Speech Activities: General Policy

Any Michigan high school, junior high school, or middle school may become a member of the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association. A school becomes a member by completing the appropriate forms and paying the annual fee for membership in the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association. The Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association sponsors speech activities in four categories: team debate, individual debate, theatre, and individual events. Schools are encouraged to participate in all four of the general categories. The membership fee is determined by action of the Forensic Council. All membership fees are due on or before October 31. Late re-enrollment will be assessed an additional fee. New memberships will be accepted at any time. Individual tournament fees are determined by the Executive Director of the Association and should be paid prior to the commencement of the event and are non-refundable at that time.

For the various interscholastic speech activities, schools are classified according to high school enrollment. The Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association accepts the numerical criteria of the Michigan High School Athletic Association for the determination of school classification. For purposes of school classification, the key is the number of students in the high school. In contrast to the MHSAA, MIFA does not require adjustments in enrollment to provide a numerical standard for four grades (9-12) or to correct schools with an exclusive population of one gender. It is possible that the MIFA classification may be different from the athletic classification. The MIFA uses the Second Pupil Accounting Day in February of the prior academic year as the reference date for determination of enrollment. The classification of a school may vary by interscholastic activity. A school may petition for placement in a higher classification for a particular speech activity or activities. An appropriate form to advance the enrollment classification of a school can be found on the MIFA website. A school is ineligible to participate in any MIFA activity until it submits a School Classification Form to the MIFA.

The activities of the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association are for the students enrolled at a member school. A school is defined as an administrative unit. The rules governing the eligibility of a student at a member school for the activities of the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association are as follows: A student may participate in activities administered by the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association during the first eight/six semesters in high school, or 9 or 12 trimesters grades nine/ten through twelve inclusive. The student must be enrolled at least half time at the member school in which the student participates in speech activities. Any 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th grade student may participate in middle school level activities administered by MIFA while the student is regularly enrolled in any member junior high school/middle school. No students younger than 5th grade will be allowed to compete in the Middle Level tournaments. Students in 9th grade may participate in middle level or high school level events, but not both. Determination is made by looking at the school in which the student is enrolled. A student who is attending more than one senior high school, junior high school, or middle school, and who meets other eligibility requirements, may represent only one of these schools in competition. A student must represent the home school (the school of primary enrollment or the school which includes the student in the official fourth Wednesday count or the school where a student takes the majority of his or her classes), unless a release is obtained in writing from the principal of the home school. Copies of the written release should be made available on request to tournament directors

and be on file with the State Office. The student who is granted an approval to represent a school other than their home school for one MIFA activity must represent the non-home school in all MIFA events as long as they attend that school. A student meeting other eligibility requirements may participate in activities of the Association until the nineteenth birthday of the student, except that a student becoming nineteen years of age after September 1 of the current school year is eligible for all activities. Should a student transfer to another school, following a qualification for an event, the student must compete as a representative of the original school of enrollment. In this circumstance, the principals of both schools must provide written consent for the student to represent the original school of enrollment and make arrangements for the necessary fiscal and staff support for the student consistent with MIFA requirements for the particular event. The transfer is ineligible to compete as a representative of the new school for one activity’s season unless the transfer occurs at the end of the academic year. Other transfer regulations parallel the principles of the Michigan High School Athletic Association, which recognizes the following exceptions to the one semester prohibition on participation: A student moves into (changes his or her residence) a different public high school district with the persons with whom he or she was living during his or her most recent previous high school enrollment, but not summer school; A student who has not been living with a parent or parents and changes his or her residence to a different public high school district to reside with his or her parents, the single parent if divorced, or only living parent who already resides in that district or attendance area of a multi-high school district. In this circumstance, immediate eligibility is permitted only one time during high school; A student is a ward of the court or state and is required to reside in a public high school district or school service area by court order. Guardianship does not qualify; A foreign exchange student is placed with a host family in a public high school district or school service area for a minimum of one and a maximum of two semesters under a registered exchange program; A student marries and establishes a new residence in a different public high school district or different attendance area of a multi-high school district; A student transfers to another school because his or her school ceases to operate; A student in attendance at a school designated by the governing body of that school as the result of reorganization of attendance areas, consolidation or annexation, or at the public school in the district where he or she resides; A student of parents who are divorced moves from one public high school district into a different public high school district with or to one of those parents and the principal of each of the two schools certifies in writing that the reason for the move relates to the divorce; A student is transferred within a school system, for other than disciplinary purposes, as a result of the initiative and order of the Board of Education or the governing body of a private or parochial school system; A student completes the last grade available to any students in the school system previously attended; or A student with circumstances that are unique may petition the MIFA Forensic Council for a ruling on eligibility, if the prior situations are inapplicable. Should a student graduate following a qualification for an event, the student may compete as a representative of the original school of enrollment in the specific event. The student must have been part of the qualification process and the additional tournament must occur during the same school year. A student who is currently attending a secondary school and a higher educational institution may represent only one of those schools in competition. In all likelihood, the eligibility rules of the Code of Ethics of the American Forensic Association will preclude a secondary student, concurrently enrolled in a higher educational institution, from representing the higher educational institution. In any case, a secondary school student that participates in speech activities for a higher educational institution is ineligible for MIFA activities.

