Draw – if you are late, your extempers may lose the opportunity for full prep time.
Wave A Events will run: 8 - 11 - 2:30 - finals 5
Wave B Events will run: 9:30 - 1 - 4:00 - finals 6
Debates will run as close to (if not earlier) 8:01 - 10:31 - 1:01 - 3:31 - 5:01
Extemp draw: This will take place 10-15 minutes prior to scheduled start of the round. Please note that this includes starting round 1 draw promptly at 7:45 in TSA 113.
Double Entries
Students can only enter 1 debate event - debaters are guaranteed 4 rounds - that's the tradeoff
Extempers can enter both exemps.
Interpers can double enter in the same way and quadruple enter if they really wish to.
Awards: will be given to all students who place 1-6. There will be a combination of medals and ribbons.
Judging: ALL Coaches will be asked to judge at least two rounds. Coaches not wishing to judge will be assessed a $30 judging fee.
In order to help the tournament run on time, please inform your judges that they need to remain in the judges’ room, they should not hang out in the cafeteria with the competitors AND IMPORTANTLY… No Oral Critiques.
Debate Topics
LD debaters will use the NSDA Nov/Dec topic.
PF debaters will use the NSDA Dec. topic. For PF, debaters WILL USE THE COIN FLIP. Make sure your debaters are prepared to debate both sides.
Powering: We will power all rounds beginning after round 1.
Lunch: Lunch will be served for coaches and judges – soup, sandwiches, and desserts. A concession stand will serve coffee, soup, pizza, snacks, etc. There are no restaurants within walking distance of Northridge, and there will be a variety of food choices for students. All of the proceeds benefit the NHSSpeechand Debate team.
Tab Room = Library: REGISTER HERE ASAP IN THE MORNING! We are going to be tabbing the tournament in the library. Please come join us at any time. There will be some coaches asked to help with portions of the tab room. But otherwise, the Northridge library is pretty hospitable, but it can be cold depending on the day, so if it’s snowing or raining rhinos and elephants, dress appropriately.
Ballots: We are not totalitarian about perusing ballots, but please don’t leave with them before the meet concludes. And please don’t disclose results to kids. That’s just not the way we roll.
Two more things:
1. DO NOT take ballots from the tab room during the competitions, and thus, DO NOT give ballots to your students until the conclusion of the awards ceremony.
2. Be respectful of those coaches who do not disclose results throughout the day, and keep tab room information to yourself and don’t share it with your competitors.
Please register online by visiting SpeechWire.com by Nov. 29th so we can plan for food and judges.
Make checks payable to:
NorthridgeSpeechand Debate
Northridge High School
c/o Josh Seematter
100 N. 71st Ave
Greeley, CO 80634