Revised: Spring 1988

 

DISTRICT IX

NATIONAL INDIVIDUAL EVENTS TOURNAMENT

 

CONSTITUTION

 

 

ARTICLE I - MEMBERSHIP

 

Section 1

Any college or university offering an Associate of Arts degree and/or higher degree in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, El Paso County, Texas, plus Montana State University, Billings shall be eligible for membership in District IX.

 

Section 2

Membership in District IX shall consist of those schools who are current dues' paying members to the National Individual Events Tournament (NIET). Membership until the deadline for the receipt of dues shall consist of those schools who paid dues for the previous academic year plus any schools who have paid for the current academic year and after said deadline those schools who have paid dues for the current academic year.

 

 

ARTICLE II - GOVERNING COMMITTEE

 

Section 1

A District IX Committee consisting of eight persons (seven coaches and one student representative) shall be elected annually by the membership. A term on the Committee shall be for two years for a coach and one year for a student representative with the initial Committee elected in such a way that no more than four terms expire in a given year.

 

Section 2

Any person who is a faculty member or graduate student shall be eligible to serve on the District IX Committee. If a school does not have a faculty member or graduate student as the sponsor of a program, that school may designate a student member to be eligible to serve on the District Committee. Not more than one faculty member or graduate student from the same school may serve on the Committee at the same time. In the event that three of three or four of four persons whose terms expire in a given year are serving their second consecutive two-year term all may stand for re-election for the Committee, but only two of three or three of four shall be eligible to serve if re- elected; and the person receiving the fewest votes shall be declared ineligible to serve and the person not originally elected but having the next highest number of votes shall be declared elected and eligible to serve.

 

Section 3

The election to select new non-student members of the Committee shall be held not more than forty-five days prior to the District IX Qualifying Tournament, but in time that the results of that election can be certified to the persons attending that tournament. Each member school shall be entitled to one ballot made out in duplicate. The responder shall fill out both ballots in an identical manner ranking his or her choices beginning with one and ranking as many persons as there are persons to be elected and return one copy of the ballot to each of the two persons selected as the Election Committee. The Election Committee shall consist of two persons appointed by the Chairperson and shall consist of members of District IX who are themselves ineligible for election or re-election to the Committee. Each member of the Election Committee shall certify the results of the election to the District IX Committee. Those persons receiving the highest number of votes with the ranks given weight according to the number of vacancies to be filled shall be declared elected providing each is eligible to serve and providing the provisions of Article II, Section 1; and Article III, Section 1; are not violated. The student member shall be elected according to the provisions in the bylaws.

 

Section 4

The terms of office of members of the District IX Committee shall be from the last day of the NIET in the year elected until the last day of the NIET in the year of the expiration of their terms.

 

Section 5

In the event a vacancy should occur on the District IX Committee, the Committee shall have the option of continuing with fewer than seven faculty or graduate student members or calling a special election to fill the vacancy(s). A special election should be conducted in the manner outlined in Article II, Section 3. Nothing in this Section should be construed in any way as waiving the rules regarding a quorum of the Committee as specified in Article II, Section 6.

 

Section 6

A quorum of the Committee shall consist of a minimum of four members present.

 

Section 7

Any or all members of the Committee shall be subject to recall at any time prior to the expiration of their term(s). Upon receipt by one or more members of the Committee of a petition containing the signatures of at least one-third of the current District IX membership requesting the recall of any member or members, the Chairperson shall, within two weeks, appoint a two person Election Committee consisting of any two members of the District who are not themselves the subject of the recall provision. Within two additional weeks this Election Committee shall mail a duplicate ballot to all members of District IX asking whether this person(s) should be recalled. If, within two additional weeks, a majority of those voting (providing at least fifty per cent of all District IX members respond) vote to recall a member(s), the Chairperson shall declare those persons as no longer being members of the Committee. The provision of Article II, Section 5, shall then be followed.

 

 

ARTICLE III - DISTRICT CHAIRPERSON

 

Section 1

A Chairperson for District IX shall be selected by the newly elected Committee in those years when the Chairman's term expires or when a vacancy has occurred in the office of Chairperson. The regular election should be held prior to the NIET. The Chairperson's term shall be for a period of two years and shall begin and end on the last day of the NIET. The Chairperson shall not be eligible for re-election to that office unless a period of one year has expired since last holding the office. Only those persons comprising hte newly elected Committee shall be eligible to be elected Chairperson. The newly elected Committee consists of all newly elected (or re-elected) members plus those members whose terms do not expire in the current year. A person with only one year remaining on the Committee shall be eligible to be elected Chairperson, but if that person fails to be re-elected at the end of one year, the office of Chairperson shall be deemed to be vacant and a successor for the remainder of the term shall be elected.