Eligibility provisions unique to specific activities are to be found in the section regarding the specific activity. Any question on eligibility not covered by the preceding rules should be addressed to the Executive Director who will allow a case-by-case assessment for special circumstances. Violations of the rules of eligibility may result in a disciplinary action against the student(s), coach, and/or school, depending on the nature of the infraction. The exact nature of the disciplinary action is at the discretion of the Executive Director and/or the Forensic Council.

The principal of the school or the superintendent of the school district with any debate, theatre, and/or individual events program which will have a coach who is a person who is not a regular full-time faculty member is required to file a written authorization with the State Office indicating that the school district accepts the individual as qualified to direct the speech event(s). As a minimum requirement, however, the MIFA will only accept for supervisory purposes individuals in paraprofessional coaching positions who have a high school diploma. In the event that the non- faculty or non-certified coach is ineligible to serve as a judge, the appropriate judge fee should accompany any entry of the school in an MIFA event. Forms for the authorization of non-faculty or non-certified coaches may be obtained on the MIFA website.

No student shall be permitted to participate in a function sponsored by the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association if said student is not accompanied by a certified member of the faculty or staff of the school district which that student is representing. Exceptions to this requirement must have the written authorization of the local school principal and the approval of the Executive Director of MIFA. Under no circumstances may a student attend a MIFA function without authorized adult supervision. For a person to serve as an adult chaperone for MIFA events, the person must be at least eighteen (18) years of age and also not be a high school student. The person(s) accompanying the student(s) must have a copy of the written authorization of the principal to represent the school district. Approval for this action by the Executive Director should be secured not less than 48 hours in advance of the date of the function. The certified member of the faculty or staff who is accompanying participants must remain in attendance for the entire function or the school may be subject to sanctions which could include dismissal from the event. Host schools must inform participants of MIFA sponsored events of any local school regulations regarding the conduct of people upon school property. Participants in the event will then be required to adhere to the local regulations. The consumption of alcoholic beverages and other drugs or the use of tobacco by contestants during the duration of any event sponsored by the MIFA is prohibited. Suspicion of the consumption of alcoholic beverages or suspicion of the use of drugs or tobacco by contestants at an event sponsored by the MIFA may serve as a justification for the exclusion of the participant(s). In cases where an overnight lodging is necessitated, the MIFA Forensic Council shall be responsible for setting a time by which participants of a MIFA sponsored event must be in their own rooms. Unless otherwise announced, the curfew for participants being in their own rooms is 11:30 p.m. This curfew should not affect those participants who are working with, or being directly supervised by, their own coach after the curfew hour. It is the responsibility of the certified member of the faculty or staff or the individual authorized by the school administration to serve as chaperone who is accompanying the participants to inform the participants of the MIFA and school rules and regulations governing conduct at a tournament and ensure that the students adhere to these regulations. Violations of any of the foregoing guidelines may result in immediate suspension of the school and/or student(s) by the Executive Director or his/her appointee. The MIFA Forensic Council and/or Executive Director shall further enforce the regulations through any one or combination of the following: fines, suspension, sanctions, expulsion or such other penalties as deemed appropriate.

