PROPOSAL FOR CHANGE IN NSAA REGULATIONS Proposal Generated by Chip Kay, Perkins County, School Access Code, District 4 This proposal was submitted on: Sep 22, 2011 This proposal is submitted by: Name: Scott King School: Perkins County NSAA District: 4 The proposal deals with: Activities Manual: Speech  Page: 7 The section/paragraph/sentence indicates what is to be added/deleted/changed to the current Bylaw/Approved Ruling: ADDITIONS are in all capital letters. (Changes/Deletions are in parentheses.) SUGGESTED MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR SPEECH JUDGES (CANDIDATE MUST SATISFY AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING): a. BE A HEAD SPEECH COACH AT A NSAA MEMBER PROGRAM AND BE A CERTIFIED NSAA SPEECH JUDGE b. BE A NSAA CERTIFIED SPEECH JUDGE FOR A MINIMUM OF FIVE (5) YEARS INCLUDING TWO (2) OF THE THREE (3) YEARS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DISTRICT AND/OR STATE TOURNAMENT AND ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: i. JUDGE A MINIMUM OF TWO (2) TOURNAMENTS A YEAR DURING THE MOST RECENT FIVE YEARS AS A CERTIFIED JUDGE OR ii. JUDGE A MINIMUM OF EIGHT (8) TOURNAMENTS DURING THE THREE (3) YEAR SPAN IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DISTRICT OR STATE TOURNAMENT c. BE A NSAA CERTIFIED SPEECH JUDGE FOR A MINIMUM OF TWO (2) YEARS WITH WRITTEN STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT FROM ANY COMBINATION OF ACTIVITIES DIRECTORS OR SPEECH HEAD COACHES AT THREE NSAA MEMBER SCHOOLS INDICATING COMPETENCY TO JUDGE AT DISTRICTS AND/OR STATE. d. HAVE VERIFIED EXPERIENCE IN ANOTHER STATE OR ASSOCIATION EQUIVALENT TO (B) ABOVE. The section/paragraph/sentence that needs to be added/deleted/changed would read as follows: Suggested minimum requirements for speech judges (candidate must satisfy at least one of the following): A. Be a head speech coach at a NSAA member program and be a certified NSAA speech judge B. Be a NSAA certified speech judge for a minimum of five (5) years including two (2) of the three (3) years immediately preceding the district and/or state tournament and one of the following: I. Judge a minimum of two (2) tournaments a year during the most recent five years as a certified judge or Ii. Judge a minimum of eight (8) tournaments during the three (3) year span immediately preceding the district or state tournament C. Be a NSAA certified speech judge for a minimum of two (2) years with written statements of support from any combination of activities directors or speech head coaches at three NSAA member schools indicating competency to judge at districts and/or state. D. Have verified experience in another state or association equivalent to (b) above. Cost Analysis of Proposal: None Rationale for the proposed change: Placing minimum requirements on judges solves one of the problems that can affect District and State speech contests: inexperienced judges. While this system will not weed out all unqualified judges, it will eliminate situations where a first-year judge, who has never watched a round of Poetry, Extemporaneous Speaking, or Serious Prose is hired. The District and/or State contest is not the place for them to first encounter these events. The five year requirement also eliminates parents who signed up to judge solely because their child is currently competing. After the four years of high school, many parents will likely choose not to re-certify unless they are actually interested in the good of the activity. Having a recency requirement of two out of the past three years ensures judges are in current practice but gives flexibility for a long-term, highly-qualified judge to take a year off without losing his or her standing. There are two alternate ways for a judge to qualify for District and State judging assignments without lengthy waiting times. Scenarios 1. A new judge applies for certification. He must continually judge for five (5) years. He is eligible to judge at Districts or State at the end of the fifth year. 2. A head coach is hired and applies for certification their first year. She would be eligible to judge at Districts or State. Due to the fact the head coaches practice and see performances daily from the start of the season to the end, she has gained enough experience in the nuances of speech. 3. A judge has been certified for seven (7) years. However, he has not judged at any tournaments for three (3) years and judged at one local tournament this year. This judge would not be eligible to judge at Districts or State. It is unlikely this judge would have seen enough speech rounds to competently judge at such an important event like Districts or State. 4. A certified judge of ten (10) years has judged at more than 30 tournaments including Districts and State. She moves out of the state for five (5) years and does not certify as a judge. Upon returning to the state, she decides to resume her judging role and re-certify. She is highly experienced, but due to her lengthy absence, will need at least two (2) years to refresh her skills and understand how the activity has changed over the past five years. 5. If the ten (10) year verteran judge from before continued to judge in the neighboring state, she can petition that she has comparable experience using one of the alternative pathways and still be qualilfied to judge at Districts or State. 6. A judge of 20 years who meets the qualification criteria fails to certify on year 21 due to a family emergency. If she re-certifies the next year, she would have judged 2 out of last 3 years and would still be eligible to judge at Districts and State. 7. A recent college graduate who competed for four (4) years in collegiete forensics wants to judge at NSAA events. She certifies as a judge and can qualify for District or State using the equivalent experience rule or the Activities Director option.