 

Section 2

A Vice-Chairperson for District IX shall be selected by the newly elected Committee in those years when the Chairperson's term expires or when a vacancy has occurred in the office of Vice-Chairperson. The election should be held prior to the NIET. The Vice-Chairperson's term shall be for a period of two years and shall begin and end on the last day of the NIET. Only those persons comprising the newly elected Committee shall be eligible to be elected Vice-Chairperson. A person with only one year remaining on the Committee shall be eligible to be elected Vice-Chairperson, but if that person fails to be re- elected at the end of one year, the office of Vice- Chairperson shall be deemed to be vacant and a successor for the remainder of the term shall be elected.

 

Section 3

Each member of the newly elected Committee shall be entitled to one vote and the person receiving a majority of those present and voting shall be declared elected Chairperson providing a quorum is present and providing that person is eligible to serve as Chairperson. The same procedure should be followed in electing the Vice- Chairperson.

 

Section 4

The District Committee may remove the Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson from office at any time and for any reason by a two-thirds vote of those members present and voting providing a quorum is present. A new Chairperson or Vice- Chairperson should then be elected according to Article III, Sections 1 and 2. A person serving less than one full year of an unexpired term shall be eligible to stand for re- election for a full two year term.

 

 

ARTICLE IV - DUTIES OF THE DISTRICT IX COMMITTEE

 

Section 1

The District IX Committee shall hold such meetings as are called by the Chairperson or are requested by three members of the Committee. Every effort should be made to notify members of the Committee in advance that a meeting will be held, but a meeting called by the Chairperson or by three members of the Committee shall be legally able to conduct business providing a quorum is present.

 

Section 2

The District Committee shall be responsible for providing and scheduling a Qualifying Tournament according to the rules of the NIET. The tournament must be conducted according to the By-Laws of District IX but may not conflict with the rules of the NIET.

 

Section 3

The Committee has the sole power to determine dates, sites, eligibility to attend, eligibility of judges, and the method of determining persons eligible to compete in the NIET within the rules provided by the NIET.

 

Section 4

The Committee shall have the power to elect additional officers of the Committee as it may deem necessary or required by the NIET. Any member of the Committee is eligible to be elected to any or all of those positions providing the rules of the NIET are not violated.

 

Section 5

The Committee shall have the power to make such By- Laws as are necessary to carry out its duties except that no By-Law may conflict with this Constitution or with rules of the NIET. A By-Law must be moved by one member of the Committee, seconded by another member, and passed by a majority of those present and voting providing a quorum is present to become effective. In the event of a tie vote, the By-Law shall be declared to have failed to pass and shall not become effective.

 

 

ARTICLE V - DUTIES OF THE CHAIRPERSON

 

Section 1

The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the District IX Committee when present. Any business of the Committee may carried out in the absence of the Chairperson provided the meeting has been called in a legal manner and providing a quorum is present.

 

Section 2

The Chairperson shall have the power to appoint such subcommittees as may be deemed necessary or required by the Constitution. Page 6 District IX Constitution

 

 

ARTICLE VI - RATIFICATION AND AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION

 

Section 1

This Constitution shall be declared ratified when approved by two thirds of the current District IX membership.

 

Section 2
This Constiution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the membership.

 

 

ARTICLE VII - LIMITATION OF THE CONSTITUTION

 

Section 1

Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed as to contravene rulings of the National Individual Events Tournament either now or in the future.

 

Section 2

If a section of this Constitution is in conflict with rules of the NIET, the Constitution shall be deemed to be amended without vote of the membership.

 

 

 


Revised: Spring 1988

 

DISTRICT IX

NATIONAL INDIVIDUAL EVENTS TOURNAMENT

 

BY-LAWS AND TOURNAMENT RULES

 

 

I. ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTICIPATION

 

  1. The tournament shall be completely open and any member school of District IX may enter five students in each event subject to the rules set down by the National Individual Events Tournament (NIET).
  2. A single student may enter a maximum of six events with no more than two events in a single conflict pattern.
  3. Any student enrolled in a member school may participate as long as he or she is an undergraduate (as defined by the NIET). Part- time students are eligible.

 

II. EVENTS

 

  1. The events offered at the District IX Qualifying Tournament will be the same as those offered at the NIET for the current year.
  2. The conflict patterns for District IX shall be the same as the NIET for the current year.
  3. The description of events for the District IX Qualifying Tournament will be the same as those for NIET for the current year.

