Judge Policies
These policies cover the expectations and boundaries for volunteer adults who judge our competition rounds.
Judge Policies
Judge Philosophy and Eligibility
NCFCA values a diverse judge pool. In addition to our parent judges, we actively recruit people from all walks of life who may or may not have judging experience.
Volunteer Community Judges are not required to affiliate with the league or affirm agreement with our mission, core values, or foundational beliefs in the same manner required for affiliates. However, Apologetics judges are required to affirm agreement with the Nicene Creed before judging the event.
A judge must be at least 18 years old, must not be currently enrolled in high school, and must not have been eligible to compete in any NCFCA event during the current season. Please direct any questions regarding eligibility status to the National Judge Coordinator at gro.ACFCN@segduJlanoitaN.
Judge Training
All volunteer Community and Alumni judges are required to view our Judge Orientation and Safety video at least once per season prior to judging their first round of competition.
We provide additional training videos and materials for judging both speech and debate. This training is highly recommended but not mandatory for volunteer Community Judges.
Parents with competitors in the tournament must follow the judge preparation requirements associated with the Parent Participation Requirements.
Judge Decisions
All judge decisions are final as they apply to assessment of the round and will be visible to competitors; however, adjudication penalties supersede judge decisions.
Safety Requirements for Volunteer Judges
NCFCA is committed to providing a safe environment for all students who participate online or in-person. While NCFCA leadership and tournament staff will be present and actively monitoring tournament activities, vigilance is the responsibility of all participants.
Registration Requirement
Judges must be registered for the tournament and complete a “referred by” section during the tournament registration process.
Check-in Requirements
- All community judges must check in approximately 45 minutes prior to the start of the round in MyPlace.NCFCA.org.
- Immediately upon arrival at in-person tournaments, all visitors, observers, and Community Judges must check in at the welcome table and present a valid form of photo ID.
Identification
- In-Person Tournaments: All attendees must wear an NCFCA nametag while onsite with the name they normally use (not an alias).
- Online Tournaments: All attendees must sign in using an NCFCA account and be identified onscreen throughout the tournament platform with the full name they normally use (not an alias).
“More than Two” Rule
Adults may not enter a competition room where there is only one student present unless the student is a member of their family.
Open Doors
Competition room doors are to remain open unless there is a speaker speaking or there is a debate round in progress.
No Further Contact
Adults may not take the initiative to share or solicit contact information (e.g., phone numbers, email, or physical address) with competitors or other minor participants via ballot feedback or any other means.
Response to Safety Concerns
- 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.
- In online tournaments, the participant should immediately notify tournament administration by contacting the Child Safety Coordinator for that event or the NCFCA Office at (682)802-2727.
Supervision of Young Children
Children under 12 years old must be directly supervised by their parent, guardian, or a parent-designated adult while they are at a tournament.
Tournament Boundaries
NCFCA participants must remain in areas of the facility designated for NCFCA use as communicated through tournament announcements and/or signs.
Tournament Administration
Tournament administrators will have the authority to immediately dismiss, remove, and block any attendee for violation of NCFCA’s rules, policies, 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 as defined in our full Child Safety Policy document.
- 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.
Avoiding Judging Conflicts
We make every effort to minimize identifiable conflicts through our electronic ballot selection screening processes. However, we rely on judges to determine conflicts based on personal connections that are not captured in our system.
- Judges may not take a ballot that includes a competitor they know very well or have coached in the event.
- Judges may not take a ballot for a room where a family member is also judging. If this happens inadvertently, please contact Tournament Administration.
- Affiliated parents who have competitors participating in the tournament must follow additional Parent Guidelines.
- We seek to avoid having our alumni judges take ballots for competitors whom they previously competed against in elimination rounds.
Ballot Completion and Deadlines
It is essential for the smooth operation of our tournaments that we receive completed ballots from all judges in a timely manner.
- At the end of the round, judges should exit the competition room to finish completing their ballots. For in-person tournaments, please remain at the facility until your ballot is complete.
- The Ballot Administration team will send a notification indicating the time when ballots are due. Judges are asked to notify the Judge Support staff if they need extra time.