The MIFA allows video and/or audio recordings to be made for any of its activities under a series of conditions. The tournament director must provide authorization for recording of any kind to occur at a tournament. The participants in the particular round or event must be given verbal notification of the recording procedures prior to the start of the round or event. Exceptions or clarifications may be contained in specific sections of events. Individuals desiring to use the video and/or audio recordings for instructional or promotional purposes should secure written permission from the participants to use the recordings. In addition, any rebroadcast, publication, transmission, or other use of audio or video material from a MIFA contest without the express written consent of the organization is prohibited. Individuals or schools violating MIFA video recording procedures will be excluded from future MIFA activities. When video recording interpretation events in individual events contests or a theatre productions, individuals should be aware of the contractual liabilities involved in the reproduction of material that has a legal copyright or literature that is governed by royalty payments as well as current standards of fair use as the term applies to copyright.

For each MIFA state or qualifying tournament, it is the responsibility of the Tournament Director, in conjunction with the administration at the host school, to secure the necessary facilities for the competition, obtain the judges for the activities, design the schedule and schematic for the competition, establish the necessary fee structure, and perform other necessary miscellaneous administrative functions. For each activity, the MIFA Office supplies a manual for the Tournament Director and the majority of appropriate forms and contest material on the web site. The Tournament Director is responsible for providing each participating school with an invitation to the particular tournament that includes, at a minimum, the date of the contest, site, travel directions to site, a schedule with specific registration and awards assembly times, telephone contact numbers, cost, judging and/or chaperone responsibilities, and other miscellaneous matters.

All registered head coaches and/or registered assistant coaches are required to judge in those events which stipulate coach judging systems. The registration of a coach and/or an assistant coach is accomplished by the State Office receipt of a validated Principal Authorization Form with the appropriate signature of the school principal. All alterations in coaching personnel at a particular school during the academic year must be submitted to the MIFA with the written authorization of the appropriate school administrator. For tournaments and league events, more than one judge from a particular school may be required because of the size of the school entry. In this circumstance, tournament and league directors should specify judge qualifications, which entrants must then adhere to in the provision of additional judges. With the exception of debate, all judges for all state elimination series events must hold at least a four-year degree, be college seniors, or be three years beyond (post) high school graduation, with experience in the judging specialty. Any exception to this rule must have the written agreement of all schools in the particular regional tournament. The written agreements must be obtained by the Tournament Director at least one week in advance of the tournament. For state final tournaments only, the Executive Director may hire additional tournament personnel. Dependent upon availability, it is feasible that the additional tournament personnel may fail to meet certain of the preceding requirements. First year directors are exempt from seeking certification in their first year of participation in the MIFA. After the first year, however, all directors must fulfill the certification requirements for their respective events. These directors are still subject to finding and paying a replacement for themselves at any MIFA tournament. If a head coach or an assistant coach does not meet the above qualifications, the head coach may petition the Tournament Director, no less than two weeks before the event, to hire a judge, at the expense of the school, as a replacement.

For all MIFA sponsored tournaments judges are held to additional responsibilities, including the following: Judges should not be placed in, nor accept, judging assignments in which their personal, family, business or financial relationships with contestants/competitors or their coaches would create an appearance of impropriety or bias. All judging preclusions must be reported to the tournament director 24 hours before the tournament. The rule is intended to be self-monitored, but anyone can report the appearance of impropriety. Once a judge is scheduled, the assigned judge may not substitute another judge. Any school whose designated judge fails to show for a scheduled judging assignment will be fined for each round missed. (See Missed Judging Fee on the current Fee Scale.) A judging assignment is not considered fulfilled until the judge has returned the correctly completed ballot to the Tournament Director or designee of the director. If a team or contestant from a school has been withdrawn after the registration deadline, the school is still responsible to complete the scheduled judging assignments. Judges should be on time for rounds. Tardiness may result in the imposition of a financial sanction and/or the forfeiture of an individual contestant, group, or team. (See Late for Judging Fee on the current Fee Scale.) In exchange for judging, hired judges will may be compensated. (See Judge Compensation Fee on the current Fee Scale.) Conflict of Interest Considerations--Failure to notify the festival or tournament director of a conflict of interest may result in nonpayment for the specific service, such as a round of judging. If a conflict would result in the complete removal of the judge and there was no notification by the judge of the potential impropriety, the festival or tournament director is not liable for payment of adjudication or transportation fees.