 

III. JUDGING REQUIREMENTS AND ELIGIBILITY FOR JUDGING

 

  1. Each entering school should be accompanied by the person in charge of individual events, and he or she must be qualified according to the following criteria:

 

    1. The person must be a faculty member or graduate or professional student at the entering school.
    2. The person must hold a Bachelor's or higher degree.
    3. The person must have judged at least six rounds of individual events in intercollegiate forensics competition during the current academic year prior to the Qualifying Tournament at least two of which should have been elimination rounds.

 

  1. Each entering school must be prepared to either bring additional judges or ask the District Committee to hire additional judges as prescribed by the Committee.

 

    1. An entering school will have additional persons automatically approved as judges if each meets the minimal criteria in III, A.
    2. A school cannot be quaranteed that entries unaccompanied by judges will be accepted but may ask that the District Committee hire needed judges.
    3. The District Committee will hire additional judges. These persons need not meet any minimal criteria, but this should be given careful consideration by the Committee.

 

  1. Entry forms should provide a place for judges to indicate their preference for particular events or lack of enthusiasm for others.

 

IV. TOURNAMENT SCHEDULING AND PROCEDURES

 

  1. Preliminary Rounds

 

    1. There will normally be three preliminary rounds in each event subject to the following guidelines:

 

a.     If fewer than 8 students enter an event, no preliminary rounds and no semi-finals will be held, and only a single, final elimination round will be held.

b.     If from 8 to 14 students enter an event, no preliminary rounds will be held and competititon will begin with semi-finals.

c.     If from 15 to 25 students enter an event, the preliminary round competition will be limited to two rounds.

 

    1. Whenever possible, the Tournament Director should use the following guidelines for preliminary round competition.

 

a.     The number of contestants in a section should not be less than four nor more than seven.

b.     Students should not compete against students from their own school.

c.     Contestant should not meet the same competitors in the preliminary rounds.

 

  1. Elimination Rounds

 

    1. If 30 or fewer students enter an event, only a final elimination round will be held with one section of approximately 6.
    2. If 31 or more students enter an event, a semi-final elimination round will be held with approximately 12 persons advancing. Normally the top 6 will advance to the final round with at least the top 3 from each section advancing.
    3. The number in the final round should be at least as large as the number of persons who can qualify for the NIET even if that means taking more than 6.
    4. If a student in the final round receives a third qualifier (leg) for the NIET and qualifies by this method, an additional student(s) qualifies. When the total number of eligible qualifiers is greater than the number of students in the final round, the top speaker(s) from semi-finals (or preliminary rounds if no semi-finals were held) shall be deemed to have qualified. The persons selected from the semi-final brackets shall be ranked in order and shall be deemed to have qualified or designated as alternates in that order even if that means taking an uneven number of students from one section. The procedures outlined in IV, D, shall be used to determine the rank order if semi-finals were held or IV, C, if no semi-finals were held.
    5. Elimination rounds will be paired on a strength versus weakness basis according to the schematic below and brackets will not be broken to prevent two students from the same school from meeting.

 

Section I

Section II

1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12

2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11

 

  1. Advancement to the Elimination Rounds

 

    1. If a student has competed in three preliminary rounds with two (or more) judges per round, the following is the order of criteria for advancing to the elimination rounds:

 

a.     Total rankings with the poorest ranking dropped (lowest total is best).

b.     Total ratings with the poorest rating dropped (highest total is best).

c.     Total number of first place rankings.

d.     Total unadjusted rankings.

e.     Total unadjusted ratings.

f.      Judge's preferences if the two contestants have met.

g.     Quality of competition.

 

    1. If a student have competed in fewer than three preliminary rounds or has had fewer than six judge rankings and ratings because of using only one judge in a preliminary round, the following shall be the order of criteria for advancing to the elimination rounds.

 

a.     Total unadjusted rankings (lowest total is best).

b.     Total unadjusted ratings (highest total is best).

c.     Total number of first place rankings.

d.     Total rankings with the poorest ranking dropped.

e.     Total ratings with the poorest rating dropped.

f.      Judge's preference if the two contestants have met.

g.     Quality of competition.

 

  1. Advancement from one elimination round to the next and/or for determining the final order of finish.

 

    1. Any contestant receiving a majority of first place votes will be the winner of that section or event.
    2. Following is the order of criteria for determining the order of finish in an elimination round:

 

a.     Total unadjusted rankings.

b.     Total unadjusted ratings.

c.     Total rankings with the poorest ranking dropped.

d.     Total rankings with the poorest rating dropped.

e.     Judge's preference.

f.      Judges

 

    1. Two judges per section should be used in the preliminary rounds. If it is not possible to have two judges per round, the Tournament Director should use the following guidelines:

 

a.     If one judge is to be used in a single section, all sections of that event should have only one judge in that round.

b.     All other events in that round and in other rounds should have two judges if sufficient judges are available.

