Be Ready for Your First Tournament!

Tournament Prep FAQs

• How many times do competitors give their speeches during the tournament?

  During preliminary rounds, competitors will give a speech three times for every event in which they are entered. If they advance to elimination rounds, they may give a speech in a SemiFinal or Final round as well.

• 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

• What policies and rules do I need to know before a tournament?

  Parents, designated adults, and competitors should read the NCFCA League Policies as well as the event rules for each events they will be participating in.

  We know that for a first tournament, the rules and policies can seem a bit overwhelming, but you’ll get the hang of it in no time. If there’s a misstep or a question, our experienced families, volunteer teams, and tournament staff members will respond with grace and understanding. We’ve all been there!

• Why do we have to check in for tournaments?

  Checking in for a tournament is similar to checking in for an airline flight even though you may have purchased a valid ticket several weeks before. During the process, students affirm the ethics statement, parents confirm contact information, and all participants ensure they are able to access the tournament. It also helps the Tournament Administration verify that all competitors still intend to show up and compete because unexpected no shows are very disruptive to the experience of other competitors, judges, and to the tabulation system.

• When do we need to arrive?

  Families should arrive with enough time to pick up name tags and debate tents and get their belongings settled before morning announcements and devotions begin. Families are responsible for the information in morning announcements, and our devotion time is an important part of the day and should not be skipped.

• Where do we get our name tags, etc.?

  There will be a Packet Pickup area designated by signs.

• What are the chaperone requirements at a tournament?

  Each competitor and at least one parent or legal guardian must be available to actively participate for the duration of each NCFCA tournament for which they are registered.

  Each parent will be designated to serve as a judge or to assist in a tournament staff role. If a parent is unable to participate, he or she may appoint another adult as a proxy, but must ensure that the designated adult meets all criteria outlined below.

  A designated adult:

  • May not be a competitor.
  • Must be at least 21 years old or at least 19 years old if he or she is a 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 one Judge Training each season for speech and for 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

• How many rounds do parents need to judge?

  Parents or a designated adult should expect to judge throughout all days of the tournament. 

• What do younger children do while their parents are judging?

  Children under competition age must be supervised by a parent, or another adult whom the parent designates except during the designated times for supervised Junior Activities. Parents often take turns watching younger children for one another, and young children who are capable of watching rounds quietly can sit with parents who are judging.

• How will competitors know where to go for their rounds?

  At in-person tournaments, before each round, posting sheets will be placed on walls and bulletin boards around the facility. Speech postings show which competitors will be competing in each room and their scheduled speaking times. Debate postings contain lists of the competitors, who they will be debating, and the room number where the round will take place, as well as showing any teams that will have a bye for the round.

  Additionally, for both in-person and online tournaments, before each round, postings will be accessible through a link from the tournament schedule. (The round will turn red on the dashboard when postings are available.) When competition rooms open, a notification will appear on the platform and be sent via text that rooms are ready, and each competitor will see the join button(s) appear on their dashboard for their competition room(s) for the round.

• What are speech patterns?

  NCFCA speech events are divided into two patterns for each tournament and the patterns take place at different times, usually between rounds of debate. Speech Rounds designated with an A (1A, 2A, & 3A) will include the events in Pattern A, and Speech Rounds with a B (1B, 2B, and 3B) will include the events in Pattern B. During elimination rounds, all speech events are run simultaneously.

  • For in-person tournaments, the patterns may vary and can be found at the Information tab for the tournament. 
  • All online tournaments, the following patterns will apply.
    • Pattern A: Apologetics, Digital Presentation, Duo, Informative, and Original
    • Pattern B: Biblical Thematic, Extemporaneous, Impromptu, Open, and Persuasive

• How many debate rounds will competitors have in each tournament?

  There will be six preliminary rounds of debate for all competitors (except in the event of an odd number of teams which causes some teams to have only five preliminary rounds). Teams with the strongest winning records will advance to elimination rounds. The number of elimination rounds depends on the number of teams entered in each style of debate.

• How do debaters know if they will be affirmative or negative?

