Jurassic, Norton, & Communication

10/30/2015 1:00 AM

Preparation is in full effect for the 68^th Annual L. E. Norton Memorial Collegiate Speech Tournament as the Bradley University Speech Team plans to host roughly 600 college competitors, judges, and alumni. The competition on November 7 & 8^, 2015 expects to bring in over 50 colleges and universities from over 20 different states to the Bradley campus. The team looks forward to honor Dr. Norton, once again, with an event marked by many as “Fall Speech Nationals” due to its large size and high level of competition.   To take some of the pressure of competition off of its guests each year, the team infuses a theme with the tournament. This year’s theme is “Jurassic Norton” inspired by the blockbuster movie series.

“To say the Norton is just a speech tournament would be saying that Jurassic World was just a movie,” said Director of Forensics Ken Young. Young continued, “While the tournament won’t bring in $1.5 billion, the presence of the tournament continues to make a significant impact on the local community and economy.”

The team will work with local restaurants and hotels, the Peoria Riverfront Museum, and Bradley University as a whole to pull off the event. The weekend will come to a dramatic close at Sunday evening’s award ceremony in the Renaissance Coliseum. Bradley University’s 11th President Gary Roberts, a former Bradley Speech Team member, will give opening remarks for the ceremony.