Hollyfest

[justine]

So this past weekend Natick High School in Massachusetts hosted the Hollyfest tournament. It is the second biggest single-day tournament in the US. There were over 600 competitors there and over 800 entries.

There were 24 events including the Pentathalon where one competitor from each school entered in 4 different events as well as a special "Press Conference".

The day was REALLY REALLY long. The opening meeting was at about 8:30 and we left the school around 9:45.

Results are up on massforensics.org (go to schedule, then click on The Holly Speech Tournament, then click on results).

Sweeps were (sorry, these are all I can remember)

1. Shrewsbury
2. Milton
3. Newton South
4. Acton-Boxborough (?)

Does anyone have any thoughts about ranking, competition, incredible performances, etc?

[shs_newgirl]

Am I the only one who felt like Frank Smith accounted for 1/2 of Milton's points? ****, boy's got skillz.

In all seriousness, though - I was kind of surprised at how the OO results turned out. I've competed in oratory at every tournament excluding Hollyfest and HoF (yay for PSAT's that day) and yet didn't recognize anyone who broke. It's going to be interesting to see how that affects OO rankings for the rest of the year.

And jeez, I can't believe how fast results got posted.

[jdcongresscapt]

Concerning the OO, results, to be fair, two were New Yorkers, so you probably won't have to worry about us.

Any thoughts on other facets (e.g. multiple)?

[justine]

Oh God, multiple. When I found out that our multiple broke (The Cards of Fate) I actually started crying I was laughing so hard! But all in all, I think that this wasn't the best year for multiple. Maybe it's just because I was actually competing in it this year, but for some reason I wasn't as impressed with the final round multiples this year as I have been in years past.

[LordoftheWings]

Perhaps you were almost as shocked to see you broke in Multiple as I was when I learned Play Reading results, Justine? :)

Holly was so much fun. Entering in five events was crazy, and yet I loved every second of that frantic day. The Multiple that performed, the candle-lighting ceremony, the Spirit of the Holly--everything about that tournament is always so memorable. And I would recommend competing in the Pentathlon to anyone brave enough to put all the events together in time, lol. You will be hard-pressed to have a more unique, exciting speech experience.

shs_newgirl, you are too kind. :) Congrats on the sweeps win!

I can't wait for Newton South with the 007 theme. Justine, is there an entry cap for certain events like there was at Holly? And will Semifinals be hosted for huge events like they were last year? Thanks!

Have a great vacation, everyone. We've earned it. :-p

[justine]

I can't wait for Newton South with the 007 theme. Justine, is there an entry cap for certain events like there was at Holly? And will Semifinals be hosted for huge events like they were last year? Thanks!

Have a great vacation, everyone. We've earned it. :-p

Grrr, YOU'RE on vacation Frank, not everyone else. We all still have a week left before vacation.

1. There is not going to be any entry cap at our tournament.

2. Events with over 40 entries (not including group or congress) will break to semifinals, but if there are more than three events larger than 40 entries, only the largest 3 will go to semis.

I'm so excited for our tournament!! It's a lot of work, because I'm hosting, but I think it's going to turn out really well. We got the trophies last week and they're really great!

[Josiahzacks]

Wait, holly has an official pentath now?

**** am I jealous.