c.     The Director should try to avoid using only one judge in a single event more than one round.

d.     The first criteria for selecting an event in a round to have only one judge should be the size of the event as the larger the event, the more judges who will be freed. Normally the Director will select an event that will give the approximate number of judges needed.

e.     Three judges should be used in elimination rounds although any odd number greater than three is permissible.

f.       If the results of an event are to be determined by a single, final round, a minimum of five judges should be used if possible.

g.     Judges should not reveal their decisions in any way to anyone except a tab room official until the results have been announced. Judges and/or coaches seeking or revealing a decision may have their contestants disqualified. Hired judges seeking or revealing a decision are subject to non-payment for their services. Hired judges must agree in advance to abide by this rule. Both actions require a majority vote of the District Committee.

 

  1. Ballots

 

    1. Ballots should be designed to use a ranking of 1-5 in the preliminary rounds and first through last in the elimination rounds. There can be no ties in ranking except that no speaker will be ranked lower than 5th in the preliminary rounds. A ranking of 1 is best.
    2. Ballots should utilize a rating system of 1 through 25 with 25 being best. Speakers may be tied on ratings although rankings and ratings should match with the top speaker being rated as high or higher than any other speaker in the round.

 

  1. Appropriate awards should be given to the top three speakers in each event.

 

V. QUALIFYING FOR THE NATIONAL INDIVIDUAL EVENTS TOURNAMENT

 

  1. Ten percent of the students entering (and completing) all preliminary rounds at the District Qualifier will advance to the NIET with the number rounded off to the highest whole number.
  2. If a student completes a third leg at the District Tournament and qualifies for the NIET by this method, all other students in the final round are moved up for purposes of determining qualifications for the NIET. Use of this procedure does not alter final rankings in the event for purposes of determining awards.
  3. Students not qualifying for the NIET through the District Tournament shall be ranked in order as alternates. If a student who has qualified receives a third leg at a tournament following the District Qualifier and qualifies for the NIET by this method prior to the deadline for submission, then an alternate(s) shall be deemed to have qualified. If a student in the District has qualified for the NIET through the District Tournament and cannot attend, an alternate(s) will be deemed to have qualified.
  4. Students may not enter an event in which he or she is already qualified but may enter other events in that conflict pattern. A student may enter Dramatic Duo with a second partner even though he or she has already qualified with a previous partner. A student may enter two events in a conflict pattern even though he or she has qualified for a third event in that pattern, but if that student qualifies in both entered events, the student must (prior to the announcement of results ot other contestants) select the event for which he or she wishes to be qualified and will not be deemed to have qualified in the third event. Other students will be advanced appropriately for qualification purposes.

 

VI. EVENTS

 

  1. The District Committee shall set the date for the deadline of entries and all entering schools are expected to pay the entry and judging fees based on entries as of that date, regardless of subsequent deletions.
  2. The Tournament Director may accept entries after the deadline, but schools entering additional contestants after the deadline are subject to additional entry and judging fees.
  3. The Tournament Director has the discretion to turn down entries (even prior to the deadline) which are not covered by qualified judges.

 

VII. JUDGING RESPONSIBILITIES

 

  1. Judges are expected to judge in all rounds of all conflict patterns at the tournament regardless of their actual commitment.
  2. All judges are expected to judge until the end of the tournament regardless of whether they have qualified students for the elimination rounds.

 

VIII. An entering school may examine the results of the tournament after such results have been announced. Errors must be reported to a member of the District Committee within a two hour period following the announcement of results. The Committee cannot guarantee the rectification of errors after that time lapse.

 

IX. The Tournament Director will be selected by the District Committee and all other tab room officials are subject to the approval of the District Committee.

 

X. Bids for future District Qualifiers should be solicited by the District Chairman with every effort being made to designate a host for the following year by the end of the current qualifier. Future hosts must be approved by the District Committee. The District Committee should consider geographical distribution in approving tournament hosts, but is not bound by that consideration.

 

XI. The District Committee has the power to interpret these by-laws or to adopt rules not covered by these by-laws.

 

XII. Nothing in these by-laws should be interpreted to violate rules or conflict with rules set down by the National Individual Events Tournament Committee. If by-laws are deemed to be in conflict with those of the NIET, the rules of the NIET shall apply.

 

XIII. PROTEST PROCEDURE

 

Anyone wishing to initiate a formal complaint may do so by presenting a written copy of the protest to the District Chairperson. The protest must include the specific section violated, names of the people involved in the violation, factual circumstances and events associated with the alleged violation(s), indicate redress the complainant is seeking, and must be signed.

 

XIV. BY-LAWS AMENDMENT

 

These by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the NIET District IX Committee.