SpeechWire Tournament Services - Forensics Tournament Software

The NFA Tournament Committee is excited to invite you to the National Forensic Association’s 54th Championship Tournament on April 17-21, 2025 on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. The staff at Wayne State are hard at work to make the tournament a fun and rewarding educational experience.

Congratulations on the many amazing achievements from the 2024 National Championship Tournament: Open Sweepstakes champion Western Kentucky University Lincoln-Douglas Sweepstakes champion Washburn University, President’s Division I champion Bradley University, President’s Division II champion University of Minnesota, and President’s Division III champion Saginaw Valley State University; Pentathlon champion Fernando Cereceres from the University of Texas at Austin, and Lincoln-Douglas Speaker Award champion Zachary Jones from University of North Texas.

Important Upcoming Dates

Tournament Policies and Practices
Open Door Policy

The NFA is committed to providing safe performance spaces for all competitors and judges. We acknowledge the art of performance may be a healing process and/or opportunity to speak on important topics. As a performer, it is impossible to know all the ways in which content or a performance may unintentionally harm or trigger members of our audience. The open door policy means competitors and other audience members may choose to leave or stay in a room when a performance negatively impacts their wellbeing. Competitors may discreetly leave the room (e.g., before, during, or after someone’s performance) even when not double-entered, without question or penalty. If competitors need to leave a round due to spiritual needs, they may also excuse themselves without question or penalty. Judges may also take steps to protect their well-being and will be asked to read the open door policy at the beginning of every round to reinforce the norm-change emphasizing mental and physical well-being over community norms.

Religious Accommodations

NFA is committed to providing a welcoming and safe environment for people of all faith backgrounds. To that pursuit we are working with the host institution to provide support for students observing religious holidays during the Championship Tournament. More specific details will be released closer to the tournament. If you have any questions or specific requests, please direct them to the tournament director prior to the tournament so that we can do our best to accommodate you.

Quiet Room and Resources

The NFA will provide a space for competitors to remove themselves from the tournament environment and practice self-care in the event of triggering content or situations. Contact information for emergency counseling services will be available.

COVID Reminders

COVID numbers continue to be high, and we trust that everyone will act in the best interests of the NFA and CMU communities, especially our immunocompromised friends. NFA recommends ensuring that boosters are up to date, and masking in crowded areas. If someone is wearing a mask, they probably need it so reciprocal masking would be a wonderful act of inclusion. We will have masks available at the Wellness table for free.

Accommodations

Accommodation Based on Disability

Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), Titles I and II of the ADA of 1990, and Sections 503 & 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the National Forensic Association and the NFA National Tournament will not discriminate against any competitor, judge, or student because of a physical or mental impairment. Every effort will be made to assure reasonable accommodation.

Impromptu Accommodations

NFA promotes accessibility for all students. Any prompts in the Impromptu Schema can and will be modified for students with special needs. Please send any requests for specific accommodation via the Accommodations Request Form by March 31, 2025 at 6:00pm EST. (Accommodation Based on Harassment or Misconduct

The NFA is fully-committed to a safe and healthy educational, work, and competition environment that is free from unlawful discrimination and harassment. As such, NFA prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex, gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity, race, disability, religion, and other lawfully protected categories. This prohibition includes sexual assault and misconduct, and stalking. If you have experienced an act of discrimination, harassment, or assault by a competitor, coach, or judge at an NFA qualifying/sanctioned tournament (virtual or face-to-face) based on any of these protected categories, you are encouraged to report the matter to the appropriate persons.

Although the NFA fully-supports the principles of non-discrimination based on sex (including gender, sexual orientation, and identity) set forth in Title IX, the NFA itself does not have any Title IX investigatory or adjudicatory functions.

Therefore, to initiate the Title IX investigation process, you are encouraged to report any suspected Title IX violations to a trusted coach, the Title IX Coordinator on your home campus, and the Title IX Coordinator on the perpetrators campus so that investigative procedures can begin. To report assaults that occur during the 2025 National Tournament, you may also submit a Sexual Misconduct Incident Report or contact the Title IX Coordinator at 313-577-9999 or at TitleIX@wayne.edu.

