Bylaws for the Administration of the Championship IE Tournament

Section 1. As per Article, Section 2 of the MISL Constitution, any member school is allowed to participate in the State Championship Tournament upon payment of the annual membership fee.

Section 2. Contestants must be enrolled undergraduates at the school they represent. They need not be full-time students.

• Contestants may not have received a bachelor's degree or its equivalent.
• Graduate students are not eligible for competition.
• A student shall be limited to four (4) years of eligible competition at the state tournament. These years need not be consecutive.
• Exceptions shall be made for students who graduate midyear, but who are otherwise eligible to compete at the State Championship Tournament.
• The midyear graduate may only compete for the school from which s/he graduated.
• Enrollment in a graduate program does not eliminate eligibility.
• The graduate waives the right of eligibility by serving as an adjudicator of a collegiate IE tournament between their graduation and the state championship.
• Novice contestants are defined as those students who have not had two semesters of eligibility. Three tournaments in a semester will constitute a semester of eligibility. After 6 total tournaments or two semesters of eligibility, a student is a varsity member. Once a student has competed at a national forensic tournament, s/he is no longer a novice.

Section 3. Each school is limited to 33 entries at the State Championship Tournament. All other MISL tournaments are excluded from this limited-entry provision.

Section 1. The tournament shall be primarily overseen by the IE Activities Director and the tournament host or their appointed representatives, with the Executive Director included as needed.

Section 2. The Tournament Director and the MISL IE Director shall be responsible for:

• Tournament scheduling.
• Assignation of the contestants to sections.
• Assignment of the judges to sections.
• Tabulation of the tournament.
• General enforcement and interpretation of bylaws.

Section 1. Events

• Oratory / Persuasion. The oration must be delivered without the aid of notes or manuscript. No oration shall contain more than 1800 words. (Although no minimum word limit is established, a 1500-word minimum is suggested.) For purposes of definition, quoted words are those written or spoken by a person other than the orator. Such quoted matter shall be limited to 20% of the total number of words in the oration. Direct discourse, dialogue, or other stylistic devices within quotation marks created by the orator SHALL NOT be included in the 20%. All materials shall be documented. In accordance with IOA rules, TIME SHALL NOT BE USED AS A JUDGING CRITERION.
• Dramatic Interp. A cutting which represents one or more characters from a play or plays of literary merit. This material may be drawn from stage, screen, or radio. Use of manuscript is required. Maximum time limit is 10 minutes including introduction.
• Program Oral Interp. A program of thematically linked selections of literary merit, chosen from two or three recognized genres of competitive interpretation (prose / poetry / drama). A substantial portion of the total time must be devoted to each of the genres used in the program. Different genre means the material must appear in separate pieces of literature (e.g., a poem included in a short story that appears only in that story does not constitute a poetry genre). Use of manuscript is required. Time limit is 10 minutes including original introduction and/or transitions.
• Extemporaneous. For each round, contestants will select three topics on current national and international events from which they will pick one. They will prepare for 30 minutes and present a 5-7 minute speech on the topic selected. Notes should be at a minimum.
• Impromptu. Contestants will receive short excerpts on general interest, political, economic, and social issues and will have seven minutes to divide between preparation and speaking. The speech should be at least three minutes. This is not a mini-extemp. To remove the topic as a variable decision factor, all speakers in the same section will speak on the same topic. Seven-minute maximum.
• Rhetorical Criticism. Contestants will deliver an original critical analysis on any significant rhetorical artifact. The speaker should limit quotations, summary, and paraphrase of the analyzed artifact to a minimum. Any legitimate critical method is permissible as long as it serves to open up the artifact for the audience. Maximum 10 minutes.
• Informative. Each contestant will deliver an original factual speech on a realistic subject to fulfill the general end to inform the audience. Visuals may or may not be used to supplement and/or reinforce the message. Maximum 10 minutes.
• Prose. Each contestant will present a 10-minute-maximum program of prose literature including original introductory and/or transitional remarks. Programs may consist of single or multiple selections. Plays are not eligible. Use of manuscript is required.
• Poetry. Each contestant will present a 10-minute-maximum program of poetry including original introductory and/or transitional remarks. Programs may consist of single or multiple selections. Use of manuscript is required.
• After Dinner. Each contestant will present an original speech whose purpose is to present a serious point through the use of humor. The presentation should not be a string of jokes, but an organized, developed speech. Props are permitted, but should enhance the content and not be a substitute for it. Maximum 10 minutes.
• Dramatic Duo. A 10-minute cutting from a play, humorous or serious, involving the portrayal of two or more characters presented by two individuals. This is not an acting event. Thus, no costumes, props, etc., are to be used. Presentation is from manuscript and focus should be offstage.

