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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; The COVID-19 pandemic may have nixed large gatherings, but the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Open Speech and Debate Tournament scheduled for this Saturday and usually hosted at Meyers High School will still be held, albeit fully online.
				&ldquo;We are very lucky to be part of the National Speech and Debate Association, and they produced a (web-based) platform over the summer for their national tournament, and made it openly available for other teams,&rdquo; explained Attorney Sarah Borland, who is spearheading this year&rsquo;s tournament.
				All 18 events will be offered, though doing things online has required adjustments, she added. for contestants, some rules had to be modified, particularly for team events done by teams that can&rsquo;t actually get together to compete. &ldquo;There are differing rules on how to communicate with people, and what (Zoom) rooms they can be in.&rdquo;
				For judges, it means being more flexible. &ldquo;Judging is using all the same ballots and rules, but everyone is being asked to be extra sensitive to environmental concerns. They are told to have consideration for things like barking dogs, lights going out or connectivity issues.&rdquo;
				Some students may have spotty internet service. Others may have multiple contestants in the same home who don&rsquo;t have separate rooms to use during the competition.
				The move to online competition drew some interest from students who would probably never compete in the live event, as far away as Arizona and Texas, Borland said. But the time zone difference may be too much, since the contest will be staged live and begin at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
				East coast students, on the other hand, may find it easier to compete in online tournaments held out west. A California tournament that starts at 8:30 a.m. there starts at 11:30 a.m. here. She also noted that while the MLK tournament will be synchronous, some big tournaments going online elsewhere have opted to allow asynchronous participation, with contestants recording their performances before the actual event and submitting it online for judging.
				Students will be able to see others who are competing in their same event, but won&rsquo;t be able to sit in on other events. And the system being used does not allow parents or the general public to watch the competition.
				The move in the speech and debate world to online events may be giving students a useful experience in &ldquo;Presenting themselves in a square box,&rdquo; Borland said, and the new tools for internet connections could provide some valuable coaching experience and more frequent feedback from judges even after the pandemic is in the rear view mirror. But she doesn&rsquo;t think online tournaments will replace in-person competition.
				&ldquo;They are very different skill sets,&rdquo; Borland said. Besides, in-person tournaments give the students time to interact while waiting for their own event to start, sharing ideas, jokes and tips.
				&ldquo;Our students are really missing the social aspect of aspect of this.&rdquo;

Annual Martin Luther King Jr. debate contest still on, though online only