Pre-Tournament Policies
These policies cover the requirements that must be met prior to arrival and participation at a tournament: eligibility, registration, check-in, and event entry limitations.
Pre-Tournament Policies
Competitor Eligibility
A competitor eligible for qualifying competition during the 2026 season must meet all of the applicable criteria listed below:
- Be an NCFCA affiliate
- Be no younger than 12 years old on January 1, 2026
- Be no older than 18 years old on September 1, 2025
- Not have earned a high school diploma
We do not grant exceptions to the above eligibility policies for any reason.
Students with Special Needs or Learning Disabilities
Students with special needs or learning disabilities are encouraged to compete; however, no exceptions to tournament rules may be made.
Students with Physical Limitations
We will make accommodations within facilities when practical, but our ability to make accommodations is dependent on facility limitations and may vary from tournament to tournament. Requests for accommodations must be made in advance by sending an explanation to our Director of Competition.
Registration Requirements
Only pre-registered and pre-paid competitors are allowed to compete in any tournament. Registration deadlines and links for each tournament will be published through MyPlace.NCFCA.org. For information on regular fees, late fees, and registration adjustments, please see our Fees and Payments page.
Event Waitlists
If registration for an event exceeds our initial room capacity, our system will fill the available slots using a random number selection process. Those not selected will be added to a waitlist. For most tournaments, we are able to clear waitlists before the start of the tournament, but we do not guarantee placements. Those who are added to an event waitlist will receive a notification and may either remain on the waitlist or request an immediate refund. Those who remain on the waitlist for an event and do not get in will receive an automatic refund at the end of the tournament. Those who completed registration by the regular registration deadline will also be prioritized for entry in that event for their next tournament.
Check-In Requirements
Both competitors and parents must check in independently online during the timeframe indicated on the tournament information page. Failure to check in by the close of the late check-in window will cause competitors to be dropped from the tournament and/or event. There is no fee for check-in during the regular check-in window but a late fee applies during the late check-in timeframe. For information on fees, please see our Fees and Payments page. Registration refunds will not be issued for failure to check in.
Script Submission Requirements
Competitors who are registered for speech events which require script(s) must upload scripts in order to complete the check-in process. Only one partner in Duo is required to submit scripts.
The electronic acceptance of a script in our system does not indicate that it meets the requirements of the event rules. Submitted scripts are subject to review in a tournament if a question about the speech is presented to the Compliance Team.
Liability Release Waiver
During the check-in process, parents must acknowledge acceptance of the NCFCA Liability Release Waiver.
Speech Competition Entry Limits
- Competitors may participate in a maximum of five speech events.
- Competitors may only register once per event in each tournament.
- Competitors may not enter the same speech in more than one event for the same tournament; however, the speech may be entered in a different category for a different tournament during the same season.
- Duo Interpretation competitors may not change partners during a tournament but may change partners between tournaments.
- In a Regional Championship, competitors may compete in any event for which they have qualified.
- At the National Championship, competitors who qualify in more than five events may choose up to five events in which they will compete.
- If a speech qualifies to the Regional Championship or the National Championship in more than one event, the competitor must choose only one event in which the piece will be performed at the championship tournament.
- Competitors must perform the same piece that they performed when they earned the invitation to compete at the championship tournament.
- Platform speeches: Minor revisions, such as changing examples, stories, or analytical rhetoric are allowed. The competitor may not go so far as to change the main points of a speech.
- Interpretation Speeches: Minor revisions, such as revising a cutting, are allowed. The competitor may not change the main theme of a speech or take a cut from a different section of a literary selection.
- If a Duo competitor qualifies for championship competition with different partners during the competitive season the competitor may only compete with one of them at the championship tournament.
Debate Competition Entry Limits
- Debaters may compete in either Lincoln-Douglas Value or Team Policy during any given tournament but not both.
- Debaters may not change partners in Team Policy during a tournament but may change partners between tournaments.
- Debaters who qualify for either their Regional Championship or the National Championship in both Team Policy and Lincoln-Douglas Value Debate may only compete in one style at the championship tournament.
- If a Team Policy competitor qualifies for championship competition with different partners during the competitive season the competitor may only compete with one of them at the championship tournament.