Maranacook and Beyond

On the plus side, Chelsea Bernard won 1st in Original Works and 1st in Storytelling. Lindsay McKeen got an HM for Novice Prose. No debate awards. Abbs got 4th in JV but then there were only 5. She would have tied for third but that same person beat her in a round, so he got the spot.

Moving along, we need to put together a thank you gift for Bummy. He came to our rescue with the bus, since some snafu prevented a scheduled bus. I didn't hear any complaining or even negative vibes from him. Mrs. Bernard suggested a Boiler Room gift certificate. If everyone who went kicks in $3, we can give him and his wife a nice dinner on our dime. Julie and Mrs. Bernard agreed to be in charge. I'll collect money. Mrs. Bernard deserves our thanks too since she's the one who called Bummy and straightened the bus out. We'll find something for her too (another job for Julie!).

Things to work on:
I read the ballots that were left, before I matched up the names, and came up with some thoughts on things to work on.

1. Anything complex needs to be explained so a kindergarten kid understands it, or don't use it.
2. Anything that needs a lot of explanation, needs to be rethought. Don't waste time on small issues that need long winded explanations.
3. Enunciate, Enunciate, Enunciate. This includes speaking loud enough and with confidence.
4. Stay organized in your rebuttals. Don't jump around. Just go down the flow from top to bottom and signpost profusely. Tell your judge the order you are going to take. ie. Aff then neg. 5. Don't overdo the rulebook. If you spend a lot of time on points of order like observations, drops, new evidence, and such be 100% sure you are correct and do not waste a lot of time on it. If the judge heard differently you are toast. Waste too much time and again, you are toast because you missed time for something important. Too much of this stuff can be distracting though it is your job to point such things out - as needed.
6. One ballot mentioned something about "being cute" with a "racist" example. This cost that person the round (luckily it was another team). Apparently the judge felt it was bordering on offensive. Reminds me of some contentions that got changed last week.

Enough for now. Everyone seems to have "ADOP" and won't read through this anyway.

Mr. C