  In preliminary rounds, debaters will have three rounds as the affirmative team and three as the negative team except in the case that they have been assigned a bye for one round. Before each round, the postings will show which teams are debating one another and which team will be affirmative and which team will be negative. Competitors must take care to confirm their side for each round. It is possible they may debate on the same side as the prior round.

• What is power matching in debate and Moot Court?

  After the first round, teams are matched against another team with the same or similar win/loss record up to that point in the tournament. The details for how power matching works are available in the Tab and Qualifications Guidelines in the Resource Library.

• What are “breaks” and elimination rounds?

   “Breaking” is the NCFCA slang term for advancing to elimination rounds. The number of students who break—that is, advance to elimination rounds—in both speech and debate is determined by how many competitors competed in the event for the tournament. Students who advance to elimination rounds in a particular event are qualified to participate in that event at the Regional Championship, and they will be recognized during the award ceremony.

  Break announcements generally happen right before each elimination round takes place, but speech break announcements may happen at the same time as debate breaks at the end of morning announcements. The Tournament Director or Tournament Coordinator will announce the names of the students who will be competing.

  As individual names are announced for each event, the audience claps once—a clap we refer to as the forensics clap—so that the next name can be read promptly. When all names have been announced for the event, we take a moment to celebrate with ordinary applause before moving on to the next event.

• Who should attend the award ceremony, and what should we know?

  Each awards ceremony is a special time of fellowship and celebrating accomplishments within the NCFCA community. All participants are encouraged to attend.

  Tournament attire is required for students who will be recognized, and occasionally debaters who did not expect an award may be recognized.

  As individual names are announced for each event, the audience claps once—a clap we refer to as the forensics clap—so that the next name can be read promptly. When all names have been announced for the event, we take a moment to celebrate with ordinary applause before moving on to the next event.

• When and how do competitors get their ballots?

  After the tournament, ballots will be available from the Ballots button on the right side of the dashboard just above the Tournament Results button.

• Does NCFCA provide hotel or lodging options?

  We do not generally offer lodging associated with our tournaments, but in some cases a particular facility may make dorm rooms or other options available. Local clubs may also make some efforts to suggest lodging options. Any information about overnight options will be posted with Tournament Information.

• How do alumni sign up to judge?

  Alumni should log in to their existing account (associated with their family group).

  • The person type in their profile must be set to adult and the alumni toggle must be activated. This update can only be done by an adult on the account.
  • To be able to choose ballots for rounds they did not register for in advance, they must be listed as an attendee for the Tournament.
  • They can also preselect rounds from the NCFCA judge registration pages on the website using their existing profiles.

• Device Requirements

  For both in-person and online tournaments, those who will be judging must have an independent, supported device (see list below). For online tournaments, you must have  a working camera, microphone, and speaker available throughout the entire tournament. Recommend minimum 1080P resolution and 8 GB RAM for all devices. For in-person tournaments, we have a limited number of devices for community judges available upon request.

  Supported devices:

  • Windows laptop or desktop computers
  • Mac laptop or desktop computers
  • Chromebooks
  • Microsoft Surface Pros

  Devices with limited capability (should not be used):

  • Android phones
  • iPhones
  • Tablets
  • iPods
  • iPads (may be used for in-person tournament judging, but functionality will be limited. Can not be used for online tournaments.)

• Browser Requirements

  • Google Chrome (version 78 and later) for macOS, Windows, and Ubuntu LTS 16.04 and later
  • Chromium-based Edge (version 79 and later) for Windows
  • Mozilla Firefox (version 60 and later) for macOS and Windows Microsoft Surface Pros

  These browsers are NOT supported (should not be used):

  • Any version of Internet Explorer
  • Any version of Safari
  • Chrome for iOS

  Google Chrome is highly recommended.

  An unsupported browser may appear to be working upon entering the tournament; however, many of the platform’s features (including audio and video) may not work properly.

  Clear the Cache

  Clearing the browser’s cache before the tournament will help a device to interact more effectively with the platform. (Use an internet search to find instructions for how to clear the cache of each specific browser.)

  Restart your Computer

   It can also be helpful to restart your laptop or computer after clearing the cache.

