FAQs

• What kind of device and/or browser will I need?

  • Top tip: use Google Chrome if possible.
  • Be sure your camera and microphone are enabled.
  • Click HERE for the Technology Guidelines detailing Device and Browser Requirements

• How and when do I check in for the tournament?

  Check In

  • Approximately 45 minutes before the round, please log in to your account on NCFCA.org with a supported browser.
  • Find the Tournament under My Upcoming Tournaments and Enter.
  • Click on Check-in and follow the prompts to confirm your contact information and rounds (Community Judges)
  • Wait for the Select button for the round to display near the top of the screen.
  • See the screenshots below.

  

  Why do I need to log in 45 minutes before the round?

  Ballots are released to judges in groups well ahead of the round. We aim to have all judges on ballots 20 minutes prior to the first speaker. This allows you to have time to check-in and check technology, have a choice of ballots, review event information, and be ready at the competition room before the first competitor’s assigned speaking time.

• How do I select a ballot after logging in?

  About 30-45 minutes before the round begins, judges will begin to 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 (as shown above).
  • 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. 
  • If you need assistance finding a ballot that works for you, please contact Tournament Administration.

• What if I accidentally choose a ballot with someone I know?

  In the event that you discover a conflict with your ballot selection, please contact Tournament Administration as soon as possible for assistance with a reassignment. 

• What should I do after selecting my ballot?

  • Once you have selected a ballot, you will see the room you have selected on your screen with a View button that displays participants. Please check again to be sure you do not have conflicts with competitors.
  • There may be a waiting time while other judges select the rest of the remaining ballots.
  • While you wait, you can read about your selected event and preview a sample ballot.
  • This is also a good time to refill your beverage and prepare for the round which will take approximately 2 hours. Please do not leave the competition room during the round. If there is an emergency during a round, please contact Tournament Administration.
  • When it’s time for the round to begin, you will receive a text and/or dashboard notification from Tournament Administration.
  • For an in-person tournament, the View button will change to Open.
  • For an online tournament you will see a Join button to enter the electronic competition room.

• What do I do if I need help?

  For an issue that must be resolved during the round

  • At in-person tournaments, contact a member of our Communications Team, identified by green name tag inserts and stationed near your room. 
  • At online tournaments, change the room status to “Need Help” in the upper right corner of your screen. If you are not able to use the functionality in the competition room, please try to use the Contact Tournament Administration button on your dashboard and monitor your phone for contact from a tournament representative.

  For help after the round is complete 

  • You may use the Contact Tournament Administration button in the upper right corner of your screen. 
  • At in-person tournaments, you also have the option to consult members of the Compliance Team, identified by yellow name tag inserts. 

• What do I do after the round ends?

  • 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 submitted.
  • You will receive a notification indicating the time when ballots are due. In order for the tournament to proceed in a timely manner, please prioritize your decision and speaker rankings, then provide as much additional feedback as time allows. 
  • Once your ballot is submitted, your work for the round is complete.

• Can I get documentation of my volunteer hours for judging?

  Absolutely! If you would like a Volunteer Certification for your time, please contact our Judge Support Team.

• May I take photographs or recordings?

  • Please do not record the round or take photographs of the competitors.
  • Please do not use your cell phone during the round unless you encounter an issue that requires a conversation with tournament administration. 

• What should I expect while judging a speech round?

  We try to run a tight schedule!

  • Speakers will arrive precisely at their designated time, so please be in the room and ready before the first scheduled speaker.
  • The Head Judge will keep the round moving.

  You’ll want to take notes.

  • You will be able to make notes for each competitor in the electronic ballot between speeches and/or take notes on paper.
  • Students love your feedback, so please use the comments sections to write notes on your thoughts for each competitor.

  There are a few things to know about completing ballots.

  • Competitors will announce their speech times, and you will need to record the time and mark the Timer Issue box if instructed to do so by the Head Judge.
  • If your ballots have a checkbox to indicate that a student used a script, you will want to check it if they used one.
  • You will want to rank students according to your preference. You can find more information how to rank competitors here.
  • At the end of the round, you will want to confirm your ranking (placings) for students.
  • Submitted rankings are final, and the rankings (not category scores) determine placing in the tournament.

• Which fields am I required to complete on my speech ballots?

  The following must be completed on your ballots in order to submit them successfully.

  • Did/Did Not Compete
  • Time
  • Timer Issue
  • Script Use (if applicable to the event)
  • Overall Comment
  • Score for each category criterion
  • Ranking

• Where can I find out more about the speech events?

  To see a preview of all the events you can judge, scroll down on the speech judge welcome page.  There are tabs for our three different categories of speeches, and you can click on any of the ten events to find out more!

• Do I need to read the speech event rules?

  We do not expect volunteer community judges to know our event rules. A Head Judge will be assigned to each room, and they are responsible for familiarity with the rules. However, all judges are welcome to read the rules if they would like and are encouraged to ask any questions they have of the Compliance Team after the round. 

• May I ask the competitors questions?

  We ask that you not interrupt or ask questions of the competitors during or after the round. Speaking between judges and competitors should be limited to the competitor introduction, timing information, and any reasonable communication needed to deal with the logistics of the speaking situation. 

• What if I have questions about something in a speech?

  Please do not conduct independent research, confer with other judges, or discuss questions with anyone except tournament administration regarding the speech content, rules, or your rankings. 

  Our competitors will receive your feedback on their ballots at the end of the tournament.

• How do I rank competitors in a speech round?

  Ranking competitors from first to last is one of your two most important tasks as a judge. (The other is typing written feedback comments for them.)

