2025 Silicon Valley Speech Tournament

• Setup:

  This status is used while the tournament is still being setup.

• Open:

  This status means tournament registration is open. Families can register for the tournament.

• Drops Only:

  This status means only registration drops are allowed. There are no new entries allowed but families can drop entries.

• Closed:

  This status means registration is currently closed for the tournament. There are no adds or drops allowed. Please contact the tournament director with any questions.

• Completed:

  This status means the tournament is completed.

You will need to check in at the same time as your student. After confirming that both competitor and parent judge are present, the student will be able to compete.

Thank you for your understanding and efforts to make this tournament successful! If everyone follows this policy, everyone will have some time when they are not needed and the tournament will run smoothly.

We hope to be blessed by the support of many community judges but parents, you are the people who will make the tournament run well! Your willingness to take ballots is essential. Please go to Ballot Push 40 minutes before rounds to see if you are needed to take a ballot.

Plan on judging at least three rounds. Please judge more, if possible. If we have many community judges, ballot push will let you know whether or not you are needed for that round. You can judge alternating rounds, or consecutive rounds if the round is shorter.

Even though you will select specific rounds on your registration, be flexible at the tournament. We want to prioritize community judges that have taken time out of their day to judge our students!

Greatest Needs for judges--8 am round and Finals!

Check-in is 7:00-7:25 am. Check in with your student on time, then come to Ballot Push so that all ballots can be pushed AND we can start the tournament on time.

Online Judge Orientation is available. Use this form to watch Stoa's 20-minute video before you come to the tournament. The Judge Orientation Team will be available to answer additional questions.

Meals
We do not have a time set aside for lunch. Parents will need to eat when they are not judging, and students will need to squeeze meals in between speeches.

We will have light food in the Judges Lounge, and especially want to feed Community Judges well. Coffee and simple snacks will be available throughout the day. For "real meals," please order meals for yourself and your family members when you register. Meal details will be on the website by December. You can also bring your own delicious food!

Judging Preliminary Rounds:

If necessary, we will allow parents to judge students from their own club if:

1. The parent has not actively coached that speech,
2. The parent does not have a personal conflict with the competitor (e.g., the competitor is her son’s best friend), and
3. The parent is able to be impartial in judging the round

It is our desire to ballot 3 judges for every prelim round at the tournament. We trust that parents are able to honestly assess their ability to judge impartially.

Final Round:
Parents will not be allowed to judge students from their own club in the FINALS.

Parents should only judge an event once during this tournament. In other words, a parent should only one round of Apol, not more than one.

Extemp has priority! If you are in other speech events, be sure you schedule your time so you do not miss your draw time. The times are fixed and if you are late to the prep room, your prep time is shortened. Speaker positions cannot be switched or changed.

Note: Speaker 1 prep time will begin at the start of the speech round. Check the speaker order before the round begins.

Extemp First Draw times:
Round 1 - 8:00 am
Round 2 - 12:00 pm
Round 3 - 4:30 pm

Extemp instructions

Please arrive at check-in no later than 7:20 am. After 7:25, you risk forfeiting Round 1.
Announcements begin at 7:25 am.
At 7:45 am, the Extemp Team will escort Extempers to the room for Extemp Draw.

Extemp postings will be posted next to the Prep Room 10 minutes before the first draw.
The prep room is being used for other speeches during Pattern B so you will want to retrieve your computer after you speak. Proctor will not remain in room once students are gone.

Liability:
1. Students must accept full responsibility for the safety and security of their electronic devices for the duration of the tournament.
2. Tournament staff are not responsible for the devices at any time.
3. All electronic devices should be clearly labeled with the participant's name and contact information.
4. WiFi is not guaranteed on campus.

There is no scheduled lunch break.

Competitors will have to squeeze meals in between speeches. Parents will need to eat during the patterns that they are not judging.

Because of the tight schedule, we request that families stay on campus for lunch, either pre-purchasing these meals for the whole family, or bringing your own tasty meals.

Meals must be ordered and paid for by Jan. 13, 2024, or else your order may be dropped.

Each meal also comes with a snack and fruit. To lessen waste, please have each family member bring their own water bottle.

Lunch

Choice of cheese or pepperoni pizza, from Costco. $2.50 per slice. Each slice is 1/8 of an 18" pizza.
Order the total number of slices for your family members.

Dinner

Option 1: Chick Fil A Regular Chicken Sandwich (with breading) $10
Option 2: Chick Fil A Grilled Chilled Chicken Sandwich (no breading) $10

Food will be available in the Judges Lounge, but we want to have enough for Community Judges. Stoa parents--please grab snacks from the Judges Lounge, but purchase or bring meals for yourselves and your whole family. Thank you for understanding.