Should you require accommodations for a violation during the tournament, please contact the VP for Professional Relations, Dr. Nikki Freeman (you can find her at the Wellness Table or email her at nfreeman@ucmo.edu).

Pre-Tournament Accommodation Notice

Please notify the Tournament Committee via the Accommodations Request Form by March 31 at 6:00 pm EST if you or a member of your program are requesting accommodation based on:

If you request an accommodation, please identify the accommodation requested and an explanation so the Tournament Director can assess the request.

Emergency and Non-emergency Assistance

NFA Code of Standards (NFA By-laws Section VIII)

Directors, coaches and students must ensure compliance with the association’s standards, rules and procedures. Any director, coach or student who violates these standards, rules or procedures is subject to the sanctions as indicated in the Code of Standards and as applied at the discretion of the National Council.

Those in doubt as to compliance with these standards, rules or procedures should correspond with the President or National Tournament Director in advance of the National Championship Tournament to ensure compliance. Those suspecting violations of standards, rules or procedures should report alleged violation(s) to a member of the National Tournament Committee as soon as practical and if at all possible, well in advance of the National Championship Tournament.

Statement of Inclusion: The NFA embraces human diversity as a core value. We express this value best in the inclusion and affirmation of the various identity groups to which our members and participants belong. This commitment to inclusiveness embraces identities and social roles that arise from but are not limited to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religion, or ability status. We affirm and uphold the right to basic human dignity and respect across these diverse forms of human expression.

Participation in NFA events is by invitation. As such, NFA is firmly committed to maintaining an environment that is free from acts that are inconsistent with the inclusiveness it seeks to foster. When actions deemed contrary to this core value are reported to the Tournament Director, the behavior will be investigated promptly, and appropriate remedial actions will be taken.

Registering for the Tournament

All entries must be submitted through SpeechWire at www.speechwire.com/nfa by March 31 at 6:00 pm EST. No entries will be accepted after this date.

If you do not currently have a SpeechWire account, please create one as soon as possible - it facilitates results reporting and entry verification.

Please remember that your school name, as well as your students’ and judges’ names, will appear exactly as you enter them on ALL tournament materials. Please also add students' name pronunciation in SpeechWire so that student names are pronounced accurately in rounds and in awards.

You will receive an entry confirmation after all entries have been processed. If you do not receive a confirmation please email nationaltournamentcomittee@gmail.com

For a list of the rules and guidelines for each event, please visit the NFA website.

Qualifying for the Tournament

Rules for Qualification

In order to enter the National Championship Tournament, students must qualify each event by March 31, 2025 at 6:00 pm EST. For procedures and requirements, see section III of the NFA By-laws.

Reporting Results

Per the NFA by-laws, all tournament results must be reported by the third Monday prior to the beginning of the National Championship Tournament. This year, results must be reported by March 31, 2025 at 6:00 pm EST by following these guidelines:

Please take a moment to update your team roster landmark students appropriately as active or inactive. Additionally, work to enter student names the same way for every tournament. Typos, extra space, abbreviations, or other variations will create multiple records for the same student and may complicate the verification process. Also, please enter pronunciations for your students--this is an invaluable resource to ensure your students are represented appropriately!

Student Verification

All schools must submit a Student Verification Form to demonstrate that each competitor is academically enrolled.

This form MUST be completed and affixed with an official school seal by your Registrar’s Office. This process may take some time based on your individual institution, so please prepare early and verify any student you may consider bringing to NFA. If you are unable to obtain an embossed copy, your Registrar may send a digital version of the form to the tournament director directly.

In order to enter the tournament, a scanned copy of this form must be submitted by March 31, 2025 by 6:00 pm EST to Trent Webb, National Tournament Director, at nfatournamentcommittee@gmail.com

In order for your students to compete at the tournament, this form MUST be submitted.

Novice Designation

Students who are eligible to participate in Novice final rounds at the National Tournament should be noted on the entry. Per the National Forensic Association by-laws (II.C.) Novice is defined as “a student who is in their first year of forensic competition. This includes high school and collegiate experience.” Please confirm with your students that they did not participate in any Forensic activity prior to this tournament season.

