About Us In 2004-2005, the Wisconsin High School Forensic Association (WHSFA) enters its 109th year...the oldest association of its kind in the United States. In 2003-2004, WHSFA had a membership of 407 senior high schools and 140 middle level schools, successfully fulfilling its mission to provide an opportunity for students to enhance communication skills through participation in Theatre, Debate and Speech activities. This year, more than 15,000 students participated in WHSFA sponsored events. Mission To provide an opportunity for students in the schools of Wisconsin to enhance communication skills though participation in Theatre, Debate and Speech activities; To promote and encourage cooperation among various communication organizations within Wisconsin; To provide a forum for development of standards, skills and materials for participation in all forensic activities. Theatre The annual WHSFA State Theater Festival was held on November 21-22, 2003, at UW-LaCrosse and Viterbo University. For the thirteenth year, WHSFA worked in conjunction with UW-Madison Department of Liberal Studies and the Arts and the Alliance of Wisconsin Theatre Education to provide an avenue for over 2,000 students to actively participate in play performances, theatre-oriented workshops and showcase presentations. Of the many high schools participating, 57 schools took part in the theatre performance portion of the festival. Two performance areas were engaged as the invited schools displayed their theatrical talents by performing full productions of a 35-minute maximum length play. In addition, a variety of workshops offered "hands-on" opportunities to students and directors wanting to enhance their theatre skills. Debate On January 21-22, 2005, WHSFA held the State Debate Tournament at UW-Oshkosh. Eighteen schools qualified for the State Tournament. Speech In the 2004-2005 school year, over 8,000 Wisconsin high school students began the exciting journey through the forensic season. Of that number, approximately 6,000 students from 378 schools, participating in 15 different categories made it to the WHSFA State Speech Festival, held on the UW-Madison campus on April 15-16, 2005. Middle Level The WHSFA Middle Level Division continued to thrive in 2003-2004 with 3,928 students from 140 schools participating in Level I festivals at 19 sites and 3,038 students from 137 schools participating in Level II festivals at 13 sites. Students choose from an array of 14 categories, which are a combination of individual and group events. Speech Adjudication Since 1990, WHSFA has facilitated a number of Speech Adjudication Workshops throughout the state. These workshops are designed to prepare potential speech adjudicators for certification, which is required of judges at all levels (Subdistrict, District and State Speech Festivals). In the 2003-2004 school year, 23 adjudication workshops were held around the state and 271 individuals became newly certified. Over 245 adjudicators were recertified (certified period is for 3 years). Since its inception, 4,051 adjudicators have been certified through the WHSFA Speech Adjudication Program.