TOURNAMENT RESOURCES
Tournament Posting Instructions & Requirements
​Tournaments meeting the Stoa Minimum Tournament Standards (accessible below) may be posted to the Stoa Calendar and to Speechranks. Participation may help students earn an invitation to NITOC. Tournaments will need to be completed by May 1st with result uploaded to Speechranks immediately thereafter in order to be considered for NITOC.
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If this is your first time hosting a Stoa tournament, we would love to provide help and encouragement. Please contact the Training & Development Committee.
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If you are hosting with a new approach and would like a Stoa Board member’s input, please email us. We would love to provide direction and encouragement. Please contact the Stoa Board.
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To post your tournament on the Stoa Tournament Calendar, please read the Stoa Minimum Tournament Standards and then complete the Stoa Tournament Posting Application. Please be aware, processing to be placed on the calendar may take up to two weeks.
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Recommended Stoa Student Protection Guidelines
Click here to view the Recommended Stoa Student Protection Guidelines.
Ballots, Rules, and Script Submission Documents
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Debate ballots and rules are available on the Debate Resources page.
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Speech ballots, rules, and script submission documents are available on the Speech Resources page.
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Ballot Colors
Tab Help
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Re-ranking Support
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Stoa Tabulation Core Values and Principles
Stoa Tabulation has spent thousands of hours to produce tab processes and procedures to best benefit Stoa students and families participating in speech and debate.
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Stoa Tabulation has Core Values and Principles which it applies to all tabulation processes.
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The first is Stoa’s belief in a Transparent Tabulation policy based on biblical principles.
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The second is a set of four Core Principles upon which Stoa tabulation (and any tabulation process) must be built. All choices made for tabulation procedures must abide by these four principles.
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I. Stoa Transparent Tournament Tabulation Core Values
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Stoa leadership believes that policies ought rightly to flow from biblical principles. Admittedly, there is no reference in Scripture to the tabulation of Speech and Debate tournaments. However, there are Biblical principles that can guide Stoa tabulation behavior.
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Scripture generally speaks with condemnation of that which is done in secret. God knows the natural tendency of our sin nature to hide the secret errors of our ways. To combat this natural tendency, Scripture promotes the concept of presenting ourselves before witnesses through confession, openness, and accountability as a means of insuring honesty and integrity.
The following Scriptures illustrate the Biblical norm. This is not a comprehensive list of verses on the subject, but it is a good representation.
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John 18:20 (New International Version, ©2011)
“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.”
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Proverbs 10:9 (New International Version, ©2011)
“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.”
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Proverbs 11:3 (New International Version, ©2011)
“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.”
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Proverbs 28:13 (New International Version, ©2011)
“Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
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Job 13:9-10 (New International Version, ©2011)
“Would it turn out well if he examined you? Could you deceive him as you might deceive a mortal? He would surely call you to account if you secretly showed partiality.”
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Mark 4:21-23 (New International Version, ©2011)
“‘He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.’”
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2 Corinthians 1:12 (New International Version, ©2011)
“Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace.”
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2 Corinthians 4:1-2 (New International Version, ©2011)
“Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.”
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In accordance with Scripture and to promote openness and accountability, Stoa has adopted a Transparent Tabulation Policy. Stoa leadership is accountable to the members of Stoa and Stoa members have a vote on the important decisions of Stoa. To maintain this consistent model, Stoa Tabulation Processes are accountable to the members of Stoa. Without such an approach, there can be no true accountability.
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II. Stoa Tabulation Core Principles
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Merit
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Students should be rewarded for their performance at the tournament. The “better” students should earn the highest rankings and the “lesser” students should earn lower rankings
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The procedures chosen should allow for the separation of the students into appropriate placings during the course of the tournament.
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The procedures chosen should allow the better students to “rise to the top” and the lesser students “to settle to the bottom.”
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The meritocracy process has the benefit of allowing students to more frequently compete against other students of similar ability.
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Fair
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It must be understood that no process can be 100% fair to 100% of the student competitors 100% of the time.
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The procedures chosen should be made to be as fair as possible to the most students possible most of the time.
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Equitable
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The procedures chosen should impact students as proportionally as possible.
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Consistent
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The procedures chosen should reflect the overall goal of producing the best result and should be internally consistent with other procedures within the tabulation process.
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There are different methods of tabulating speech and debate tournaments. The methods chosen should be based upon and consistent with the core values of Stoa Tab.
