League Policies
Understand the guidelines and regulations that govern NCFCA competitions and events. Familiarize yourself with our policies to ensure a fair and enjoyable experience for all participants.
Personal Character
NCFCA event participants are expected to behave and encourage others to behave in a manner that pleases God and upholds scriptural mandates to model Christ-like behavior. As a Christian organization, NCFCA takes this responsibility to heart and reserves the right to intervene if a participant’s behavior violates biblical principles.
Participants must:
- Respect the NCFCA Foundational Beliefs.
- Practice courtesy and consideration in their association with competitors, parents, tournament personnel, staff, and community volunteers.
- Respect the authority of parents, coaches, NCFCA leadership, and tournament staff, treating them courteously, respectfully, and obediently.
- Respect NCFCA competition as a formal event undertaken for the glory of the Lord.
- Exercise integrity by being truthful and honorable, never lying or stealing.
- Present original work, giving credit where credit is due, and being careful never to plagiarize others’ work.
- Accept personal responsibility for obeying all event rules and all applicable policies outlined in the League Handbook.
Competitor Ethics Statement
Competitors will be required to affirm the NCFCA Ethics Statement during the online check-in process for each tournament.
“As an NCFCA competitor, I am committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and ethical behavior in all areas of competitive forensics. I will comply with all tournament policies and rules. I understand that through my participation in NCFCA, I serve as a witness of Christ and will seek to reflect this in both word and deed at all times.”
Tournament & Event Conduct
During an NCFCA event, students must:
- Abstain from the use or possession of alcoholic beverages, tobacco or e-cigarettes, illegal drugs, and pornography as well as other undesirable practices that are generally recognized to be harmful to health and Christian character.
- Abstain from profanity and vulgar and abusive speech and actions (written, verbal, or electronic).
- Refrain from all public displays of affection.
- Not possess dangerous items, such as knives, guns, or lighters.
- Refrain from bullying, physically or verbally abusing, coercing, stalking, intimidating, verbally or sexually harassing, discriminating, or any other behavior that places the health and safety of oneself or others in jeopardy.
- Refrain from retrieving, saving, or displaying hate-based, offensive, or sexually explicit material via any means.
- Refrain from any form of gambling that involves the exchange of money.
- Refrain from any behavior which would violate the NCFCA Foundational Beliefs.
Tournament Participation Requirements
Competitors
Competitors are expected to be available for competition during the entire duration of the tournament timeframe and must be able to participate in registered event rounds even when rounds must be delayed.
Parent or Designated Adult
Each competitor must have at least one parent or legal guardian onsite and available to actively participate for the duration of each online or in-person NCFCA tournament for which they are registered.
The parent or legal guardian will be expected to serve throughout the tournament as a judge or in a tournament staff role. If a parent or legal guardian is unable to participate, the parent or guardian may appoint another adult as a proxy but must ensure that the designated adult meets all criteria outlined below.
A designated adult:
- Must be at least 21 years old or at least 19 years old if he or she is the sibling of the competitor
- Must be prepared to fully participate in the tournament by serving as a judge or in another tournament capacity throughout the event
- Must view the Judge Training Video once each season for both speech and debate prior to judging
- May only be responsible for students in one family regardless of the number of students in the family
- May not be an adult who is already responsible for their own competing children
Any student who arrives at an in-person tournament without a parent or a designated adult who meets the criteria above will not be allowed to remain on the premises.
Exceptions
Students competing ONLY in a team-based event (Team Policy Debate, Moot Court, or Duo Interpretation) may have a shared designated adult. The student whose parent is not attending should indicate the designated chaperone at registration and should supply the chaperone with a completed medical release.
Other exceptions to this policy will be made only under extenuating circumstances and must be approved in writing by the Director of Forensics as far ahead of the event as possible. Requests for exceptions are made during the Tournament Registration process.
While NCFCA is sympathetic to the routine struggles of families, we cannot excuse a few families from their responsibilities while expecting all other families to make the necessary arrangements to attend. As such, work/schedule conflicts, younger children, activities of other family members, financial difficulties, etc. do not meet the standard for an extenuating circumstance.
Parental Responsibility Outside of Tournament Location and Hours
NCFCA Parent or Designated Adult requirements must be observed at the competition facility while competition rounds are in progress. Parents retain full responsibility for supervision during club gatherings and activities, offsite activities associated with a tournament, and travel and overnight arrangements associated with tournament participation (including at hotels, host housing, or onsite lodging).
Tournament Safety
Children are a gift from the Lord (Psalm 127:3) and as such, should be nurtured, guided (Proverbs 22:6), and protected (Numbers 32:17). NCFCA is committed to providing a safe environment for all students who participate online or in-person. The following protocols have been established to ensure safety and well-being of all tournament participants, minors in particular. While NCFCA leadership and tournament staff will be present and actively monitoring tournament activities, vigilance is the responsibility of all participants. Students and parents should review and understand their responsibility both in person and online.
Registration Requirement
NCFCA’s tournament platform will require that all attendees have an NCFCA account and are registered and checked in for each tournament they plan to attend. Additionally, all Community Judges will be required to complete a “referred by” section during the tournament registration process.
Identification
- In-Person Tournaments: All attendees must wear a nametag while onsite at any league event. All visitors, observers, and Community Judges must check in with the Judge Welcome Team upon arrival. The Judge Welcome Team will issue their nametags and ensure that registered judges are checked in and that visitors are logged in the Tournament Guest Log.
- Online Tournaments: All attendees must have an NCFCA account to participate in the tournament and will be identified on screen by their full name. All tournament rooms on the platform will have a publicly displayed list of attendees in order to provide transparency and accountability. Camera, microphone, and chat functionality are limited by role (competitor, judge, observer). While observing a competition room will be possible, observers will not have access to microphone, camera, or the chat function. Because NCFCA highly values the online security of our participants, for the foreseeable future guests and observers will be limited to registered participants and family members of participants who are designated during tournament registration.
“More than Two” Rule
- In-Person Tournaments: NCFCA Parents and Designated Adults should not enter a competition room where there is only one student present. In the same manner, a student should not enter a competition room where there is only one non-family adult present.
- Online Tournaments: Competitors should keep microphones muted and cameras off until there are more than two attendees present in a competition room.
Open Doors
In-Person Tournaments: Competition room doors are to remain open unless there is a speaker speaking or there is a debate round in progress.
Personal Responsibility
- In-Person Tournaments: If an unsafe condition exists, immediate action should be taken to remove the student(s) from harm and to notify tournament administration by contacting the nearest Communications staff member.
- Online Tournaments: If an unsafe condition exists, the participant should immediately exit the room or tournament platform and notify tournament administration by contacting the Child Safety Coordinator for that event or the NCFCA Office at (682)802-2727.
Adult Supervision
- In-Person Tournaments: Children under 12 years old must be directly supervised by their parent, guardian, or a parent-designated adult when they are not participating in a tournament-sponsored Junior event. A parent or designated adult must be onsite with their children/designated students at all times.
- Online Tournaments: Parents are responsible for the supervision and online safety of their children.
Tournament Boundaries
In-Person Tournaments: NCFCA participants must remain in areas of the facility designated for NCFCA use as communicated through tournament announcements and/or signs.
Online Safety Disclaimer
While NCFCA has built an electronic platform for competition with safety as a primary value, parents are responsible for monitoring and ensuring their student’s online safety.
Tournament Administration
Tournament administrators will have the authority to immediately dismiss, remove, and block any attendee for violation of NCFCA’s Standards of Conduct or other behavior deemed detrimental to the tournament community as a whole.
Background Checks, Safety Training, and Eligible Participants
NCFCA has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual abuse. We require background checks for employees and all Key Volunteer positions. All employees and tournament volunteer staff must receive, read, and acknowledge NCFCA’s Child Safety Policy and complete a Child Safety Training prior to working with students. All non-minor volunteers, including parents, coaches, alumni, and community judges, plus any adult visitors attending an NCFCA event, must watch a brief child safety training video and must also affirm that they are not required by law to be listed on a sex offender registry and have not been convicted of a sexually-related crime involving a minor. Anyone confirmed to be on a sex-offender registry will not be allowed to participate in any role.
Illness Policy
Attendees at in-person tournaments must
- Be free from symptoms of illness. Any person exhibiting symptoms including but not limited to cough, fever (100.4+), chills, muscle pain, sore throat, vomiting, or diarrhea may not attend the tournament.
