About 200 judges are needed for the Kalispell Western Regional Speech and Debate Tournament Friday and Saturday.

A total of 800 people are expected to judge, according to Wendy Putzler, judge coordinator for speech and debate. She said former experience is not necessary.

Each round in the tournament will be approximately an hour and a half to two hours. Judges may choose to score one or several rounds.

People interested in judging may register online at http://judgeforensics.com/tournaments/view/13.

A free judging clinic will be held at 6:30 p.m. today at the Glacier High School conference room. The clinic will be an opportunity learn more about judging but is not mandatory.

Judges should arrive 10 to 15 minutes before their events are scheduled to begin to receive background information about their respective events. Putzler is confident enough people will sign up to judge.

“We have a great community,” Putzler said. “They always step up to help.” 

The tournament — formerly known as the Kalispell Invitational — will be held at both Kalispell high schools and feature 25 teams.

Debate and drama events will be held at Glacier High School. Speech events will be held at Flathead High School. The first round will begin at 3:30 p.m. Friday.

On Saturday, debate events begin at 8 a.m. while speech and drama events begin at 9 a.m. An awards ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Glacier High School Performance Hall.

For more information call 751-3546 or visit www.sd5.k12.mt.us/domain/181.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.