Section 2. Individual Entries

• An individual student may compete in no more than eight (8) total events, and four (4) events per grouping.
• A student entered in two duos shall be considered as having two events in that grouping.

Section 3. It is advised that the following event groupings be utilized at the tournament. The committee has the authority to change these groupings upon taking into account entry size and room availability. Should the committee decide to change groupings, they must notify participating schools at least twenty-four hours prior to the start of the tournament, and allow them to make necessary adjustments free of charge.

• Group A: Extemporaneous, Dramatic Interp., Rhetorical Criticism, Poetry, Informative, Duo.
• Group B: Impromptu, Persuasion / Oratory, After Dinner Speaking, Prose, Programmed Oral Interp.

Section 4. The following rules apply to all events:

• All speeches must be delivered in the English language.
• No speech or program or portion thereof shall have been used by the contestant prior to September 1st preceding the state tournament.
• No speech or program or portion thereof shall be used by the contestant in more than one (1) event at the same tournament.

Section 1. Judges must possess a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent, or have completed four (4) years of collegiate competition.

Section 2. Schools which enter 25 or more of the slated events shall be required to cover seventy-five percent (75%) of their entry with “clean” judges.

• a. A clean judge may not have coached students from the program they are representing.
• b. A judge who has had a student in class may be considered clean if the judge is coded against judging that particular student.
• c. A judge shall not be considered “clean” if there is not a minimum of two (2) years separation between s/he and a school for which s/he has either coached or competed.

Section 3. Assignment of judges

• One judge will be assigned to each preliminary section, with the exception of oratory, which will have two judges from separate affiliations per preliminary section.
• Three judges will be assigned to each elimination or final round. Every effort should be made to ensure that each judge has a separate affiliation.
• Every effort should be made that a judge not see a student more than once in a given event. Under no circumstance will the same judge see the same student in more than one preliminary round of the same event.

Section 4. Judges' responsibilities

• The judge shall rank each competitor in preliminary rounds from 1 (most preferred) to 5 (least preferred), and there should be no ties, except in events with no final round. In that case, see Section 4c.
• The judge should assign each competitor corresponding rating points from 100 (highest quality) to 70 (unprepared). There should be no ties.
• In final rounds the judges should rank each competitor with no ties (1-n) and assign corresponding rating points without ties.
• Judges shall make written commentary about speeches, which should make every effort to justify the rank and rating given.

Section 1. With 8 or more students, for each IE event there will be two (2) preliminary rounds and one (1) final round. In the event of 7 or fewer students, 2 rounds and 3 judges may be used for final placement.

• At least two (2) competitors must enter for an event to be held.
• If events have seven (7) or fewer entries (one section) there will be three preliminary rounds (or two rounds with three judges) with the low rank and the low rate dropped to determine final placement.

Section 2. The Tournament Director is primarily responsible for scheduling procedure, but the IE Director can help guide in these areas and assist where needed.

• a. Tournaments should employ scheduling in a way that maximizes student rotation and anonymity.
• b. The number of sections for an event shall be determined by entry size. More than seven (7) students must be entered to have two sections.
• c. Except in single-section events, no section shall have fewer than four (4) or more than six (6) competitors.
• d. Every effort should be made to prevent students from the same school from meeting in preliminary rounds.

Section 1. The students in each event with the lowest cumulative ranks, after preliminary rounds, will advance to finals.

• Ties that occur when determining the finalists shall be broken first on rating points.
• If students are still tied, then they will be judged on previous head-to-head rankings (judge's preference) if they met in prelims.
• If they did not meet in prelims, the tie shall then be broken on the number of 1s in the preliminary rounds.
• If any such tie should create a final round with more than eight (8) contestants, the tournament committee may, at their discretion, advance fewer than six (6) speakers to the final.

Section 2. Final placement shall be determined by the cumulative ranks of the final round.

