A parent’s guide to meet day
What a Saturday looks like, what the scores mean, and how to keep up.
A typical Saturday
Forensics is competitive public speaking and performance. Students enter events like Oratory, Duo Interpretation or Impromptu, perform in small rooms for a judge, and earn points for themselves and their school. Times vary by meet; the meet’s page has that day’s schedule.
- Arrive. Find your team’s home base, usually a classroom or a corner of the cafeteria. Ask the coach where. The coach checks the team in.
- Postings go up. Each round’s rooms are on the wall and on the meet’s page on this site. Ask the coach for your child’s code, like F3, then find the code and the room. The letter is the school, the number is the entry.
- Preliminary rounds. Usually three. Your child performs once per round, in a room of about 6 entries, usually for one judge. A student in two events may go to one room first, then the other. That’s normal.
- Lunch. Most meets break for lunch between prelims and the break. Many hosts sell food, often cash only.
- The break. After prelims the tab room adds up ranks and the best advance, usually 12 to semifinals and 6 to finals (5 in Multiple). Smaller events often go straight to finals. You won’t see scores during the day: posting is the first news. If your child’s name or code is on it, they advanced.
- Semifinals and finals. New postings go up. Usually 2 judges per room in semifinals and 3 in finals.
- Awards. Finalists are announced by place, along with the team () awards.
- Results online. Results are released by the tournament director, often the same evening.
What “3rd at 92%” means
Every judge ranks the room and gives each speaker a percentage.
| On the ballot | What it means |
|---|---|
| Rank 1 | Best in the room. Always 100%. |
| Rank 2 or 3 | Second and third. 80–99%. |
| Rank 4 | Everyone else in the room. 80–99%. |
| 75–79% | Only for a misconduct problem. Rare. |
| No two the same | Each percentage in a room is used once. |
So 3rd at 92% means that judge placed your child third in the room and scored them 92 out of 100. Ranks add up across rounds, and lower is better: ranks of 1, 3 and 2 in three prelims total 6. Ties are broken by set rules; percentages are one of them.
Following along
- Follow link. Ask the coach for one. It shows your child’s room, what’s next and which rounds are done, while the meet is running. It does not show scores or the school.
- Family account. Choose “I’m family of a competitor” when you join. Your child appears once the coach adds your email to the team’s family list, or once your child shares their day with you. There is no way to search for a student, on purpose.
- Scores and comments. Scores appear with the results, on the meet’s page under Results. Judges’ written comments go to your child after the coach releases them.
Could you judge?
Your team may ask you to judge. You don’t need experience: the ballot walks you through it.
What to bring
- Water and snacks
- A phone charger
- Some cashHosts often sell food and team shirts, and not every table takes cards.
- Something to read between rounds
- A layerSchools can be cold.