Tournament Participation Policies
These policies cover conduct, communication, and situations that happen during a tournament.They apply under the umbrella of our League Affiliation Policies and in addition to any relevant event rules.
Tournament Participation Policies
Competitor Participation Requirements
Competitors are expected to be present and ready to compete during the entire duration of the tournament timeframe and must be able to participate at their assigned time within registered event rounds, even when rounds must be delayed.
Parent and DA Participation Requirements
The competitors within each affiliated family must have at least one responsible parent* or Designated Adult (DA) present and ready to actively participate for the entire duration of the tournament in which they are competing even when rounds must be delayed.
The parent or DA must serve throughout the entire tournament by judging competition rounds or by serving in a tournament volunteer staff role. They must also respond in a timely manner to communications from tournament administrators.
Parents and DAs are required to review the judge training information for both speech and debate prior to the tournament and be prepared to judge at any point during the tournament if asked, even if they are serving in a tournament volunteer staff position.**
The parent or DA retains full responsibility for supervision during all non-competition hours including during any offsite activities associated with a tournament and related travel and overnight arrangements including at hotels, host housing, or onsite lodging.
Any student who arrives at a tournament without a parent or a DA will not be allowed to participate or remain on the premises of an in-person tournament.
*Legal guardians are treated as parents for the purposes of NCFCA policies.
**Considerations will be addressed for parents who have younger children that must be supervised.
Qualifications for a Designated Adult (DA)
If at least one parent for the competitor(s) in an affiliated family is unable to participate, the parent may appoint a Designated Adult (DA) as a proxy. The DA must meet all of the following criteria.
- Must be at least 21 years old or at least 19 years old if he or she is the sibling of the competitor.
- May only be responsible for competitors in one family regardless of the number of competitors in the family.*
- May not be an adult who is already responsible for their own competing children except as noted below for team event partners.
- Must be prepared and willing to fulfill the Parent and DA participation requirements.
- Must ensure that the competitor has a printed and signed medical release with them for the entire duration of the tournament.
*A parent who is responsible for their own competing children may serve as the DA for Duo or Team Policy Debate partner(s) who will ONLY compete in Duo or Team Policy Debate.
Exceptions to these qualifications will only be granted for extenuating circumstances and must be approved in advance by the Director of Competition.
Competitor Ethics Statement
Competitors must affirm the NCFCA Competitor Ethics Statement during the online check-in process for each tournament and abide by it during the entire tournament.
“While participating in this tournament, I commit to
- be honest in my communication;
- respect fellow competitors, judges, and the competition opportunity as part of a formal event;
- honor the NCFCA Mission, Core Values, and Foundational Beliefs; and
- comply with league policies, event rules, and directions from tournament leaders.”
Academic Integrity Policy
Competitors are responsible for the academic integrity of any information they present in competition, whether they prepared the information personally or obtained it from another party.
Competitors are responsible, with the help of their coaches and parents, for ensuring that they understand proper citations, plagiarism, and their responsibility regarding the concept of intellectual property ownership, copyrights, and the “fair use” doctrine, which is generally understood to allow copyright latitude for interpretive competition.
Competitor Dress Code Policy
NCFCA’s dress code is intended to honor our foundational beliefs, promote professionalism, and maximize focus on the development of ideas and communication skills.
NCFCA Tournament Dress Code Standards Required Tournament Attire for Male Competitors Option 1: Suit with dress shirt, tie, and dress shoes Option 2: Sport coat with dress shirt, tie, dress slacks, and dress shoes Required Tournament Attire for Female Competitors Option 1: Pant or skirt suit (hemline to middle of knee) with dress blouse (or top) and dress shoes Option 2: Suit-type jacket with dress pants or skirt (hemline to middle of knee), dress blouse (or top), and dress shoes Option 3: Dress (hemline to middle of knee). Sleeveless dresses require a suit-type jacket. Unacceptable Attire for All NCFCA Events Short shorts/skirts/dresses Shirts that are low-cut, fail to cover the midriff, or have spaghetti straps
Inappropriate content, see-through fabric, or tight-fitting clothing
Online Tournaments: Adaptations are acceptable for online tournaments, provided that all attire visible on camera is compliant with the standards above.
A student who is out of dress code will not be permitted to compete. Failure to adhere to the dress code will result in a warning and requirement to change into compliant attire. No accommodations will be made if the student misses a round due to the need to change clothes. If a second violation occurs during the season, disciplinary action such as loss of round or rank will be determined by the National Adjudication Team. In the unfortunate event of a third violation within the season, the student will be disqualified from the tournament. A further violation will result in disqualification from NCFCA competition for the remainder of the season.
Affiliate Safety Requirements
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
Participants must be registered and checked in for the tournament.
