Community Judge registration will open at 8:00 am Tue 03/25/2025 (Central)
Tournament Status will update to Open at 2:00 am Thu 03/27/2025 (Central)
Tournament Status will update to Drops only at 12:00 pm Mon 04/07/2025 (Central)
Meal registration will close at 10:00 pm Wed 04/16/2025 (Central)
Tournament Status will update to Closed at 7:00 am Sun 04/20/2025 (Central)
Community Judge registration will close at 5:00 pm Sat 04/26/2025 (Central)
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.
Community Judges
COMMUNITY JUDGES
April 25th through April 26th
Our goal is to help these student hone their communication skills. We want them to be able to communicate with "the man/woman on the street". No experience or prior knowledge is necessary! We are looking for people from the community to volunteer as judges. Serving as a judge is truly both enjoyable and rewarding. Caution: You might get hooked! We have over 100 community judge slots to fill, having your help is a huge blessing!
How does it work? You would be listening to a round of speech given by 12 - 19 year olds from the homeschool community at large.
You will receive a brief speech orientation 45 minutes before your round begins. You would be assigned a room with 3 - 8 speeches. You will listen to those speeches and then use the guidelines we provide to decide which speech was most persuasive/polished down to which needs the most work. You can give feedback on the paper ballots we provide.
Am I Qualified? Yes! Any adult (age 18 and over) willing to be a judge is qualified. A training session is provided prior to each event to guide you in your role as a judge. The training session requires your attendance, so Please arrive 45 minutes before your scheduled judging time.
Dates and Times April 25 - 26, 2025
Judges would need to commit approximately 2-3 hours.
Tournament Hours: Time slots are available all through the day. You do NOT have to stay all day!
Friday, April 25, 7:30 AM - 8:30 PM
Saturday, April 26, 7:30 AM - 6:30 PM
When you go to the Community & Alumni Judge Registration link, you will be given several time slots to choose from each day. If you decide to stay and help after your first judging round, just visit the ballot table for instructions.
Tournament Location First Landmark Baptist Church 206 SE 28th St Bentonville, AR 72712
Thank You As our gift to you, our Judges' Hospitality room is open all day to relax in, offering complimentary meals and coffee and snack options for you to enjoy.
Thank you for considering serving as a judge at our tournament. We appreciate your time and contribution to investing in the lives of the next generation. Volunteers from the community are a valuable asset in improving our students' public speaking skills!
Registration Information
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
March 27: Registration opens at 8:00amCST
April 6th: Registration closes at 11:59pmCST April 7-14: Wait lists will be addressed and communicated Scripts Due: April 15th, 2025 by 11:59 pm Script Corrections Due: April 17th, 2025 by 11:59 pm
Patterns are listed on the Schedule page but are subject to change based on registration.
Registration Fees Speech Event - $30 for first event, $15 for each additional event Parliamentary Debate - $40 per debater Junior Events - $20 flat fee per student Family Registration Fee: $10 per family
This is NOT a drop off event.
Payments Electronic payment of all registration fees and meal tickets is mandatory for participation in The Pen and The Sword. Payment via Stripe (through ETCNWA Homeschool Group) is appreciated, and no check or cash will be accepted. Payments will not be accepted at the tournament.
Registration is not complete until your fees have been paid. Please understand that in the team event, Duo Interpretation, if both partners are not registered and paid in full, both registrations remain incomplete. A space cannot be held for that team. The partially registered teams will be moved to the wait list with their partner until both registrations and payments are complete.
Stripe Surcharge: Competitor is responsible for all charges incurred via Stripe, whether those be associated with initial registration, event add/drop, or withdrawal from competition. Please note that these fees are non-refundable, regardless of date of add/drop as we cannot recover these costs.
Refund Policy Cancellations prior to registration close, will garner a full refund minus any Stripe fees. Registrants must contact The Pen and The Sword director before registration closes. If we are contacted after that time, we will not be able to offer refunds.
Dropping Events There will be a $25 drop fee if an event is dropped after registration closes up through check-in. Drops create a domino effect of extra work for staff because they affect room allocation, judging needs, awards orders, and award ceremony.
Partnerships All DUO events require a partner. Each should check with your partners to ensure that they are also registered. A team is not registered until the second person of the partnership has registered.
Waiting List If you are wait-listed, we will contact you asap if you have been moved to an open spot. We will make considerations for the wait-list after registration closes. Thank you for your patience!
Please contact us for extenuating circumstances which will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Dress Code Please come in STOA dress code attire. For the duration of the tournament, students should remain in proper attire that is clean, neat, and modest. If at any time a student changes into casual wear, this standard applies.
Judges It is our goal to have three judges in every speech round. Judges don't need any prior experience! Our Judges Orientation will fully equip everyone in attendance to judge ANY event. We have a lot of judge slots to fill. We sincerely appreciate your assistance.
Visitors To keep everyone safe, all adults in the building need to check-in and wear a name badge.. If you don't receive a name badge at the Friday morning check-in, please stop by the Judge Greeter to get one.
ETCNWA, our parent homeschool organization, requires guests to check in and name badges. Please let family and friends know to enter though the Main Entrance on the North side of the building so they can pickup a badge.
Registrar Contact Please direct any questions concerning registration or tournament details to the Michelle Johnson at penandsword.ar@gmail.com
Parent Judge Information
Anyone that has had any exposure to speech and debate tournaments knows
we cannot run a quality tournament without parent judges.
We have MANY judge slots to fill!
Parent/Adult Judge Tournament Attendance
THIS IS NOT A DROP OFF EVENT
Every student must have a participating parent/adult judge present at the tournament. While we understand that it is sometimes more convenient or cost-effective for families to send their students to tournaments with other families, this is not a drop-off event and no student should be on campus without a parent/adult.