Individual Events, Legislative Debate, and Theater ballots will be available for free by download on the MIFA website

The Code of Conduct will be read at the General Meeting of each MIFA event and by the judge at the start of each round.

Any school fifteen (15) or more minutes late for registration shall be fined, but permitted to register so long as registration can be accomplished before any required meetings or rounds begin. Said fee can be waived by the Tournament Director if determined that the tardiness is clearly beyond the control of the late school. (See Late for Tournament Fee on the current Fee Scale.) Failure to provide notification to the Tournament Director before the end of registration will cause the school to be withdrawn from participation in the tournament. Any school withdrawn from the tournament is liable for full financial costs of the tournament. An exception to this rule would be the failure of the Tournament Director to provide a working and manned telephone contact. In matters of interpretation of the foregoing, the decision of the Tournament Director is final. Compliance with the notification procedures may enable a school to be placed in another regional tournament at the discretion of the Executive Director of the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association.

Any team, group or fifteen (15) minutes late for the published time of a round shall forfeit the round. If the school notifies the Tournament Director prior to the expiration of the fifteen (15) minutes time period and there are extenuating circumstances in the situation, the team, group or individual may continue to participate at the discretion of the

Tournament Director.

1. Protest personnel: Prior to a MIFA tournament, the Executive Director will appoint a Protest Committee. The protest committee will consist of 3 members of the event committee and one alternate. The Rules Committee will designate one or two representatives to be present at every MIFA event to serve as a level 1 protest representative (ombudsperson).

2. Who can protest? Protests can only be filed by the head coach or the official designated head coach (if the head coach is unavailable at the tournament) or the individual judging the round.

3. Enforcement: The MIFA Forensic Council and/or the Executive Director shall enforce the rules and regulations by fines suspensions, sanctions, expulsion and/or other penalties.

4. Costs, fines, etc: Any assessments, if requested in advance, must be returned to the appropriate individuals if final rulings are in their favor. All costs incurred in attending an appeal by any parties involved are at the expense of the individuals.

Potential protests need to be brought to the Rules Committee Representative as soon as possible or no later than the conclusion of the subsequent round, to avoid delay or impacting future rounds/presentations. As a guideline, the individual filing the protest should have no more than fifteen (15) minutes to present the issues and there should be no more than a fifteen (15) minute time period for a response then no more than fifteen (15) minutes for the appropriate official(s) to deliberate and present a ruling. This applies to all levels of the process. Questions by any official are a part of the process. All parties should be informed of protest decisions, at any level, as soon as possible. The parties in the protest have no more than fifteen (15) minutes to decide to accept the ruling or proceed to the next level. The Rules Committee Representative will be responsible for facilitating and keeping the process moving efficiently. To facilitate a fair hearing, any official involved in any of the protest levels should not be party to the protest until it reaches their level. A decision maker in the protest process, who is also involved as a party to the protest must recuse themselves as a decision maker.

Protest Level 1 Rule committee representative: Head coach, head coach designee, and/or judge (protestor) brings a potential rule violation to the attention of the Rules Committee Representative (RCR). The RCR, after listening to an explanation of the potential violation, will outline the pertinent rules involved and the process involved in a protest. The protestor may choose not to pursue the violation or move onto Protest Level 2.

Protest Level 2 Executive Director: The RCR will, as soon as possible, facilitate a meeting between the Executive Director (ED), and all relevant parties. If the person who is the subject of the protest is a student, they must be represented by their head coach or head coach designee. The ED and RCR will make a determination as to whether or not a round/presentations need to stop while the protest is being heard. The protestor and protestee will have an opportunity to present their issue to the ED for a ruling. The protestor and protestee may either accept the ED’s decision and proceed in accordance with the ruling, or if the decision is not in their favor either party may appeal to Protest Level 3. If the protest involves the ED as a party to the protest then the ED should recuse themselves and the protest goes directly to level 3.

Protest Level 3 Protest Committee: The RCR will, as soon as possible, facilitate a meeting between the Protest Committee (PC) and all relevant parties. The ED and RCR will make a determination whether or not to stop a round/presentation while the protest is being heard. The parties will present their issues to the PC. A summary of the ED

ruling will be presented by either the ED or the RCR. The protestor or protestee may either accept the PC’s ruling and proceed in accordance with the ruling, or if the decision is not in their favor either party may appeal to Protest Level 4.

