The Milton Academy Speech and Debate Team

The Milton Academy Speech and Debate Team

Invites you to the

Milton Miracle Tournament

February 20, 2016

Dear Coaches,

Milton Academy will be hosting its “Miracle” tournament on February 20. It’s a miracle because we never thought we would have the rooms to do it! We realize that that is the second weekend of public school break, but we wanted to offer one more MSDL tournament for students that are in town to get another bid for the state tournament. We also realize that the tournament may be a little smaller than some tournaments but as long as we have 200 entries from other schools we will be able to host. Our plan is not about making money, but we have to pay the staff of the snack bar for opening up to have food for the tournament and that is a large cost to us. We don’t exactly want to run a tournament and lose a lot of money! We will be closing the tournament for entries a few days earlier than usual to make sure we have the numbers and the rooms to handle the tournament efficiently. We also realize that we are in “snow” season and will be checking the weather carefully for the two weeks before the tournament. If the weather turns bad we will post a cancellation on the MSDL website as soon as we decide.

In lieu of trophies and creating one more thing that will end up in a land fill we will be giving engraved keyrings to all finalists. The “Top Novice” in each non-novice even will also receive an award.

Sweepstakes awards will be presented to the top five large and top five small schools, with small schools classified as fifteen entries or less. Points will be calculated using the 5-4-3-2-1-1 system for preliminary scores and final placement. The top entry in ten different events plus two additional entries will be counted.

We look forward to seeing you in February!

Please email with any questions.

Sincerely,

Susan Marianelli / Patrice Jean-Baptiste- Coaches School: 617-898-2153 Cell: 812-205-6592

Maddie Dupre / Mack Makishima – Student Hosts

General Information

Here at Milton we have a hot snack bar. Breakfast foods, drinks, and snacks will be served from 8 to 11. Lunch foods, drinks, and snacks will be served from 11 to 2. The menus for breakfast and lunch are listed below.

1)The registration fee is $6 for individual events and $12 for Duo Interpretation. Fees must be paid in cash or by check. Checks should be made out to Milton Academy Speech. Please note that if you have late changes that incur fees, you will be expected to pay those fees when you register even if you bring a check that was made out for the original registration amount.

2)The tournament is double-entry in all events except Congress, Group Discussion, Novice and Varsity Extemp,and Radio.

3)All students, except those entered in Congress, may enter Multiple Reading. Those who are already double-entered may “triple-enter” in Multiple unless they are in VX, NX, or RB.

4)You are required to bring one judge for every five entries or fraction thereof in speech events. Judges must be available to judge all preliminary rounds and finals. If one of your judges must leave early, you must arrange for a replacement judge to take his/her place. There will be a $50 fine for each missing judge. This fee is not to be used in lieu of providing required judges. Judges must have graduated from high school.

Event Information

Children’s LiteratureNovice Reading

DeclamationOriginal Oratory

Dramatic PerformancePlay Reading

Duo InterpretationPoetry Reading

Novice ExtempProse Reading

Varsity ExtempRadio Broadcasting

Group DiscussionMultiple

ImpromptuStudent Congress

Multiple will have a final round only if there are more than 5 multiples registered.

Congress:Will run only if we have at least 12 of studentsregistered in the event. Bills will be available at

Group Discussion Topic: OBAMACARE

Standard Conduct

Students must be accompanied by an adult, approved by their school administration, who will be responsible for them during the entire time they are present at the tournament.

In order to be able to host tournaments, we rely upon the generosity and good will of the faculty and staff Milton Academy. Please be respectful of their classroom spaces, as well as their belongings. No one, including judges, should sit at or touch anything on a teachers’ desk. If you discover that something is amiss, please report it to the TAB room as soon as possible so that we can address the issue before Monday morning.

Standard rules of professionalism and etiquette must be abided by at all times.

Registration Information

Register on-line at

Deadline for Adds: Friday, February 12, 2016 at 5:00 pm. *Note we need the earlier deadline so that food can be ordered. All judge names must be finalized by Thursday, February 18, 2016 at 5:00 pm.

Drops and name changes:

You may enter your own name changes and drops in the system until Thursday, February 18, 2016 at 5:00 pm.

Drops that occur after 5:00 pm on Thursday should be emailed to or called in on Saturday morning between 7:00-7:45 am.

Saturday Morning Check-in:

Please call or text (812) 205-6592 to check in between 7:00-7:45 am on Saturday morning. If there is no answer, do not leave a message, text or try again in a few minutes. Even if you have no drops, please let us know so we can begin to panel rounds at 8:00 am and start the tournament on time. MSDL rules permit a $25 penalty fee assigned to schools that fail to check in during the morning call-in period.

Coaches should remember to provide their students and judges with their code numbers in advance of the tournament. This is particularly important for experienced judges who may be arriving separately from the team.

Tentative Schedule is as follows:

7:00 to 7:45Call in 812-205-6592

8:15 to 8:45Registration

8:30 New Judges Meeting

9:00Ballot Pickup for Experienced Judges

9:10Opening Meeting and Postings Student Center

9:30Round 1

10:45Round 2

12:00Round 3

1:30Multiple

2:00Draw for Finals in the Library

2:30Finals

4:30Awards**

** At the conclusion of awards, please have a representative from your school pick up your results packet. Ballots will not be mailed. If you cannot stay until the end of the day, you may pick up your ballots at Milton Academy the following week or we can bring them to the next MSDL tournament for you to pick up there.

Speech Tournament Menu

Breakfast

Bagels1.00/ with cream cheese 1.35

Cinnamon Donut1.00

Egg Sandwich with Cheese & Meat2.50

Egg & Cheese Sandwich2.00

Greek Yogurt2.00

Yoplait Yogurt1.50

Apples, Banana, Oranges .75

Fruit Cups1.75

Purity Juices2.00

Chocolate Milk2.00

Coffee, Tea1.75

Lunch

Hamburger2.00

Cheeseburger2.50

Chicken Finger Basket3.00

Vegetable Quesadilla with salsa3.00

Assorted Chips1.50

Assorted Candy1.50

Fruit Cups1.75

Water1.00

Assorted Beverage1.50