Minnesota High School Speech
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Minnesota High School Speech refers to the competitive forensics system in the state of Minnesota. These activities are currently coordinated and organized by the Minnesota State High School League, otherwise known as the MSHSL.
There are thirteen categories of Minnesota High School Speech, many of which differ greatly from their National Forensics League counterparts. It is important to note that Minnesota High School Speech and Minnesota High School Debate, while both organized by the Minnesota State High School League, are independent activities with different tournament schedules, seasons, awards, and procedures.
Minnesota High School Speech, as organized by the MSHSL, is composed of thirteen highly varied activities, which can more or less be placed into one of two larger groupings: Public Address, or Interpretive. The exception to this rule is Discussion.
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[edit] Public Address Categories
The Public Address categories consist of Extemporaneous Speaking, Great Speeches, Informative Speaking, and Original Oratory.
[edit] Interpretive Categories
The Interpretive categories consist of Creative Expression, Duo Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Extemporaneous Reading, Serious Interpretation of Drama, Serious Interpretation of Poetry, Serious Interpretation of Prose, and Storytelling.
[edit] Discussion
Discussion is, by far, one of the rarest categories found in the world of competitive speaking. In Discussion, six to eight competitors come together for up to sixty minutes to reach a consensus concerning a task provided for them. Discussants are measured on their performance by their candor, wit, and ability to pull together a group to reach common ground.
Because Discussion is so unlike every other category, it becomes much more difficult to evaluate or place neatly into a grouping of either "public address," or "interpretive," of which it is clearly neither.
[edit] Competition
The Minnesota State High School League organizes only three divisions of competitive speech tournaments; all other invitationals and tournaments are organized by schools and teams themselves and are without central coordination.
[edit] Independent Competition
Independently organized tournaments, for the most part, adhere to Minnesota State High School League-sanctioned rules, although many schools now host tournaments specifically ruled by those set by the National Forensics League, whose rules and categories differ wildly in many areas.
[edit] MSHSL Competition
The MSHSL currently divides all Speech teams into two classes:
- Class A, which is composed of schools with enrollments of less than 500 students.
- Class AA, which is composed of schools with enrollments exceeding 500 students.
Class designation is highly important in regard to competitive Speech, as Class AA competition is undoubtedly more challenging, though not without exception. Further, Class A competitors are required to pass an additional hurdle that Class AA competitors do not--that of the Subsection Tournament.
The MSHSL currently coordinates three levels of competition:
- Subsections, at which only Class A schools compete. At Subsections, all Class A competitors are invited to compete for a place at their Section tournament. The best six, seven, or eight competitors in each category at the subsection are chosen to move on to a final round, out of which the best-performing four competitors move on to the Section tournament.
- Sections, at which all Class AA competitors and previously-selected Class A competitors vie for competitorships at the State Tournament. All Class AA competitors are invited to compete at their section tournaments, although each competing school may enter only three competitors per category. Class A students selected by their subsection compete at separate section tournaments. The top six, seven, or eight competitors from each category travel to a final round where their performances are critiqued and reviewed, with the top three competitors from each Class A and each Class AA Section in each category moving on to the Class A and Class AA State Tournaments, respectively.
- State, at which Class A and Class AA competitors compete on separate days in their respective categories. (Class A and Class AA students never compete against one another in MSHSL competition, and their tournaments are held on separate days.) Owing to the limit of only three competitors per class section, and the fact that Minnesota is divided into only eight sections, each category has exactly twenty-four competitors. The top eight in each category travel to a final round where they are scored and placed in accordance with their performances. The final rounds at the State tournament are the only rounds not critiqued.