  You have the flexibility to rank the students according to whatever you feel is most important and/or compelling. Our ballot system will suggest ranks based on equal weighting of the category scores you enter in the ballot rubric or allow you to rank the students first and then enter scores in the rubric. Please note that ranking determines overall placings in the tournament, not the rubric category scores. 

  We recommend that judges plan to use one of two methods in each round.

  • The Score First Method, or
  • The Rank First Method

  These methods are both explained in separate FAQ entries below, and our Speech Ballot Demonstration video shows both approaches. You can also find ballot samples and rubrics on the Resource tab of the Speech Judge Information page. 

• Score First Method: Let the System Suggest Ranks

  To use the scoring rubric as you go, please follow these steps.

  1. Select scores for each rubric category as you hear the speakers. 
  2. The system will calculate ranks based on these scores, and some scores are likely to be tied. You will be able to break ties and adjust ranks at the end, but do not adjust the speakers’ rankings as you go along.
  3. At the end of the round, click the arrows next to the “rank” sorting option (shown above the list of student names) to change the display from speaking order to rank order. 
  4. Work from top to bottom to break any tied scores.

   

  Important note: If the suggested ranking of students does not reflect your preferences, please take time to adjust because ranking determines placings in the tournament, not the rubric scores.

  For more information on how to adjust ranks, please our separate FAQ on this topic.

  To see the score first method, watch the chapter called “Score First” Method (3:06) in the Completing a Speech Ballot Demonstration video.

• Rank First Method: Rank without the Rubric

  If you prefer to determine ranks without using the rubric, you will want to follow the “rank first” method.

  During the round

  1. Leave the scores in the rubric categories blank.
  2. Add comments and rank competitors from first to last as the round progresses. 

  At the end of the round

  1. Click the arrows for the “rank” option (above the column of competitor names) to change the order of the list from speaking order to rank order. 
  2. You will now need to assign category scores within each ballot rubric. To do this, we recommend that you work from top to bottom of the rank-ordered list.

  • • As you enter scores, the system will undo the lower rankings, but the list will remain in the order of competitors as you had ranked them.
    • Keep entering scores from top to bottom. You cannot give a higher score to a lower ranked student, but you can enter tied scores.
    • Re-entering your ranks will break tied scores. If you have difficulty with tied scores, our FAQ entry for breaking ties may help.

  To see the rank first method, watch the chapter called “rank first” method in the Completing a Speech Ballot Demonstration video.

• How do I break ties?

  Our system will prompt you to break any tied rubric score totals by deciding which student you want to rank higher. You DO NOT have to change the rubric scores to break ties; you simply have to designate which student in the tie should have the higher rank. When multi-way ties are broken, the judge is prompted to break any ties that remain. This ensures the judge has considered how to rank all three tied students against one another because ranks determine overall placings, not rubric scores.

• What if I don’t value the ballot rubric categories equally?

  You are free and welcome to rank the students according to your own assessment of what matters most.  Rankings (rather than rubric scores) determine overall placings in the tournament. We value the unique perspective that every judge brings and we want to ensure that your ranking preferences and thoughts about each speech are reflected as accurately as possible. If the rubric does not capture your priorities, please see our FAQ entry regarding how to rank first rather than using the rubric scores to suggest ranks.

• What if I don’t feel comfortable giving low scores?

  As the judge, you have the freedom to choose the rubric scores you want to use for each student, and you do not have to rely on the scores to rank students in the round. The system will not allow you to rank a lower scoring student above a higher scoring student, but you can create tied scores and then break any ties that emerge to achieve the ranking you feel is appropriate.

  The explanations provided with the rubric scores can help competitors understand why they earned the rank they were given, but the best feedback is what you type into the comment sections of your ballot. 

• What if the scores I picked don’t give the rankings I want?

  Please do make sure the final rankings reflect your preference because ranks determine overall placings, not rubric scores. You can create tied scores and then use ranking to break the ties that emerge to achieve the overall ranking you feel is appropriate.

  The system will not allow you to rank a lower scoring student above a higher scoring student; therefore, if a competitor has a low score and should be ranked higher, you will need to choose one or more criteria to score higher. If the score does not reflect the description in the ballot rubric, you can give the competitor written feedback in the comments section to explain. 

  Please feel free to reach out to Tournament Administration for help if you are having difficulty achieving the outcome you want with your ballots.

• How should I handle scoring the “Academic Integrity” category?

  As the judge, you are welcome to score academic integrity in any way that you feel is best.

  Our rubric is based on the idea that there are differences in the level of skill competitors demonstrate in how well they communicate the academic integrity that supports their speech. In other words, the rubric is meant to prompt consideration of how well the speaker communicated ownership of the ideas presented. A lower score does not necessarily mean that a competitor’s speech lacked academic integrity. 

  Here are some questions that might be helpful in assessing the competitor’s level of skill in this area.

  • How well did the speaker support ideas with logic or expert opinion?
  • Were any source of quoted or summarized information clearly communicated and understandable?
  • Was it easy to tell the difference between the speaker’s original ideas and those borrowed from others? 
  • Were references to outside sources incorporated smoothly into the flow of the speech?

• How do I incorporate the impact or thesis value of a speech?

  It’s up each judge to decide how and where they want to provide feedback on the way a student expressed the impact or main point of their speech. The overall comment box at the top of each ballot is a good place to share any thoughts on “impact” that don’t fit well into a rubric category, and judges can adjust their overall rankings according to the importance they assign to this aspect of speech competition. 

  Our Interpretation category rubric provides a distinct category for judges to communicate how well they felt the story of the piece connected with the audience in terms of an overall purpose or theme. However, our Limited Prep and Platform category rubrics do not include a separate category for impact. In those ballots, judges can comment on how overall meaning is expressed within each rubric category or in the overall comments.