League Policies

1. A. General Rules for All Speeches (see above or ncfca.org/rules/speech-general-rules/)

   B. Academic Integrity

   1.  Citations. All material presented in the speech must be either competitors’ original work or include the source(s) for any supporting material. Plagiarism is not permitted.
      1. Verbal mention. Sources must be verbally mentioned.
      2. Notecard. The competitor must document verifiable support for analysis on the required 3 x 5 card held in the speech and retain the required notecard until the end of the tournament.

   C. Content, Preparation, and Presentation

   1. Topic. Competitors must prepare for and speak on one of the two topic options assigned to them.  The topic must be stated during the speech.
   2. Material Resources.
      1. Club file boxes. Shared club file boxes must have a label affixed to the outside that includes all names of both the club(s) and individual competitors who have permission to use the box for that tournament.
      2. Device. During any round, a device must only be used by the competitor who brings it into the Extemp Prep Room.
   3. Prep Time Material.
      1. Source material allowed. Competitors may access published material (e.g., articles, books, magazines, newspapers), previously printed, downloaded, or stored offline via cloud-based files. (The use of a device for prep time material in Extemp is an exception to Rule A.4.)
      2. Source material not allowed. Competitors must not access:
         1. the internet.
         2. help, advice, or information about the topic from another person.
         3. previously prepared notes or analysis, including debate briefs or speech outlines.
      3. Notecard. Competitors must provide a single 3” x 5” notecard to use during the speech. (See Rule B.1.b.)
   4. Speech Time Material.
      1. Prepared card. During the delivery of the speech, the prepared notecard must be held.
      2. Topic card. At in-person tournaments, the topic card may also be held, but no other written or printed materials may be held.
      3. Additional notes. Any additional notes taken during preparation time on other paper or on an electronic device must not be accessed during the delivery of the speech.

   D. Timing

   1. Prep Time. Preparation time is limited to twenty (20) minutes and begins upon drawing the topic at the assigned draw time.  Prep time ends at the assigned speaking time.
   2. Speech Time. Speech time is limited to seven (7) minutes. Competitors must show their timepiece (set to count up) to the judges before starting their speech and after turning off their timepiece at the end of their speech. The timepiece must be started before beginning the speech and kept running until the conclusion of the speech.
   3. Time Slot. Competitors must present their speech during their prescribed 15-minute slot and are not permitted to infringe on the next competitor’s scheduled time.

   E. Online General Rules (see below or ncfca.org/rules/online-general-rules/)

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