TACOMA — Following a lengthy postponement and attempt to reschedule, the Washington speech and debate tournaments were both officially canceled Wednesday.
The tournaments had been scheduled to take place at the University of Puget Sound on March 14 and March 20-21. The official tournament website still says that the tournament is attempting to reschedule.
Sam Normington, president of the Washington State Forensics Association, sent an email announcing the cancellation.
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the cancellation of the State Speech and Debate Tournaments,” Normington said. “We held out hope that we would be able to hold the tournaments sometime in May, but that is no longer feasible with all schools closed for the remainder of the academic year.”
Other alternatives were unfeasible, he added.
“We considered hosting an online tournament, but along with many other organizations, both state and national, we ultimately feel there are too many hurdles for that to be a viable option,” Normington said. “Many of our competitors do not have reliable access to the technology necessary to compete in an online tournament, whether that be hardware or reliable high-speed internet. Now seems like the exact wrong time to ask anybody to invest in upgrading their tech.”
That concern was exacerbated by the potential for technical difficulties.
“Speech and debate both come with a great deal of nuance. Potential tech issues, on the sides of both competitors and judges, leading to missed major arguments or emotional and powerful moments of a speech, can have a significant effect,” Normington said.
There also were concerns surrounding student privacy that could arise if rounds were recorded.
“Competitors being on webcams with adult judges is very shaky ground that we are not comfortable with, and neither is the WIAA,” Normington said. “Our rules expressly forbid the recording of rounds and speeches. The reasons are twofold. Washington State requires all parties consent to being recorded. In this case, that would include minor students. Additionally, debate organizations in the past have gotten in trouble for copyrighted material being recorded and released.”
