2024 Light the TORCH

THANK YOU for your interest in judging at our LIGHT THE TORCH Speech and Debate Tournament! We rely on community support to help our tournament run smoothly!

This website will allow you to pick the time that works best for you to judge.

While we would love for you to judge more than one round, please DO NOT sign up for consecutive rounds as you'll need time to complete your ballots and report to ballot push for new ballots.

Tournament Date: SATURDAY OCT 19, 2024
LOCATION: CAPITAL BAPTIST CHURCH
3504 Gallows Rd
Annandale, VA

Watch this video about why we need judges and what you can expect:

Stoa Speech & Debate - Judge Recruitment (youtube.com)

SPEECH & DEBATE TRAINING 

Judging Videos Click HERE!!!

Inside this Google Drive folder there is one video for Speech training and one video for Debate training. Please watch them before arriving at the tournament, if you are able. 

You only need training for Limited Prep speech events and/or Lincoln Douglas Debate.

Please arrive 45 minutes before your selected speech or debate round to receive judge orientation. If you don't need training, arrive 20-30 minutes prior to your round to get a ballot. It would be helpful if you have already watched the videos before you arrive at the tournament and our trainers will answer questions. 

TIME COMMITMENT FOR JUDGES

3 – 4 hours which includes 45 minutes for training and a maximum of 1.75 hours of listening to speeches based on 8 students each giving a 5-7 minute speech with a 2 minute break in between speakers to jot down remarks. The remaining 30 minutes to an hour is allotted to completing all the ballots. LD Debate rounds only last 45 minutes so they are much shorter for judging than speech events.

For scheduling purposes please allow an hour to complete the ballots. The students value your comments on the ballots and will learn from them. Some judges can give great feedback in a short amount of time, while others need longer.

Also if you arrive early, stop by Judge Hospitality where you will find a variety of good things to eat and drink. These goodies will also be available while you are completing your ballot.

You will receive an e-mail giving details about check-in, judge orientation, etc. approximately a week prior to the tournament.

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS!