Compliance FAQs

• How are NCFCA rules and policies enforced?

  Every type of competition has rules, and NCFCA is no exception. Our tournament Compliance teams and our National Adjudication Team work throughout the season to ensure a fair and level playing field for everyone involved. Learn more about how rule enforcement works by visiting our Compliance FAQs page.

  • Compliance FAQs

• How do Compliance Teams decide on penalties for rule violations?

  The Compliance Team at a tournament doesn’t actually decide on penalties. Their job is to receive, document, and communicate information as queries arise. Once they have completed their investigation, the information is presented to the National Adjudication Team for review. The National team determines if a rule has been violated and whether or not any penalties will be assessed. This protocol ensures that the penalties are applied uniformly throughout the league.

• How do Compliance Teams decide what to investigate?

  Contrary to popular myth, Compliance Teams do not roam the halls of a tournament looking for rule violations. All Compliance actions begin with questions (referred to as queries) which come from other tournament participants. Sometimes the questions are simply about whether something is covered in the rules or about what a rule means, and most of these questions are answered from our published competition and judge guides.

  Of course, some questions are about whether the words or actions of a competitor violated a rule. In this case, the Compliance Team must rely on statements, interviews, and documents to gather information about a situation they did not personally witness. Most “calls to Compliance” arise from the fact that Compliance Teams need to gather information to answer a question.

• How do Compliance Teams incorporate grace into their processes?

  First and foremost, those who work in compliance are exhorted to think the best of all parties involved in a query. Not only is this part of our stated policy in League Policies, but it is a major part of training our Compliance Teams. Everyone involved is expected to discipline themselves to assume the best about the motives of any individual who presents a query, and to assume the best about the intentions and motives of competitors whose actions or words are questioned, even when a competitor is ultimately found to be in violation of NCFCA’s rules or policies.

  We encourage competitors who find themselves to be subjects of a compliance query (along with their parents) to join us in assuming the best about the motives of those who may have initiated the query. It is especially important to remember that it may not be a fellow competitor who raised a question about the competition round—it could be a judge, observer, or a concerned parent. Assumptions about accusations and motives run the risk of being misplaced and false.

  If there is reasonable doubt about whether a rule violation has actually occurred, grace always prevails. The investigation will either be closed with no further action, or the team may be asked to follow up with the competitor(s) to explain the concern that was raised so that everyone moves forward with a better understanding of where actions may have been questionable and how to best avoid future issues that may actually violate a rule.

• How do Compliance Teams view queries about possible rule violations?

  First, Compliance Teams truly treat queries as questions. They are trained to focus on whether an NCFCA rule or policy has been violated. They do not view queries about rule violations as disputes between competitors, and they do not attempt to adjudicate between competitors. Judging between competitors is left up to the judges. In other words, once a query is submitted it is treated as a question regarding the competitor’s words or actions versus the rules and policies of NCFCA—not as a question of competitor(s) versus competitor(s) or parents or judges or observers (any of whom may bring a query).
  In summary, NCFCA Compliance does not try to simulate a court of law or try to decide what would have been a better or more fair outcome in competition rounds. They could not hope to succeed with such goals from second-hand information or in the short window of time available to keep the tournament moving. Judging is left to the judges.

• How does the process of a compliance meeting work?

  When the Compliance Team needs to meet with a family, they will call or text each competitor’s parent or designated adult to set up the meeting. (They do not contact competitors directly.)

  The team will let the adult know whether the question concerns debate or a specific speech event but will reserve all other discussion about the question for the meeting when all parties are present.

  They will do their best to schedule the meeting at a time that seems least disruptive to a competitor’s schedule while also taking into account the time needed to gather information without disrupting the overall tournament schedule.

   

  The meeting will begin with the Compliance Team members introducing themselves and briefly explaining the role of Compliance and the fact that matters discussed in the meeting will be treated confidentially.

  They will present and explain the question and the related rule(s) that led to the meeting.

  The team members will ask any necessary questions to gather information.

  The competitor(s) and adult(s) will also be given the opportunity to ask questions and communicate any additional information that they believe is relevant to the question.

  When all information has been communicated, the Compliance Team will ask the family to remain in the room while they leave to relay the information to the National Adjudication Team.

  When the Compliance Team returns, they will communicate the information they received from the National team. The information they convey will fall into one of three categories.

  If the determination is that no rule violation occurred, the query will be closed, but the team may also have some educational advice to communicate regarding best practices going forward.

  If more investigation is necessary, the Compliance Team will ask further questions and/or tell the family that they will contact them if they need any additional information. The team will let the family know (usually via text) when the matter is resolved.

  If the National Adjudication Team determines that a rule violation requiring a penalty has occurred, the Compliance Team will explain which rule was violated, how that decision was determined by the National team, and what penalty will be applied.

• What is the purpose of NCFCA Compliance Teams?

  The purpose of the Compliance Team at a tournament is to receive, document, and communicate information with integrity and grace.

   

  Compliance Teams

  Receive questions from judges and affiliates regarding possible rule violations

  Gather and document information about questions and communicate that information to leadership for the purpose of accurate and just decision-making

  Communicate information to families during family meetings
  Handle the Debate Evidence Review process when judges ask to see evidence following a debate round

• Who is the National Adjudication Team?

  The National Adjudication Team is composed of various league leaders with recognized expertise in the areas of speech, debate, and/or compliance processes. The Chair of the National Adjudication Team determines which members should be involved in determinations for specified tournaments and/or specific situations and ensures maintenance of appropriate documentation for the entire team.

   

• What should I do if I see a speech that looks so familiar, like something I’ve seen before?

  In a tournament setting, any observer may bring a question of rules to Compliance during a tournament regarding a speech they saw.  

  A judge should report their concern to Compliance. Sometimes judges do not report because they don’t want to raise a concern if there is a possibility that they are wrong. But what if the judge is right? Luke 8:17 says, “For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.” If a student has plagiarized, whether intentional or not, the constructive community of NCFCA is a far better place (and time) for the lesson of integrity to be learned versus later in life (college, workplace, etc.).

  A student may also report a concern of this nature with their parent involved.  This is a good opportunity for the student and parent to love a neighbor as themselves: testing their own motives, humbling themselves to think the best of others, entering into the shared experience of all parties relying wholly on God’s provision, and interceding through prayer on behalf of their fellow brother/sister in Christ and of NCFCA.  

• Who can initiate a compliance query about a rule violation?

  Any adult participant at a tournament can submit a question to Compliance. Competitors are required to have a parent or coach submit a compliance query on their behalf in an online tournament, and at an in-person tournament, a parent or coach must be present with them. This means that an adult must always be involved with the submission of a compliance query.

• What should I do if the Compliance Team wants to meet with me?

  First, try to relax. We know that can be hard, but worry doesn’t help, and it only clouds your ability to think with clarity and grace.
  Second, choose to assume the best about the people and the process. Look at the experience as an opportunity to further refine gracious communication skills as you converse with the volunteers on the Compliance Team who are trying to achieve an accurate assessment of the situation. Answer and ask questions with integrity and grace. Trust that the Compliance Team members are thinking the best about you and your motives, and remember that they are simply trying to ensure the integrity of competition for all involved with the tournament.

• What if a query involves the child of a Compliance Team member?

  If a query involves a competitor who is a family member or has a close relationship with the Tournament Director or someone on the Compliance Team or National Adjudication Team, the family member or close relation does not participate in evaluating the query in any way except in their role as a parent, designated adult, or coach to the competitor.

• What is a Debate Evidence Review?

  In preliminary rounds, a judge may request up to two pieces of evidence (and/or the Team Policy plan). A judge may also request evidence through the Compliance staff following a preliminary or elimination round. Please see the Debate Evidence Review guidelines. An evidence review does not mean that a rule violation is implied; Compliance is simply the department that facilitates evidence requests for judges at the tournament. Competitors should do their best to arrive promptly at the designated area with their evidence, keeping in mind that the judge who requested the evidence is likely waiting for the evidence in order to complete their ballot.

• What should a family do if they feel a competitor has been misunderstood or wrongly penalized?

  Within the time constraints necessary for tournaments to progress in a timely manner, mistakes and misunderstandings can certainly happen. However, trying to further investigate a question after the tournament is even more difficult and would be prohibitively time consuming for our leadership teams. Therefore, we do not allow for the appeal of any compliance decisions after a tournament.
  While we do not allow appeals, tournament participants are welcome to write to us with any concerns they have regarding a compliance query or how it was handled. Our National staff members and our National Adjudication Team take the questions that affiliates send very seriously, and those inquiries help us do better as we go forward. Questions may be directed to our Director of Forensics at DirectorofForensicsobfsctd@NCFCA.org.

• What if I have a question not covered here?

  If you have an additional question that you would like to see answered here, please email your question to our Director of Forensics at DirectorofForensicsobfsctd@NCFCA.org.

• What happens in the case of a rule violation?

  When a question about a potential rule violation arises, the Compliance Team will gather information to evaluate the question. In some cases, the Compliance team will need to interview students or judges for more information. If students will be interviewed, a parent or coach will be required to attend the meeting.

  The investigation process helps our staff to educate students about rule issues and relay information to the National Adjudication Team who will evaluate whether any penalty may be necessary to ensure fair competition and consistent application of the rules.

  In the event of a rule violation, a penalty may be imposed, such as a reduction in speech ranking, loss of a debate round, or loss of speaker points.

  In most cases, competitors can correct the situation and continue with competition, even if a penalty has been imposed.

  Parents, designated adults, and judges may submit questions and report concerns through the Contact Tournament Administration button on the Tournament Dashboard or by speaking with a member of the Compliance Team.

• Does NCFCA provide a printable copy of the rules?

  We have transitioned to using our NCFCA.org website as the official means of publishing all competition rules and guidelines. This change allows for improved navigation, organization, and content presentation options, especially for new families.

  However, we realize that some participants also like to prepare using printed documents. We offer a print-button option on all of our rule pages, but the formatting options are limited and can be cumbersome with some browsers, so here are some tips you can use to save paper and ink if you feel like you need to print the rules.

  Make your own printable pages. You can easily copy the rules you want into a Google Doc and the formatting will be maintained nicely. 

  • This step-by-step guide will show you how to start a Google Doc. 
  • Once you have a Google Doc open along with the website rules on a different browser tab, use your cursor to highlight the section of rules you would like to print and then simultaneously press the keys: CTRL/C (PC) or COMMAND/C (Mac). Note: The process works best if you highlight only one set of rules or one set of guidelines at a time (without highlighting over the break between rules and guidelines).
  • Next, place your cursor in the document and simultaneously press the keys: CTRL/V (PC) or COMMAND/V (Mac). This should make the text appear in your document. 
  • This process will work in a similar way with Microsoft Word and other document options.
  • With the text copied into your own document, you can change the font size and margins to your own preferences. 

  Avoid duplicate content for speech rules by printing the guidelines only once for each event category (limited prep, interpretation, and platform). The guidelines for each speech category are replicated on the appropriate event pages. The exceptions to this are that Digital Presentation has an extra “Digital Presentation Protocols” section, Apologetics includes the topics, and Extemporaneous has unique timing protocols.

  Please keep in mind that our website contains the official copy of all rules. We will alert participants through our affiliate communications emails if we make any substantive changes to rules or guidelines, but it is the responsibility of competitors to follow the officially published rules.

• Speech Penalty Addendum: Penalty Types

  2-rank penalty – this penalty is typically for issues relating to timing of the prep time or speech time. 

  4-rank penalty – this penalty is usually for rule violations that do not have a significant competitive advantage.

  Non-compliant penalty – this penalty is usually for rule violations that have a significant competitive advantage.

  Disqualification – this penalty is rarely used, but is for speeches that are not able to continue in competition.

  Note: A disqualification of a speech is not a disqualification of the competitor. Competitor disqualifications are not handled by Compliance and are generally only given for behavioral issues.

• Speech Penalty Addendum: Penalty Examples

  Mission Alignment: 

  • The National Adjudication Team determines a speech that has not been using a disclaimer needs a disclaimer. A meeting will be held with Compliance to inform the competitor (and parent) of the need for a disclaimer and why. The speech will be given an advisory warning to continue in competition with the use of a disclaimer. (Repeated infractions may receive a penalty.) 

   

  • The National Adjudication Team reviews a speech with an entire theme that is vulgar. Because the theme is throughout the speech and cannot be fixed, a meeting is held with Compliance to inform the competitor (and parent) of the penalty—disqualification of the speech. The speech is not able to continue in competition, but the competitor may present a different speech in that same event at later tournaments.

  Academic Integrity:

  • The National Adjudication Team reviews a speech that is missing some verbal references of supporting material. Depending on the number of missing verbal references, a 4-rank or non-compliant penalty will be applied to the round(s) where the non-compliant script was used. A meeting will be held with Compliance to inform the competitor (and parent) of the penalty and to educate the competitor on how the script can be fixed to be in compliance with the rules. The speech will continue in competition after the necessary changes have been made.

   

  • The National Adjudication Team reviews a speech that is clearly plagiarized. A meeting will be held with Compliance to inform the competitor (and parent) of the penalty and why. The speech is disqualified from continuing in competition.

  Event  Boundaries:

  Event Boundary Rules are in place for an even playing field. A violation of these rules will result in a 4-rank or non-compliant rank penalty (NCR), but would not result in a speech disqualification.

   

  Examples would be:

  • A Duo team has a confirmed pre-show before they start their timepiece and begin their speech. A meeting will be held with Compliance to inform the competitors (and parents) of the penalty and why. A 4-rank penalty will be applied for that round and the speech will continue in competition with the pre-show removed.

   

  • A Digital Presentation competitor has relocated the staging table during the round. A meeting will be held with Compliance to inform the competitor (and parent) of the penalty and why. A 4-rank penalty will be applied for that round and the speech will continue in competition.

   

  • An Informative speech has over 350 quoted words. A meeting will be held with Compliance to inform the competitor (and parent) of the penalty and to educate the competitor on how the script can be fixed to be in compliance with the rules. A non-compliant penalty will be applied for all rounds where the non-compliant script was used. The speech will continue in competition after the necessary changes have been made. 

  Timekeeping Rules:

  Any speech with a timekeeping rule violation will receive a 2-rank penalty. Taking an excessive amount of speaking time or prep time may result in an additional penalty up to a non-compliant rank.

  Examples would be: 

  • Timer issues: If a student experiences an error with the timepiece that results in being unable to show the head judge the time (or a correct time), the “timer issue” box will be selected on the ballots and a 2-rank penalty will apply. 
  • Overtime: An automatic 2-rank penalty will apply when the speech time entered on the ballot exceeds 15 seconds over the speech time limit.

• Debate Penalty Addendum: Penalty Types

  Speaker Point Loss-rule violation that does not incur competitive advantage

   

  Loss of Round-rule violation that has the potential for a competitive advantage

   

  Double Loss-a rarely used penalty based on the behavior of both teams in the round

• Debate Penalty Addendum: Examples

  Speaker Point Loss: The National Adjudication Team confirms that a Team Policy team arrived for their round without a timepiece and asked the opposing team if they could borrow a timer. The Compliance Team will meet with the Team Policy team and their parents to inform them of the penalty and to ensure that the team has a timer going forward in competition.

   

  Loss of Round: The National Adjudication Team confirms that a Lincoln Douglas competitor looked up a piece of evidence on her phone during her prep time. The Compliance Team will meet with the Lincoln Douglas competitor and her parent(s) to inform them of the penalty.

   

  Double Loss: The National Adjudication Team confirms that both Team Policy teams engaged in abusive/derogatory language with each other during their round. At one point a competitor from each team threatened each other with physical violence. The Compliance Team will meet with the Team Policy teams and their parents to inform them of the penalty. This behavior could also result in disqualification from the remainder of the tournament.