NIETOC–“A Life Changing Experience”

We hope that 2020 is off to a wonderful beginning for everyone in the forensics world. We want to encourage all of you to continue sharing your stories and using your voices to make the world a better place. And we want to invite you to join us in the great state of Texas for the second decade of the National Individual Tournament of Champions. Andrew Barrett and his team at J. Frank Dobie High School have been hard at work since last May putting together another wonderful tournament experience for our guests. We are excited to announce that this year’s registration is open and ready for your entries. This newsletter is meant to provide you with some key details about planning and preparing for the competition. We look forward to seeing you and your students in Houston for another great weekend!

Matt Heimes,

President

NIETOC–“A Life Changing Experience”

Jackson Reich, Winston Churchill HS

2019 NIETOC DI Champion

“I came to NIETOC my sophomore year, unsure about where I fit/if I fit in speech. It was unlike any tournament I had been to at the time! That whole experience got me to fall in love with the activity and performing, my parents as well! My mom took me the first two years, my dad the last. Bringing them into this community, and seeing them fall in love with it as well, is something I’ll always cherish.

I was incredibly fortunate to make the DI final last year, and ended up winning the event and sweeps for Act 1 Schools. Beyond that, I was happy to be a part of such a massive celebration of art and performance for as long as I was. NIETOC gave me opportunities to speak, perform, share my voice and ideas with others and listen to so many brilliant stories. I guess that is what kept me coming back, this incredible community that is supportive and celebratory in and out of rounds: the students and coaches I met there really changed my life for the better.”

2020 Registration Now Open

Qualifying Methods

Students may qualify to attend the 2020 competition in one of the following ways:

A. Automatic: Semifinalist/Finalist at 2019 NIETOC, NCFL, NSDA national tournaments OR Top 3 at 2020 state tournaments.

B. Bid: Students must earn two bids in that event at the NIETOC-designated bid tournaments during the 2019-20 season and/or during the 2019 & 2020 post-seasons.

Check here to see if you/your students have earned both bids:

C. At-Large: Students must have three tournament final round placements (from any tournaments) that accumulate to a total of 10 or below. We will process at-large entries as room allows following the acceptance of automatic and bid applicants.

D. Bonus: Each school is granted two bonus entries in Duet Acting (as long as one of the actors is already qualified to attend) and one bonus entry in POI (as long as the school has other qualified entries).

Please find specific details about all options on our website and at SpeechWire.

Important Links

Preliminary Schedule

NIETOC Rules and Requirements

Becoming a Bid Tournament for 2020-21

The Perfect Performance

HEY YOU…YES, WE’RE LOOKING AT YOU…TAKE OUR SURVEYS!

HOST SITE SURVEY

Host Survey – Interested in hosting the NIETOC? Click above to complete an application for 2021, 2022 or 2023. Due Date: May 1 ^st .

WORKSHOP SURVEY

The NIETOC Board seeks your suggestions for workshop topics and presenters. Click link above to share your ideas!

NIETOC Seeking Tournament Ads

Whether you recognize your competitors or advertise next year’s invitational tournament, we hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to promote your program. All copy-ready ads should be sent to: mheimes@lps.org no later than April 10, 2020. The cost of available space is listed below:

FULL PAGE COLOR = $350; FULL PAGE BLACK/WHITE = $250

HALF PAGE COLOR= $200; HALF-PAGE BLACK/WHITE = $150

Welcome Extempers

We are excited to add Extemporaneous Speaking as a main event. Speakers will be competing in one combined division, with topics alternating between domestic and international themes from round to round. Topic areas for the tournament will be released by April 15 ^th . Final round topics for the 2020 NIETOC will be from International Extemp area. We will not be using cross-ex in the final round. More details can be found here.