Parent judging requirements:
We will be requiring parents to sign up based on the events their student signs up for. Plan to judge the number of rounds specified when you register. Please be prepared to judge a round for each event on the schedule when possible.
Parent Check-In and Judging:
We will be having parent check in along with student check in so we can go over the slots you have selected for judging. Please show up for your chosen timeslot. If we happen to have enough community judges when you arrive, we'll send you on your way :-)
Meals
MEALS
Note: After April 16th, all meal orders will be closed and are non-refundable.
Note: If you want to order meals and need dairy or gluten accommodations, please email us and we will let you know if we can help.
Parent and Student meals are under the Meal signup section and are for Lunch and Dinner both days. The Student meals (parents can purchase these meals too) are listed for Lunch and Dinner each day. The Parent Pass is available for Judge's Chambers meals.
All parents will need to purchase meals if they would like to eat tournament food in the judges chambers, even though everyone is judging multiple rounds. Only community judges and full-time staff may eat free of charge. Food should not be taken out of the Gym or Judges Chambers area. Per the Churches request, NO FOOD should be taken throughout the buildings. Drinks with lids are acceptable.
*Food in the Judges Chambers is for Community Judges and Parent Passes.
Any meal additions between April 15th and 22nd need to be emailed to penandsword.ar@gmail.com. Those meals must be paid in full immediately. No onsite meal payments will be accepted.
Bringing Your Own Food NO crock pots or other cooking devices are allowed in the facility. Families are welcome to bring coolers as needed. Please know that families will not have access to kitchen facilities (microwave, refrigerator, etc).
Concession Stand There will be a concession with snacks, heavy snacks, drinks, and candy available all day Friday and until Clean-Up on Saturday.
Junior's Tournament
JUNIOR'S TOURNAMENT
We are very excited to offer Junior Speech Events A Final Schedule will be determined after registration closes.
JUNIOR SPEECH EVENT
There will be 3 rounds for the Juniors in the following categories Juniors Events
CHECK IN - FRIDAY MORNING with Seniors at 8:00am or as a Junior at 11:00am
Mandatory Check-In: Check in will be April 25th from 11:00 -11:15 (or in the morning with Senior siblings.)
Student Name Badges Juniors and Adult name badges will be distributed at Check-In.
Topics for Junior Bible Story Impromptu: 2024-25 Bible Story Impromptu Topics
Healing of Naaman
Jonah
Noah's Ark
Christ is Born
Jesus turns water into wine
Jesus calms the storm
The burning bush
The Tomb is Empty
Jesus walks on water
Prodigal son
Daniel in the lions' den
Saul becomes Paul
Topics for Junior Apologetics: 2024-25 Apolgetics Topics
Who is Jesus
How does the Holy Spirit help us?
What is creation?
What is the fall?
Why did Jesus have to die?
Is Jesus the only Savior/way to heaven?
What is grace?
What is prayer?
What is sin?
What is the Bible?
Why must Jesus be truly human and truly God?
How many persons are there in God?
Juniors Judges Calling All Senior Event Competitors! Senior students, we need you to judge the Juniors Speech Events. You must have competed in at least one NITOC-modeled tournament as a Senior prior to The Pen and The Sword. Sign-up sheets will be available throughout the tournament. Juniors Judges need to arrive 15 minutes before each Juniors round in order to judge. At that time, they'll go through a short judges' orientation to prepare them.
Script Submission
SCRIPT SUBMISSION
All senior competitors with prepared speeches must complete the script submission process.
There is no script submission for junior speech events.
The Pen & The Sword is requiring 100% ELECTRONIC script submission for this tournament.
Please use the following information to submit your scripts:
Script Submission Opens: March 25th, 2025 Scripts Due: April 15th, 2025 by 11:59 pm Script Corrections Due: April 17th, 2025 by 11:59 pm
All script scripts must be submitted by the deadline above to avoid being dropped from that event. You will receive a confirmation email once your script has been received and approved.
Arkansas Oak Competitors: An approval for The Oak = an approval for The Pen & The Sword (if you are not making changes!)
Subject Line: Event Name - Your Name Attachment: A copy of your script Attachment: A copy of your Oak Tournament approval confirmation email. If you have made changes, please submit your script as normal.
Combine each speech into a single PDF file. (Recommended: Use a PDF phone scanner app)
Name the file correctly: Last Name, First Name - event.pdf
Submit Script by emailing an attachment to scripts.penandsword@gmail.com
Correct or Celebrate: If your script is returned for corrections, complete any requirements in a timely manner and resubmit. Otherwise, it is time to celebrate your approval!
Siloam Springs Rising Eagles will offer a one-day LD Debate tournament the day before The Pen & The Sword.
Siloam Springs, AR, April 24, 2025 The Siloam Sizzler is a Stoa NITOC-modeled tournament offering Lincoln Douglas Debate.
Registration Opens: - March 27, 2025 Registration Closes: - March 31, 2025
Tournament Location Siloam Springs Bible Church 927 S. Oak Hill Siloam Springs, AR 72761
The Siloam Sizzler is just a 30-40 minute drive from Bentonville. Be sure to check out their information on the Stoa calendar at the Siloam Sizzler tournament link.
Location and Parking
Tournament Location First Landmark Baptist Church 206 SE 28th St Bentonville, AR 72712
Parking Student: Parents and students should park in the large parking lot behind the Gym and Main buildings on the SouthWest side of the property. Overflow can be located on the South side of the Gym. Judges: Please park in front of the Sanctuary in the North Parking Lot. Overflow will be located on the East side of the Gym.
Buliding Map Our facility has two buildings. The gym building and the Main Building. Please familiarize yourself with the facility to know where to park and where to enter.
Tournament Time