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
In-Person Tournaments: NCFCA Parents and Designated Adults should not enter a competition room where there is only one student present. In the same manner, a student should not enter a competition room where there is only one non-family adult present.
Online Tournaments: Competitors should keep microphones muted and cameras off until there are more than two attendees present in a competition room.
Open Doors
At in-person tournaments, 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.
Conduct toward Other Participants
Bullying, physical or verbal abuse or harassment, coercion, stalking, intimidation, discrimination, or any other behavior that places the health and safety of oneself or others in jeopardy will not be tolerated.
Response to Safety Concerns
In-Person Tournaments: 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.
Online Tournaments: If an unsafe condition exists, the participant should immediately exit the room or tournament platform and notify tournament administration by contacting the Child Safety Coordinator for that event or the NCFCA Office at (682)802-2727.
Supervision of Children
In-Person Tournaments: Children under 12 years old must be directly supervised by their parent or Designated Adult (DA) when they are not participating in a tournament-sponsored Junior event. A parent or DA must be onsite with their children/designated students at all times.
Online Tournaments: Parents are responsible for the supervision and online safety of their children.
Tournament Boundaries
In-Person Tournaments: NCFCA participants must remain in areas of the facility designated for NCFCA use as communicated through tournament announcements and/or signs.
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.
- We require background checks for employees and all Key Volunteer positions. All employees and tournament volunteer staff must receive, read, and acknowledge NCFCA’s Child Safety Policy and watch a Child Safety Training video prior to working with students.
- 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.
Safety Policy Enforcement
Tournament administrators will have the authority to immediately dismiss, disqualify, remove, and block any attendee for violation of rules, policies, or other behavior deemed detrimental to the tournament community as a whole.
Prohibited Activities and Behaviors
During NCFCA events, participants are prohibited from the following:
- The use or possession of alcoholic beverages, tobacco or e-cigarettes, illegal drugs
- Possessing, sharing, or otherwise communicating hate-based, vulgar, heinous, sexually suggestive, obscene, profane, abusive, or inappropriate material or words
- Displays of affection that move beyond the social and age-appropriate nature of the tournament as a formal competitive event
- Use, possession or display of dangerous items, such as knives, guns, or lighters
Tournament Administrators will apply appropriate penalties for violations of these policies in collaboration with the appropriate members of our League Authority Structure.
Illness Policy
Attendees at in-person tournaments must
- Be free from symptoms of illness. Any person exhibiting symptoms including but not limited to cough, fever (100.4+), chills, muscle pain, sore throat, vomiting, or diarrhea may not attend the tournament.
- Have been fever free without the aid of medication for 48 hours.
- Beyond the specific policy and situations listed here, please be considerate and thoughtful of others when making decisions about attending an onsite tournament. If you have any questions, please contact your Tournament Coordinator or your Regional Coordinator.
Delays and Cancellations
Delays
We may delay our tournament schedule or individual rounds due to factors beyond our control such as weather conditions or facility issues as well as for operational factors such as insufficient judge participation or adjudication requirements. Routine operational delays range from 10-45 minutes and can occasionally be longer, but delays of any kind will not be extended beyond the day the tournament is scheduled to end. Our tournament volunteer staff will make every effort to keep participants informed of any necessary delays and take measures to return to the planned schedule or an amended schedule as quickly as possible.
Cancellations
We are committed to making every effort to hold scheduled tournaments as planned and scheduled. However, the safety of our affiliates will be our highest priority in any decision to cancel or reformat a tournament. In the event that we must cancel or significantly alter the schedule of a tournament, we will notify all participants as early as possible.
- Endemic Illness. NCFCA will use a variety of resources to routinely monitor the prevalence of infectious diseases in the communities planning to host our tournaments. Any decision to cancel or move a tournament to our online platform will be communicated to all registered participants as soon as possible.
- Inclement Weather. In the event that inclement weather is forecast prior to an NCFCA tournament, league officials will communicate to all registered affiliates via email as early as possible. If inclement weather occurs during a tournament, league officials will communicate via email, text messages, and during scheduled announcements regarding any necessary adjustments to the schedule.
- Failures of Necessary Systems and Infrastructure. In the event of power loss, insufficient internet capacity, or technical infrastructure failure we may be forced to cancel a tournament.
- Unforeseen Circumstances. Upon the occurrence of any event or circumstance beyond our control, including acts of God, declared war in the United States, acts of terrorism in the city where the tournament is located, government regulations, natural disaster, or civil disorder, to the extent that such event or circumstance makes it illegal, impossible, or impracticable to hold the tournament we will advise participants regarding our response plan as early as possible.
Refunds and Registration Adjustments
Please see our Fees and Payment page for information on refunds for cancellations.
Publication of Results
Tabulation data is confidential except for tournament results that are publicly announced.
Competition results announced at the tournament will be posted in gro.ACFCN@ecalPyM following the tournament.