Protest Level 4 Forensic Council: The RCR will outline for all parties, the procedure and obligations for the protest to proceed. This appeal will be heard at the next meeting of the Forensic Council (FC). The ED, in consultation with the FC chair may choose to call a special meeting. The following procedures will be followed:

1. The appeal shall be submitted in writing to the Executive Director and the Forensic Council Chair within 48 hours (2 school days) after the tournament.

2. The Executive Director will send copies of the appeal to each member of the MIFA Forensic Council.

3. The individuals involved in the appeal may attend the MIFA Forensic Council meeting at which the appeal will be heard to further present his/her position in the matter.

4. The decision by the FC is final.

POST TOURNAMENT RESULTS PROTESTS--All disputes or corrections in the results must be called to the attention of the Executive Director within forty-eight (48) hours (2 school days) of the end of the tournament. Tournament results will stand as published unless the time limit for reconsideration is followed. All post tournament protests will follow the same four levels identified in the On-site Tournament Rules Protest.

NON-TOURNAMENT RULES PROTESTS--All reports of infractions not specifically related to tournaments should be called to the attention of the Executive Director within forty-eight (48) hours (2 school days) of the occurrence. The following procedure will be in effect:

1. A written statement concerning the infraction must be sent to the Executive Director. Should a preliminary investigation of the allegation indicate that a disciplinary action could be appropriate it will move to the next step.

2. The Executive Director is responsible for selecting a committee, including at least one (1) member of the Forensic Council, and one (1) member of the Rules Committee, to review the written allegations.

3. The committee should provide a report to the Forensic Council for consideration at the Council’s next scheduled meeting. A special meeting of the Forensic Council may be necessary. At the meeting of the Forensic Council, the person(s) involved in the allegation should be present.

4. The person(s) involved will have an opportunity to present their position on the allegation at the council meeting.

5. Following a review of the pertinent material and discussion, the Forensic Council may take a disciplinary action against the school staff person(s) and/or the school. The Forensic Council may also choose to dismiss the allegation without action.

The following disciplinary actions are available for any MIFA events. Please refer to Speech Activities rules for each event to identify disciplinary actions for specific rule violations.

Penalty level 1-- Judge rulings—A judge has the authority to implement limited penalties as a part of their decision-making process within the round. Such penalties would include: lowering contestant points, and or ranks. The judge does not have the authority to forfeit or disqualify any contestant without consultation with the tournament director.

Penalty level 2—Round forfeit—May only be assessed by the Protest Committee, Executive Director, and/or Forensic Council--Scores for the contestant may be forfeited in a particular round where a violation occurs. Forfeit of scores means that the contestant would be given the lowest possible score for that round of participation. If there is more

than one judge, the forfeit would apply to scores from all judges. Other scores throughout the tournament and/or eligibility for awards would not be impacted. Should the violation occur in a final round, the lowest possible scores will be given and the contestant will not be recognized in final awards. Other contestants in the final round will be advanced one spot.

Penalty level 3—Tournament disqualification— May only be assessed by the Protest Committee, Executive Director, and/or Forensic Council--A contestant may be disqualified from the tournament for a rule violation. Tournament disqualification means that a contestant will be removed from the tournament. The disqualification will remove all scores received by the contestant and removal from any eligible awards, including removal of sweepstakes points if applicable. Should removal of a contestant impact final placements at the tournament, all contestants placing lower than the disqualified contestant would advance one spot.

Penalty level 4—Fines and/or sanctions-- The MIFA Forensic Council and/or the Executive Director may enforce the rules and regulations upon schools or individuals, through the use of fines, suspensions, sanctions, and/or expulsion from the activity.

The prime directive in dealing with tabulation errors will be governed by the concept that the integrity of the tabulation process assures fairness to all. During the tournament, once an error is brought to the attention of the Tournament Director and verified as an error the Tournament Director will lead the effort to immediately correct the error. Resolution may include but is not limited to:

1) Stopping performances to add or subtract competitors,

2) Re-running a round of competition with corrected competitors,

3) Adjusting placements for awards.