- Have been fever free without the aid of medication for 48 hours.
- Resolve to love their neighbors as themselves. (Mark 20:31) Beyond the specific policy and situations listed here, please be considerate and thoughtful of others when making decisions about attending an onsite tournament. If you have any questions, please contact your Tournament Director.
Recording & Photography Policy
NCFCA tournament competition may be recorded for personal, club, or classroom use provided that permission of all competitors is obtained prior to entering the competition room. The request for permission should be made prior to entering the competition room. Parents who do not wish for their student to be videotaped should instruct their student to deny any request. Persons requesting permission must respect the wishes of the competitor and refrain from coercion.
Judges may not photograph students or record the round by audio, video, or any other means without written permission from the Director of Forensics.
Other than the recording of one’s own child, no portion of NCFCA competition may be recorded, either by audio, video, or other means, for reproduction and distribution in any format without written permission from NCFCA at gro.ACFCN@eciffO.
In accordance with the Minor Model Release Agreement acknowledged by the parent during the affiliation process, NCFCA reserves the right to have designated tournament photographers and videographers take or gather photos and videos (both casual and in competition) during NCFCA events. These photos and videos may be used for educational resources, advertising, or outreach but will never be used in these contexts in conjunction with other identifying information. Archived tournament photos are stored online and can only be accessed by NCFCA affiliates. Participants involved in any round that is recorded may request a copy of the recording via the NCFCA Office.
Minor Model Release Agreement
NCFCA takes special care to respect and protect the privacy of our affiliate families. It is our protocol to disconnect identifying information in every situation possible by blurring nametags, not including captions with pictures, and not listing geographical information, etc., in order to ensure a right to privacy. NCFCA does also need the ability to market the opportunities provided by the league by using images or recordings from our events. As such, NCFCA requires the parental release of permission to use these images or recordings of their minors at affiliation. If you have questions regarding our Minor Model Release, please email the NCFCA Office at gro.ACFCN@eciffO.
NCFCA Minor Model Release
For valuable consideration, you hereby confer on the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association (NCFCA Christian Speech & Debate) the right and permission with respect to the photographs, audio, or video recordings that NCFCA has taken of your minor child in which he/she may be included with others:
- To copyright the same in NCFCA’s name;
- To use, re-use, publish and re-publish the same in whole or in part, separately or in conjunction with other photographs, videos, instructional materials, in any medium now or hereafter known, and for purposes that include: (but not by way of limitation) illustration, promotion, instruction, education, advertising and trade to further the cause of educational speech and debate, and;
You hereby release and discharge NCFCA from all and any claims and demands ensuing from or in connection with the use of the photographs, videos, instructional materials, including any and all claims for libel and invasion of privacy. This authorization and release shall inure to the benefit of the legal representatives, licensees and assigns of photographer for NCFCA as well as the person(s) for whom he/she took the photographs/videos.
Dress Code Policy
NCFCA’s dress code is intended to honor our foundational beliefs, promote professionalism, and maximize focus on the development of ideas and communication skills.
NCFCA Tournament Dress Code Standards Required Tournament Attire for Male Competitors Option 1: Suit with dress shirt, tie, and dress shoes Option 2: Sport coat with dress shirt, tie, dress slacks, and dress shoes Required Tournament Attire for Female Competitors Option 1: Pant or skirt suit (hemline to middle of knee) with dress blouse (or top) and dress shoes Option 2: Suit-type jacket with dress pants or skirt (hemline to middle of knee), dress blouse (or top), and dress shoes Option 3: Dress (hemline to middle of knee). Sleeveless dresses require a suit-type jacket. Unacceptable Attire for All NCFCA Events Short shorts/skirts/dresses Shirts that are low-cut, fail to cover the midriff, or have spaghetti straps
Inappropriate content, see-through fabric, or tight-fitting clothing
Online Tournaments: Adaptations are acceptable for online tournaments, provided that all attire visible on camera is compliant with the standards above.
A student who is out of dress code will not be permitted to compete. Failure to adhere to the dress code will result in a warning and requirement to change into compliant attire. No accommodations will be made if the student misses a round due to the need to change clothes. If a second violation occurs during the season, disciplinary action such as loss of round or rank will be determined by the National Adjudication Team. In the unfortunate event of a third violation within the season, the student will be disqualified from the tournament. A further violation will result in disqualification from NCFCA competition for the remainder of the season.
