Judging
Overview
We want parents to join our speech and debate community by becoming a judge for our team! Judging is fun and you get to travel with your student to tournaments, meet other parents, and judge students from around North Carolina at speech and debate tournaments. You won’t judge your own child, but you do get to spend the day with them and see what an amazing activity in which your student has chosen to be involved.
The idea of judging students can seem intimidating, but once you get trained and attend your first tournament, it is very rewarding. We encourage you to participate and see these amazing teens in action.
When you sign up to judge, you’ll be able to rank which category you’d prefer to judge. We will do our best to assign you to your first choice, but sometimes you may have to judge a different event.
Judge Training and Background Checks
Before you can attend a tournament and judge, you must pass a background check, sign up for a Tabroom account, and do the judge training. Follow these easy steps to get started.
Complete an Asheville City School Background Check
Each parent that travels to the tournaments must complete a background check. Please visit Secure Volunteer and select Chaperone when you are filling out the form. If you have questions, please see our Chaperone Background Check page for details.
You will receive a confirmation email once you have successfully passed the background check. Please email that confirmation to Coach Monte at nick.montecalvo@acsgmail.net. You will receive a Secure Volunteer VERIFIED card from Asheville City Schools in the regular mail after you pass the background check.
Create a Judging Account on Tabroom
Tabroom is a free service that helps manage all schedules and judging tabulation for our events. Sign up here: https://www.tabroom.com and then email Coach Keith Pittman keith.pittman@acsgmail.net to let him know that you have registered.
Get trained
We will offer a basic judge training at the beginning of the school year at the retreat on September 11, 2022. You can complete the full judge training for any event with the resources on our site under Judge Training.
Information Sessions
The preseason team and parent retreat will take place from 2:00 – 5:30 on Sunday, September 11th, 2022, at the Wesley Grant Center, 285 Livingston Street in Asheville. The purpose of this retreat is to allow student team members to bond with each other and to allow parents to learn more about this most valuable activity and what is required of them during the year. I would like to see you at this retreat and answer all of your questions. Our booster club and coaching staff are asking all parents to attend with their students if possible.
We will open with a potluck lunch at 2 PM before we get into specifics. We are asking freshman families to bring a main dish. Sophomore families should bring a side dish. And junior and senior families should bring a dessert. The team’s booster club will provide drinks, plates, napkins, and eating utensils.
Please bring a laptop to the retreat, if possible.
Academic Calendar
You can find dates and locations for upcoming tournaments here.
We will provide more information regarding specifics in upcoming announcements.