The tournament should move forward based on corrected data. Post tournament, all corrections must be called to the attention of the Tournament Director or the State Office within forty-eight (48) hours or two (2) school days from the end of the tournament. Resolution may include but is not limited to:

1) Re-running a round of competition with corrected competitors

2) Adjusting placements for awards

At the conclusion of forty-eight (48) hours or two (2) school days, the results are official unless a protest is in process.

Awards are presented to individuals and/or schools in all events sponsored by the MIFA. Please see the appropriate event invitation and webpage for further details.

The Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association designates annually a teacher for statewide recognition as a part of the National Federation of State High School Associations program to honor outstanding educators. Nominations (the appropriate forms are accessible at the MIFA website) should be received by the MIFA State Office by September 30 to facilitate a selection by the MIFA Forensic Council prior to November 1 of each year. The MIFA will recognize its selection at the appropriate state festival or tournament.

Students/schools earn spots in the elimination rounds based on preliminary round performances. The earned spot belongs to that individual or school. If a student/school withdraws after the preliminary rounds or during the elimination round competition, the rounds will proceed without the students for Individual Events/Congress, or a forfeit will be

assigned for Debate. A no show in an elimination round will be considered a withdrawal. No other students/schools will be advanced as replacements, and the withdrawing student/school will not be scored and dropped from further competition. This withdrawal procedure does not apply to withdrawal of students/schools when moving between levels of competition such as districts to regionals or from regionals to states. In team debate, if one or both schools are unable/unwilling to participate in the final round, the first and second place will be awarded based on semifinal elim bracket seeding.

The Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association is committed to an administrative, festival or tournament, and workshop environment that is free from sexual harassment. The policy of the MIFA and the law prohibit sexual harassment and retaliation for having brought a complaint of, or having opposed sexual harassment, and/or having participated in the complaint process. Sexual harassment is subject to various disciplinary actions at the discretion, on site, of the tournament director and, subsequently, by the MIFA Forensic Council. Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:

1. Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of the individual’s employment or assignment; or

2. Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as a factor in decisions affecting such individual’s employment or assignments; or

3. Such conduct or communication has the purpose or effect of unreasonably (substantially) interfering with an individual’s employment or performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or performance environment. Conduct alleged to be sexual harassment will be evaluated by considering the totality of the particular circumstance, including the nature, frequency, intensity, location, context, and duration of the questioned behavior. Although repeated incidents generally create a stronger claim of sexual harassment, a serious incident, even if isolated, can be sufficient to investigate. All allegations of sexual harassment will be investigated promptly. To protect the interests of the complainant, the person complained against, witnesses, any others who may report incidents of sexual harassment, and all other persons affected, confidentiality will be maintained to the extent practicable and appropriate under the circumstances. A complaint should be filed in writing within ten days of the alleged occurrence(s). The complaint should contain relevant data, including the specific nature of the harassment, all of the facts surrounding the allegations, names and corresponding dates, names of witnesses with contact addresses or telephone numbers, and the remedy sought. All oral complaints must be put in writing before resolution. Other guidelines that govern the implementation of the sexual harassment policy are part of a procedural document available from the MIFA. A person who knowingly or intentionally files a false complaint under the policy is also subject to discipline.

In case of inclement weather, each individual director and the director of the particular tournament must reach certain decisions regarding participation. In any circumstance, the directors of various speech programs at a particular school should be aware of the travel policy of the school district. In the case of inclement weather, the director of a particular speech program should reach a decision on participation in a tournament in conjunction with the appropriate school administrator. For tournaments administered by the MIFA, the process to determine the conduct or cancellation of a tournament in the

case of inclement weather is as follows: The tournament will be held as scheduled unless more than forty percent of the pre-registered schools withdraw 6 or more hours prior to the time for the tournament registration because of inclement weather. Further, in the preceding circumstance, the withdrawal is to be made by the superintendent, or assistant superintendent, or principal, or assistant principal to the MIFA Executive Director and/or the director of the tournament; or The MIFA Executive Director and two members of the Forensic Council may decide to cancel or postpone a tournament because of inclement weather at any point in time prior to the time for the tournament registration. The decision to cancel the tournament will be determined, in part, on the basis of weather advisories and State Police reports. In case of a cancellation in this time period, the Forensic Council and/or the tournament director will notify each participating director of the cancellation by email and/or cell phone. If either of the preceding conditions is in effect, an alternative tournament will be conducted.