Check-In Requirement
Online check-in will take place during a specified timeframe posted on the tournament information page. Competitors who fail to check in and submit any required scripts during the designated window of time without a written exception from tournament officials will be dropped from the tournament and/or event. Refunds are not available for failure to check in or submit scripts.
Publication of Results
Tabulation data is confidential except for tournament results that are publicly announced.
Competition results announced at the tournament will be posted to the NCFCA website following the tournament.
Adjudication During Tournaments
While we believe our competitors value and intend to follow our rules, we also recognize that rules are only meaningful and able to ensure a level playing field if we have protocols in place to evaluate and require compliance. When a concern arises about adherence to rules, the Compliance Team will gather and report information to our National Adjudication Team for evaluation and a determination about consequences, including penalties. We do not approach rule infractions as intentional actions. Additional information can be found in our Compliance FAQs.
Appeals after a Tournament
Appeals may be brought to NCFCA for either a suspected tabulation error or a suspected ethics issue that comes to light post-tournament. However, adjudication decisions rendered by the National Adjudication Team during the tournament are not eligible for appeal.
Filing Process
Any appeal that meets the above criteria must be made in writing and include the complete name and contact information of the appealing party along with a brief description of the concern and any relevant documentation. This appeal must be emailed to the Director of Forensics at gro.ACFCN@scisneroFforotceriD.
Time Frame
All tabulation appeals must be filed within 72 hours of the close of the Awards Ceremony. Concerns of an ethical nature must be brought to the attention of NCFCA as soon as possible but are not subject to a time limitation.
Resolution
Any properly filed appeal will be carefully considered by the Director of Forensics, the National Adjudication Team, and the Executive Director. After investigation and assessment of all available and relevant information, the NCFCA leadership will render a decision and inform the affected parties. This decision will be final, and no other consideration will be made for this issue.
Cancellation Policy
Endemic Illness
NCFCA will use a variety of resources to routinely monitor the prevalence of infectious diseases in the communities planning to host our tournaments. Any decision to cancel or move a tournament to our online platform will be communicated to all registered participants as soon as possible.
Inclement Weather
In the event that inclement weather is forecast prior to an NCFCA tournament, league officials will communicate to all registered affiliates via email as early as possible. If inclement weather occurs during a tournament, league officials will communicate via email, text messages, and during scheduled announcements regarding any necessary adjustments to the schedule.
Unforeseen Circumstances
Upon the occurrence of any event or circumstance beyond our control, including acts of God, declared war in the United States, acts of terrorism in the city where the tournament is located, government regulations, natural disaster, or civil disorder, to the extent that such event or circumstance makes it illegal, impossible, or impracticable to hold the tournament, NCFCA will notify registered participants as soon as possible.
While it is our desire that each tournament be run as originally planned, the safety of our affiliates will be our highest priority in any decision to cancel or reformat a tournament. Refunds due to any alteration of schedule, including cancellation of the event, will be subject to review of the financial commitments of the league and will be considered on a tournament-by-tournament basis.
Competition Eligibility
Eligibility Criteria
A competitor eligible for qualifying competition during the 2025 season must meet all of the applicable criteria listed below:
- Be an NCFCA affiliate
- Read and abide by the NCFCA Standards of Conduct
- Be no younger than 12 years old on January 1, 2025, for participation in Lincoln-Douglas Value Debate, Team Policy Debate, and speech events
- Be no younger than 15 years old on September 1, 2024, for participation in Moot Court
- Be no older than 18 years old on September 1, 2024
- Not have earned a high school diploma
Exceptions to Eligibility Criteria
- We do not grant exceptions to the above eligibility policies for any reason.
Students with Special Needs or Learning Disabilities
- Students with special needs or learning disabilities are encouraged to compete; however, no exceptions to tournament rules may be made.
Students with Physical Limitations
- Students with physical limitations are welcome and encouraged to compete. NCFCA will make accommodations within facilities when practical, but as NCFCA does not own its tournament locations, those accommodations may vary from tournament to tournament.
- Requests for special arrangements that may affect competition must be made in advance by sending a detailed explanation of the situation to gro.ACFCN@scisneroFforotceriD.