An Overview of SpeechWire
The video below from SpeechWire talks about speech, debate, and student congress electronic ballots, as well as how they integrate with various virtual tournament approaches. As of 2022, we are operating on an in-person basis!
Judges will access their ballots using live.speechwire.com.
This PDF will show you images with some instructions on how to complete your electronic ballots.
How a round will function
Judges should click “Start” as soon as they enter their competition room. This will notify the tournament managers that you are present in your room.
At the scheduled start of each round, please ensure that all students are present before beginning. Your ballot may note that some students are double entered, and they may not be present at this time. It is okay to break the speaking order on the ballot to accommodate students that may be double entered. Students shall not be penalized for arriving late.
In draw events (extemporaneous speaking, extemporaneous reading, and storytelling), students will arrive one at a time in 8 minute intervals.
If you are not assigned a round, please wait in the judges’ lounge for fifteen minutes past the start time of each round. This is so tournament management can easily contact available judges if we need to replace a judge for any reason.
Writing comments and completing ballots
As always, the most important role of the judge is to write thoughtful and thorough comments. It is strongly recommended that you type your comments into a word processor like Word, Google Docs, etc., and then copy and paste them into the comment box on SpeechWire after the round has ended. In order to keep our tournament on schedule, please do not wait until the speakers has finished to begin typing your comments.
Please submit ranks as soon as the round is completed. You must submit and confirm your ballot within five minutes after the last speaker has concluded. If you have not completed your comments by this point, that is fine. You can always submit the ballot and then return to add additional comments by re-opening your ballot. Comments can wait, but ballots cannot!
During preliminary rounds, please use ranks of 1-5 only. For instance, in a six person room, judges should award two speakers the rank of 5. Speaker points will be used to determine the break between two speakers of the same rank. For final round, please rank all the way out (if there are 7 speakers, please rank 1-7).
Dealing with technical difficulties
If you are experiencing difficulties accessing or submitting your ballot on SpeechWire, please contact the Tab Room as soon as possible. We will be happy to assist you!
Thank you to coaches at Mankato West, Prior Lake, Chanhassen, Marshall, Mound-Westonka, Orono, Eden Prairie, and Eastview for assisting and creating this information. The information on this page was obtained from this Google Doc.