JUDGING INDIVIDUAL EVENTS
General Instructions
Arrive at the tournament no later than the time specified by the judges’ coordinator. Details of all tournaments, including addresses and directions can be found on the tournaments page of the team website:
www.stowspeechanddebate.info
When you arrive at the tournament, obtain a map of the school from the registration table and make your way to the judges’ lounge. You do not need to register with the tournament officials.
- In the judges’ lounge the tournament host usually provides coffee and donuts to the judges.
- Have a seat and wait. Our school’s judges’ coordinator will find you and give you a judge code. Each judge has a unique code.
- Following the opening ceremony, or sometimes at the same time as the open ceremony, there will be a meeting for judges to receive specific instructions. Listen carefully to these instructions. This will help guide you through your day.
- NEVER skip the opening assembly or judges’ instructions because every tournament is a little unique in some way.
- Know the location of the TAB ROOM. It will be on the map. If you can’t find it, ask. This information will usually be given out during the opening assembly or judges meeting.
Obtain your MASTER BALLOT. Each tournament may differ in how these are distributed.
- Generally, the first round master ballots will be distributed after the opening assembly following the judges’ instructions. They will hand out the ballots by calling out Judge Codes, so be sure to know your code.Subsequent ballots are usually given to you from the TAB ROOM, after you turn in your previous round ballots, or 15 minutes before the rounds begin. (if you didn’t judge the previous round.
- Generally, all individual events rounds will run consecutively—one right after the other with very little time in between them.
- Your master ballot will have your Room number assignment on it.
- It is a good idea to obtain the speaking order for the round prior to going to your assigned room. Usually, you will find these posted on the walls near the tab room, by event. Find your event, and round and write down on a slip of paper (the back of the map for example), the Speaker codes in order. Don’t worry if you don’t do this, the students will have the speaking order and you can always ask one of them for it when you are in the room.
- If you are not scheduled to judge, please stay in the judges’ room or designated area. You may be called upon if a judge is needed for any reason. It also makes it easier for your coordinator to find you if needed.
Judging the Round
Arrive at the assigned room. Be sure you are in the right room. When in doubt—ask the students in the room to verify.
Determine if all speakers are present. It is possible that you will arrive to the room ahead of them. Or they may all be in the room by the time you get there.
- Have the students verify for you the speaker codes and their order.
- Some speakers may have dropped.
- If any speakers are missing, wait for approximately 5 minutes after the designated start time. If they don’t arrive by that time, you may start. Some previous rounds may have taken longer. If a speaker shows up after their time spot, they will speak last.
- NEVER begin a round with FEWER than 4 competitors.
- Collect the individual student ballots from each competitor. (The exception to this rule will be the extemporaneous category in which the students arrive one at a time.)
- Place the ballots in speaking order.
When you are ready to begin, Call the speakers in the order in which they are to speak. Speakers should not be allowed to speak out of order. There are occasionally exceptions to this; when a speaker or group of speakers have been given permission to speak in a different order (i.e.: first) because they need to leave early, or are competing in multiple events, etc. They will let you know this when they enter the room.
- Begin timing with the first movement or spoken words by the competitor. (They will usually look to you and wait for a nod that you are ready for them to begin.)
- Make comments on the individual critique sheets as the speaker is speaking. The students are used to this. You may also wish to have a separate notebook to keep notes about each speaker. These are notes for you only, to help you rank the students later. Sometimes it is difficult to remember specific details once you have watched 5+ performances.
- On their individual ballots, give both positive comments and suggestions for improvement. Remember that beginners need encouragement. Be sure to follow the guidelines and instructions on the ballot sheets. You cannot make up your own rules. Know what the rules are for each event.
- Never give oral critiques. Simply thank them when they are done.
- Be sure to stop timing when they have finished and record the time on their individual ballots. Finish writing your notes, quickly, and then ask for the next speaker in order.
As the round proceeds, keep a grid of speaker numbers and rank them as you go. See the ranking sample at the end of this document.
- Remember a ranking of “1” is for the speaker you felt did the best.
- There are no ties allowed in the rankings.
- Wait until all speakers have finished and you are sure of your rankings before writing them on ballot sheets.
When the round is over:
- Thank the speakers and let them leave. You keep the individual ballots and will turn them into the tab room when completed.
- Fill in the rankings on BOTH the master ballot and the individual ballots. On the master ballot, record the speaker code, title of piece, rank, and quality points. These should be listed in SPEAKING ORDER not in ranking order.
- Assign speaker quality points. Never give quality points below 70. Never give a lower ranked speaker more quality points than a higher ranked speaker. Never give 2 competitors the same quality points.
- SIGN the master ballot and the individual ballots.
- Return all ballots to the TAB ROOM and obtain your ballot for the next round.
All events have specific rules that you need to know. The ballots list what the rules are. If it is not listed there, it is not a rule. Additional information and judging guidelines can be found on the team website judging page:
www.stowspeechanddebate.info
Ranking the Speakers
When you are judging individual events, you will usually have between 4 and 7 speakers in each round. These speakers are to be ranked against each other, with “1” being the best rank. NO TIES can be given. Rank the speakers based on THIS performance only, against other competitors in the room at THIS time.
1. For example: There are 5 speakers in your event: (for example purposes they are code S1 – S5)
2. On a piece of paper form a grid that will look something like this:
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
When speaker S1 finishes, put a “1” next to their number.
When speaker S2 finishes, decide at this point, which speaker performed better, and re-rank them. Speaker S1 may still be number 1, or perhaps S2 will now become number 1, and S1 will be number 2:
S1 1 2 3 3 4
S2 1 1 1 2
S3 2 2 3
S4 4 5
S5 1
You now have your ranks ready to transfer to the master ballot and the individual ballot sheet. Assign quality points accordingly.
This is an example only. You will develop your own method that works best for you.