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III. A Biblical Approach to Tournament Tabulation
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Stoa Tabulation (“Tab”) Rooms will operate with the utmost integrity to serve member families and bring glory to God through that service. Biblical accountability should be a hallmark of all Stoa tournaments and the tabulation of those events. All Tabulation Rooms and Tab staff should seek to be above reproach in all their activities.
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A. Before the Tournament
Tournament Administrators will inform tournament attendees of the methods to be used for tournament tabulation. Most tournaments default to following the recommended Stoa Tabulation suggestions posted on the Stoa USA website. If some other tabulation method is being used, then that information should be provided.
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B. During the Tournament
The tabulation staff will do its best to answer all questions from tournament attendees about tournament tabulation processes. Pre-tournament posting of the tab process should decrease the number of questions. Tournament attendees may not request results during the tournament, just information about the process being used to determine the results.
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C. Dealing with Tabulation Errors and Mistakes
All those serving in Tournament Tabulation are acknowledged volunteers doing their best to insure the accuracy of results. It is possible that an occasional tabulation error may occur. The Tabulation staff should not conceal these errors, but learn from them in an effort to improve the Tab process. Any errors will be dealt with openly and honestly and every effort will be made to correct the error within reason. Members must acknowledge that this could benefit some students and produce less desirable effects for other students. The goal is to insure the best and most accurate results possible. All affected parties should be given full disclosure to the Tab process in order to be assured that the process has proceeded with integrity.
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D. After the Tournament
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Tournament Tabulation information (debate cumes and tab files) will be available to all interested parties upon request.
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All Stoa tournament results will be posted to the National Christian Homeschool Speech and Debate Rankings website (www.speechranks.com)
a) The Speechranks site shows the top 85% of students at each tournament. (The lower 15% are hidden out of consideration for those that did not perform as well as they might have hoped.)
b) It is to the student’s advantage for every student in each event to be given a specific place of finish. The student’s cumulative scores and national rankings will benefit. (Speechranks will still accept information from tournaments where all students do not have an assigned place of finish.)
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E. Dispute Resolution
All parties to tabulation disputes will follow the guidelines of the Peacemaker Pledge that accompanied registration with Stoa. Any non-Stoa members involved will be expected to abide by the same Pledge.
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IV. Additional Comments
To help implement the above, it is recommended that Stoa Tab Rooms be staffed by multiple clubs.
For smaller tournaments, the Tab Room should be staffed by at least two clubs.
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Local Autonomy
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Stoa tournament administrators are free to tabulate their tournaments as best fits their local needs.
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Changes to the usual Stoa Tab procedures must be noted on the tournament registration page prior to the opening of tournament registration.
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There is no requirement to use any particular tabulation software.
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Stoa does make Joy of Tournaments available for any Stoa tournament courtesy of Mr. Hinkle the program author.
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Follow this link to the Tournament Software page.
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Joy of Tournaments produces files that are readily uploadable to Speechranks.
Judge Orientation
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Debate​
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LD Debate Orientation Slides March – NITOC 2025 coming soon!
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LD Debate Orientation Slides Jan – March 2025 coming soon!
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Speech​
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Statement of Faith
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Judge Reminders​
Room Administration​
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Timer Worksheets
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Extemp Timesheets
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Timepiece Recommendations
In reading the rules for this year’s speech events, you may have noticed that ALL speech events call for timepieces facing the students. Here are some tried models of timepieces that we would like to recommend. For most rooms where the competitor is only a few feet from the judge’s table, this small timepiece does well: Taylor Digital Timer with Jumbo Readout Mfr # 5896. We suggest you search online for the best available price. They are typically under $10, but we have seen them as low as $4 when bought in bulk.
For finals rooms where competitors may be further from the judges’ table, we recommend a limited number of large timepieces. Click on these links to see two examples:
What’s best for your tournament?
Stoa values local control of tournaments. These recommendations are just recommendations. Tournaments may use their existing timepieces or may choose to find different ones. Local tournaments may still opt to have timekeepers give hand signals. Do what’s best for your tournament!
Apologetics Question Generator 2024-2025
Mars Hill Topics Generator 2024-2025​
​Extemp Tips for Question Writing
The Questions and Topic lists are available on the Speech Resources page.
What is Tournament in a Box?
Tournament in a Box is a resource to help Stoa members run tournaments. First-time organizers will find step-by-step instructions for starting strong. Experienced tournament directors will find new ideas and tools.
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Existing Users
If you already have access to Tournament in a Box, click here.
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New Users
To get started, users must:
- Have a Google Account
- ​Have a Current Stoa Membership