Check in: Floor of Rupp - Look for the Esports Sign
You will receive a map and bracket of the shoutcasting competition
Green areas labeled on the Map show the esports set ups and where the shoutcasting table will be.
What you and your students need to bring:
A Device: Chromebook capable of joining a Google Meet.
Working Headphone Jack: Thanks to a local sponsor we will provide High-quality headphones for each station which are essential to clearly hear the shoutcasters over the arena noise.
Shoutcaster's Notebook: This will be a students go-to resource, filled with key game data, character notes, fun facts, and story telling ideas that I can use during a live or recorded broadcast.
Schedule
8:00 AM: Arrival
8:30 - 8:45 AM: Mandatory Walk-through (We will walk the floor to review the Shoutcasting stations and competition flow).
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM: Teams arrive and check in.
9:30 AM - 9:45 AM: Welcome and message from the tournament sponsor ByteSpeed
9:45 AM – 2:00 PM: Tournament & Shoutcasting Judging.
1. Pre-Match Warm up (Round of 16)
Judges & Teams: Before the official on demand challenge begins, we will run a full practice shoutcast during the first round of the SSB tournament. Judges and student teams will join the Google Meet, test audio levels/latency, and perform a one-game practice shoutcast. This ensures everyone is comfortable with the tech and the rubric before the stakes get high.
2. Match Setup (Round of 8)
The Toss: The two shoutcasting teams will meet at the shoutcasting table with their coaches for a quick game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.
Home/Away: The winner is the "Home" team (goes last); the loser is the "Away" team (goes first).
Sound Check: Before starting, teams will provide their names and team name for a formal sound check.
3. The Competition (Sets 1 & 2)
Set 1: The "Away" team shoutcasts the first set (best-of-3 games).
Set 2: The "Home" team takes over the station to shoutcast the next set (best-of-3 games).
Set 3: Judges meet to determine a winner
4. Judging & Feedback (Set 3)
Observation: You will listen to the live audio via Google Meet while watching the physical match (set 1 & 2). You will be given a clipboard and paper copy of the rubric to score the teams as they shoutcast.
Deliberation: During the third set of the match, judges will confer, finalize the Rubric, and determine a winner.
Feedback: Judges will provide brief, constructive face-to-face feedback to both teams before they depart.
5. Tournament Progression
Round 1: 8 teams compete. Each station will have 2 collegiate judges.
Round 2 (Semifinals): 4 teams remain. To increase the stakes, we will increase the panel to 4 collegiate judges per station.
Finals: The winners move on to the championship shoutcast where we will have a total of 6 judges.