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.

• Check-In: Parents must check in with their student between 7:00–7:25 AM. After confirming that both the competitor and parent judge are present, the student will be allowed to compete. After check-in, come to Ballot Push so that we can get the ballot pushed and start the tournament on time. When you can, please move your car to street parking to make room for community judges.  See the Parking Map for suggestions about where to park.

• Ballot Push: Plan to arrive at Ballot Push 40 minutes before each round to confirm if you are needed to take a ballot. Parent judges are essential to the success of this tournament—your willingness to judge is deeply appreciated!

• Judging Commitment: Plan on judging at least three rounds, and more if possible. Ballot Push will let you know if additional judges are needed. Be prepared to:

  • Judge alternating rounds or consecutive rounds, depending on the schedule.

  • Be flexible and prioritize community judges who have volunteered their time, giving up your ballot if needed.

  Greatest needs for Parent Judges: The 8:00 AM round and Finals.

• Online Judge Orientation is available: Use this Google Form (https://forms.gle/fvaPqdiK4ixCFyHA8)  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 set lunch break. Parents will need to eat when they are not judging, and students will squeeze meals between speeches.

  • Snacks, coffee, and simple refreshments will be available in the Judges’ Lounge.

  • So that you can stay on campus to judge, please pre-order meals during registration or bring your own food.

Judging Policies

• If necessary, during preliminary rounds, parents may judge students from their own club under these conditions:

  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 their child’s close friend).

  3. The parent can remain impartial throughout the round.

  We strive to have three judges per preliminary round and trust parents to honestly assess their ability to judge impartially.

• Final Rounds: Parents may not judge students from their own club in Final Rounds.

• Judging Events: To ensure fairness and variety, parents should judge each event only once during the tournament (e.g., judge Apologetics one time, not multiple rounds).

Thank You!

Parents, your willingness to serve as judges is what makes this tournament possible. Thank you for helping us run smoothly and ensuring every student receives the feedback they need to grow!

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.

Fees and Refunds

**Fees: **$30 per speech event

Registration is open January 2 (8 am) – Jan. 8 (9 pm).  During this time, drops can be made with refunds.

Payment: Registration is complete when your fees have been paid! We need a final headcount to plan rooms, awards, judges, and other logistics.

• Beginning Jan. 11, late fees of $10 for late registration payments

• Beginning Jan. 12, a fee of $20 if an event is dropped, and there will be no refunds for drops.

• No refunds after Jan. 12.

Thank you for your understanding and for helping us keep the tournament running smoothly!

Script Submission has not yet opened.

Dates:

Script Submission OPENS: Monday, January 13, 2025 (updated 12/31)

Script Submission CLOSES: Tuesday, January 21, 2025, 9:00 pm PST (updated 1/11)

Electronic script submissions only.

1. READ the Script Submission Guidelines for your speech event:

• Interpretation Script Submission Guidelines 2024-2025

• Platform Script Submission Guidelines 2024-2025

• Slam Poetry Script Submission Guidelines 2024-2025

• Helpful tip: www.citethisforme.com is a user-friendly aid to properly formatted citations.

3. PREPARE YOUR SCRIPT SUBMISSION FORM with your parent or coach.

• Duo Interpretation Script Submission 2024-2025

• Dramatic Interpretation Script Submission 2024-2025

• Humorous Interpretation Script Submission 2024-2025

• Open Interpretation Script Submission 2024-2025

• Platform Script Submission 2024-2025

• Slam Poetry Submission 2024-2025

4. COMBINE each speech package into A SINGLE FILE in PDF format. Scan into a single file or use a file joiner such as:
~ Free PDF Merge Help
~ To make PDF's of printed docs with your phone, search your app store for "PDF Scanner App"

5. NAME YOUR FILES
Like this: LastName, FirstName - Event.pdf
Example: Lewis, Clive- DI.pdf

6. UPLOAD your completed script submission materials to this Jotform upload link.

Incomplete Submissions:
When a script is returned as incomplete or unapproved, it will be returned with suggestions for correction and will require a resubmission within 48 hours. A resubmitted script will be treated as a new submission.

Questions about Script submission?

Email script.siliconvalley@gmail.com