• Filters and Firewalls

  Internet filtering software or other parental control applications could impact successful connection and performance. Because our system uses multiple sources to run the platform, participants might see some functions working, while others do not. For best results, allow or approve all of the following:

  • azurewebsites.net
  • googleapis.com
  • app.chime.aws:443
  • ncfca.org

  Internet firewalls on networked computers may interfere with connecting to the tournament platform. Be sure to test your devices through the connection (WiFi, router, etc.) you will be using during the tournament.

• How can I resize with display settings?

  Devices differ in how they scale display windows, and some devices default to settings that cut off necessary portions of the platform display space. If parts of the display window are cut off from the visible area, or if video panels appear with slider bars, resize the display.

  • For Windows computers, press and hold the [CTRL] key while tapping the [-] key. (Pressing [CTRL] with [+] will reverse the change.)
  • For Mac computers, press and hold the [COMMAND] key while tapping the [-] key. (Pressing [COMMAND] with [+] will reverse the change.)

  Additionally, participants may need to resize components within the platform display window. The slider bar between segments can be dragged with a pointer to change the relative display size.

• Tips for device management during a tournament

  • Keep devices plugged in whenever possible during the tournament. If this is not possible, be sure that the device is fully charged prior to each competition round.
  • Download any outstanding operating system updates in the day or two prior to the tournament.
  • Cancel or pause any automatic or scheduled updates and security scans that may try to run during the competition.
  • Close email programs, browser tabs, background functions, and other applications not needed for the current round of competition.

• 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.

• What if we have more than one competitor or a parent sharing a device?

  Parents will need to be available to judge throughout the tournament and families will need to plan accordingly. If this will be difficult, please contact the Tournament Director. Speech patterns for online tournaments have been preassigned. This may help families make decisions about which events their students will register to compete in at these events so that students sharing a device do not have speeches in the same pattern.

• When should I be on camera?

  Competitors should not turn on cameras and mics until more than two attendees are in the room.  

  Debaters should keep their cameras on at all times except when experiencing significant technical difficulties. 

  Speech competitors should not turn on mics and cameras while other competitors are speaking. Cameras should be on during speeches and during prep time for Apologetics and Impromptu.

• How do we access online competition rooms?

  On your dashboard, Enter the tournament under My Upcoming Tournaments.

  When it is time for Announcements, you will see a Join Room button on your Tournament dashboard.

  Find the Schedule/Postings button on the right side of your screen. The schedule is shown for the time zone on your device. When postings are available, the round on the schedule will change color. You can also find Postings by Category. The postings will show you your debate matches and your speech room speaking order and time.

  When the round is ready to begin, you will see a notification on your dashboard and a “Join Room” button for your competition room.

  You will be able to test your mic and camera before you enter the room after you select the “Join Room” button.

• What are Regions?

  Regions are assigned by the geographical location of the billing address used at the time of affiliation. Once affiliated, if you would like to reassign to a region other than the one prescribed, please email gro.ACFCNobfsctd@eciffO.

  Reassignment must be processed prior to November 1 or prior to registering for any qualifying competition. Reassignment after initial qualifying competition will not be approved.

• What are the different kinds of tournaments?

  NCFCA offers a number of tournament opportunities for students to hone their analytical and oratorical skills both online and onsite. Dates, locations, and events offered for each tournament will be posted on the NCFCA website this fall.

  Regional or District Qualifying Tournament

  A regional or district qualifying tournament is a multi-day event open to eligible competitors within their region or district and offers six preliminary rounds of debate, three preliminary rounds of speech, and elimination rounds for both speech and debate. Students advancing to elimination rounds earn an invitation to the Regional Championship.

  National Qualifying Tournament

  A national qualifying tournament is a multi-day event open to eligible competitors from all regions that may include any combination of events, any of which will offer full preliminary (six debate/three speech) and elimination rounds. Students advancing to elimination rounds earn an invitation to their Regional Championship and top competitors in each event earn an invitation directly to the National Championship.

  Regional Championship

  A Regional Championship is a multi-day event open to competitors within a region who have earned an invitation through a qualifying tournament. Top competitors in each event earn an invitation to the National Championship.

  National Championship

  The National Championship is open to competitors who have received invitations through a national qualifying tournament, Regional Championship, or the National At-Large System.

• 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.