League Policies

1. Before judging any rounds for the season, parents must acknowledge that they have completed the following steps.

   • Update the Child Safety toggles in the Family Members section of the NCFCA Dashboard.
   • View the Parent Guidelines for participation expectations and Speech Head Judge instructions. 
   • Complete the Liability Release Waiver when you check-in for the tournament. This toggle will open the Waiver in a separate window. Please read and select the I Agree button to complete.

   Before the Round Begins

   Select a Ballot (see video demo)

   About 30 minutes before the round begins, parents will see notifications by text and on the tournament dashboard that it’s time to select a ballot. A ballot selection button for the round will appear on your dashboard screen.

   Our system will show two competition room choices at a time with the names of the competitors. Click to accept a ballot that does not include competitors that you know on a personal basis. For additional information on avoiding judging conflicts, see the section below.

   Wait for Rooms to Open

   Once you have selected a ballot, you will see the room you have selected on your screen with a View Participants button. There may be a waiting time while other judges select the rest of the remaining ballots.

   When it’s time for the round to begin, you will receive another notification.

   • For an in-person tournament, under the Selected Ballots header, an Open button will appear. In the case of Digital Presentation, you will receive a Join button.
   • For an online tournament you will see a Join button to enter the electronic competition room.

   Avoiding Judging Conflicts

   Our system will prevent most judging conflicts, but there are some factors to keep in mind when choosing to accept a ballot.  

   • Please do not take a ballot with a student you know very well or have coached in the event.
   • Do not take a ballot for a room where a family member is also judging. If this happens inadvertently, please contact Tournament Administration.
   • In elimination rounds, please avoid taking a ballot in an event where your student has advanced.
   • If you have a question or have difficulty finding a ballot that seems suitable, please use the Contact Tournament Administration button to let staff know you are available to judge and to discuss the potential conflicts.

   Balancing Feedback with the Ballot Deadline

   At the end of the round, please exit the competition room to finish filling out your ballot. For in-person tournaments, please remain at the facility until your ballot is complete.

   You will receive a notification indicating the time when ballots are due. We want parents to provide ample and excellent feedback; however, for the tournament to proceed in a timely manner, the ballot deadline must also be honored. Until we have all ballots returned, we cannot begin processing the next round. Therefore, please prioritize essential items on your ballot like your win/loss decision for debate and ranking speakers for both speech and debate, then provide as much additional feedback as time allows. 

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