• Ties that occur in finals shall be broken on judges' preference in finals. Judges' preference is defined as a comparison of ballots head to head.
• If a tie still exists, it should be broken on ratings.
• Should a tie still exist, it should be broken on cumulative preliminary ranks.
• Exceptions will be made for single-section events with 7 or fewer competitors. There, ties will be broken first on rank, then on judges' preference, and third on ratings.

Section 3. Sweepstakes will be determined by a combination of preliminary and final round totals.

• In preliminary rounds of IE, each rank one (1) will receive three (3) points, 2 = 2 points, and 3 = 1 point.
• The preliminary round total will be calculated by first dividing each school's persuasion points in half. This number will be added to the school's preliminary points in all other events, the sum total of which will then be halved and added to the final round point total for that school.
• Final round points in IE will be as follows: 1st = 12 points, 2nd = 10 points, 3rd = 8 points, 4th = 7 points, 5th = 5 points, and 6th = 3 points.
• If a tournament runs 3 rounds in lieu of a final round, all ballots and the final round points count toward sweeps.
• If there are fewer than 7 competitors in any event, the final round sweepstakes will still be assigned to the finishers.
• In the event that there are more than six (6) competitors in the final round, those placing seventh or lower will be awarded two (2) sweepstakes points.
• Competitors from at least two schools must enter an event for those points to be figured into sweepstakes totals.
• Ties in the sweepstakes will be broken on number of finalists, then number of first-place finishers, number of seconds, etc.
• For non-State tournaments, all competitors will be awarded sweepstakes points.

Section 4. Awards will be presented to:

• The top six (6) speakers in each IE event.
• All elimination-round participants in L-D.
• The top novice in each event.
• The top community college competitor in each event.
• The top three (3) schools in Individual Events sweepstakes.
• The top three (3) schools in Debate sweepstakes.
• The top school with the combined sweepstakes.
• The community college finishing highest in sweepstakes.
• The top two contestants in oratory shall represent at that year's Interstate Oratory Association's Tournament.
• The top three contestants in quadrathon will receive awards. To qualify, a student must be entered in at least four events, one of each genre (oral interpretation, limited preparation, and public address). If the student is entered in more than four events, only the top score in each genre and the student's next highest scoring event will be used in determining results. Tabulation of points will be identical to the tabulation of team sweepstakes, with preliminary points halved and added to final round total. A quadrathon entry will count as a slot in calculation of fees, but it will not count as a slot in the calculation of the Director's Trophy winner. At the Novice State Championship, the Tournament Director may offer a triathlon trophy instead of the quadrathon trophy, and students must enter at least two event genres.
• The Director's Trophy for Quality will be awarded to the school with the highest overall slot quality, determined by dividing the school's total sweepstakes points by the total number of slots that that school entered into the State Championship Tournament as of the close of registration.

Occasionally questions will arise regarding ethical issues not specifically addressed by the bylaws. When such issues arise they should be brought to the attention of the tournament committee.

Section 1. The tournament committee shall first determine if this concern is a rules violation. If it is, they shall take necessary measures to correct the situation.

Section 2. Should the committee determine that the concern is not a direct violation of MISL rules, they shall convene a meeting of all members present to determine the best course of action.

Section 3. A two-thirds (2/3) majority of members present must agree upon a course of action before it can be taken.

Section 4. It is highly advised that the MISL IE Activities Director re-address the issue at the next annual MISL meeting to determine if changes need to be made to these bylaws.

Section 1. These rules shall supersede any previous bylaws, precedents, or understandings.

Section 2. The tournament committee has the authority to enforce these bylaws after the bylaws have been approved by the MISL membership.

Section 3. At the discretion of the tournament committee, penalty by disqualification may be enacted against infringing individuals or teams.

Section 4. Bylaws may be changed or amended by a simple majority vote of membership at the annual MISL meeting.

Section 5. These rules apply only to the State Championship Tournament. It is advised, however, that they serve as guidelines for other MISL-sponsored IE activities.

Section 6. At times it might be necessary to suspend these laws for the sake of pragmatics. Upon the recommendation of the tournament committee, these rules may be suspended in part or whole by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of members present.

Section 7. If every effort has been made to secure seven (7) Michigan entries and we were not able to, a limited entry from a school outside Michigan would be allowed.