Louisiana High School Speech League

The Louisiana High School Speech League (LHSSL) is a non-profit organization of secondary schools throughout the state of Louisiana dedicated to promoting and providing for speech and debate education. The league sanctions speech and debate tournaments throughout the school year. These tournaments are hosted by members or affiliates. The league also conducts a State Championship tournament in the Spring. Students from member schools qualify for the State Tournament of Champions by placing in the top three or four at an LHSSL sanctioned tournament. The league is open to any public, private, parochial, and independent school in Louisiana for students in Grades 9-12.

Sanctioned Tournaments

Throughout the speech and debate season, usually beginning in late September and ending in late February, students travel to host schools to compete in any of eleven qualifying events. Students compete in two to four preliminary rounds of competition which is then reduced to a quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals rounds (depending on the number of students who originally entered the competition. There is a minimum of ten competitors per event to be officially sanctioned by the LHSSL though not every event must be offered at each tournament.

Tournament of Champions (TC)

Students who place 3rd or better (4th in the events of Duo Reading and Duet Acting) qualify to compete in the three day Tournament of Champions. Students compete in four preliminary rounds (5 to 6 in debate events) eventually reduced to no more than 16 students for a semi-final round and then no more than 8 for a final round. Students who make it the final round of competition automatically become members of the Louisiana All-State Speech Team. The host site for the tournament rotates every year between the Central-North Louisiana area (Alexandria, Monroe, Ruston, Shreveport,) Lafayette-Lake Charles Area and the New Orleans area.

The 2009 Tournament of Champions will take place at Lafayette High School.

Events

There are eleven officially recognized events that students can compete in at the Tournament of Champions.

• Extemporaneous Speaking
• Original Oratory
• Oratorical Declamation
• Oral Interpretation of Literature
• Dramatic Interpretation
• Humorous Interpretation
• Duo Reading
• Duet Acting
• Cross-Examination Debate (Policy Debate)
• Lincoln-Douglas Debate
• Student Congress

While not an official LHSSL event, Public Forum Debate is also at some school tournaments throughout the year.

2008-2009 Tournament Schedule

• September 19-20 - Jesuit High School, "New Orleans"
• October 3-4 - University of Louisiana at Lafayette
• October 10-11 Teurlings Catholic High School, "Lafayette"
• October 31-November 1 - Caddo Magnet High School, "Shreveport"
• November 7-8 - Lafayette High School
• November 14-15 - Bolton High School, "Alexandria"
• November 14-15 - Riverdale High School, "New Orleans"
• December 5-6 - Abbeville High School
• December 12-13 - Comeaux High School, "Lafayette"
• December 12-13 - Isidore Newman High School, "New Orleans"
• January 9-10 - Walter Cohen High School, "New Orleans"
• January 16-17 - St. Thomas More High School, "Lafayette"
• January 17 - Cabrini High School, "New Orleans"
• January 23-24 - Breaux Bridge High School
• January 23-24 - Northwestern State University, "Natchitoches"
• January 30-31 - St. Augustine High School, "New Orleans"
• January 30-31 - Captain Shreve High School, "Shreveport"
• February 6-7 - Kaplan High School
• February 6-7 - Ben Franklin High School, "New Orleans"
• February 13-14 - Ruston High School
• February 14 - Cecilia High School
• February 20-21 - Acadiana High School, "Lafayette"
• February 27-28 - Parkway High School, "Bossier City"
• March 6-7 - Catholic Forensic League District Qualifer (Lafayette Diocese), St. Thomas More High School, "Lafayette"
• March 13-14 - National Forensic League District Qualifier, Acadiana High School, "Lafayette"
• March 26-28 - LHSSL Tournament of Champions, Lafayette High School

External links

* [http://www.lhssl.com Louisiana High School Speech League website]