General Fee Information

No adjustments will be made to base fees after April 2, 2025 at 12:00 pm EST, except to increase the fees if changes are made. In other words, you are charged for your entry as it stands when entries are due, plus any applicable drop fees.

All checks must be made payable to “National Forensic Association: and brought in person to the tournament. Returned checks will incur a $25 fee.

Fees may be paid online at this link. Please refer to your Speechwire invoice for your total amount due.

Required School Fees

NFA Membership dues for 2024-2025 (for schools who did not attend NFA 2024): $75

Individual Events Fees

Entry Fees: Each IE entry is $12.00, except for Duo, which is $24.00. Each Pentathlon entry is $12.00

Judging Requirement and Coverage Fees: Each full-time IE judge covers SIX (6) IE entries.

To be considered full-time, a judge must be available all days, all rounds, including all elimination rounds. Otherwise, they will be considered part-time by the day, and coverage will be calculated accordingly. A judge must be available for an entire day in order to provide coverage for that day.

In order to enter the tournament, any school with six or fewer IE entries must provide at least one full-time judge. Judges may cover either Lincoln-Douglas slots or Individual Events slots, but not both. Judges who would like to judge in the other pool may be hired per round, but their primary commitment will not be reduced and they will be charged if they miss an assigned ballot.

Any school with seven or more IE entries must cover at least 50% of their total IE entries with full-time judges. Appeals must be made using the Judge Coverage Appeal form, and be submitted to the Tournament Director by March 31, 2025 at 6:00 pm EST.

Regardless of entry size, no school will be allowed to cover more than 160 IE entries.

Debate Fees

Judging Requirement and Coverage Fees: Each full-time debate judge covers TWO (2) debate entries

In order to enter the tournament, any school with two or fewer LD entries must provide at least one full-time judge. All entry and judge fees will be calculated April 2, 2025 at 12:00 pm EST.

Judges may not be added to adjust fees down after that date. Any judges you locate after this date may be added to the hired judge pool.

Judges may cover either Lincoln-Douglas slots or Individual Events slots, but not both. Judges who would like to judge in the other pool may be hired per round, but their primary commitment will not be reduced and they will be charged if they miss an assigned ballot.

Any school with three or more LD entries must cover at least 50% of their total LD entry with full-time judges. Appeals must be made using the Judge Coverage Appeal form, and be submitted to the Tournament Director by March 31, 2025 at 6:00 pm EST.

Nuisance Fees

Entry drops: These penalties will be added to your base fee starting April 2, 2025 at 1:00 pm EST.

Judge drops: Any judge dropped (IE and/or LD) after April 15, 2025 will be assessed a penalty fee of $300 per judge.

Dropped judges after April 16, 2025 will also be penalized $10 per assigned round in addition to the above fee--AND school fees will be adjusted to reflect one less judge worth of coverage.

No-Show/No-Communication: Competitors who do not attend assigned rounds at the tournament may be subject to a penalty of $75 per scheduled / assigned round.

Judges who do not pick up ballots for assigned rounds will be assessed a $25 fee payable immediately. This includes any and all ballots for rounds on days for which judges have been given credit for covering entries, including required elimination rounds.

No student from any school will advance to elimination rounds until all of that school’s penalty fees, including no-show fees, are paid. Should a judge not pick up an elimination round ballot, no student from that school will advance to the next round until the fee has been paid.

No-show fees that remain unpaid at the end of the tournament must be resolved before a school will be allowed to enter another NFA Championship Tournament.

Event Rules and Information

Event descriptions, rules, Code of Standards, Code of Ethics and tournament procedures are all available in the NFA By-laws on our website. All participants at the National Tournament agree to abide by the policies and procedures of the by-laws.

Individual Events Flights for the 2025 National Tournament

Limited Preparation

The Impromptu schema will be released at the NFA Business Meeting at NCA in November 2024. An archive of past schema and outround prompts is available on our website.

The Extemp topic areas by round will be released to the membership in March 2025. The topic areas and questions used in 2024 are available on our website.

All travel and campus specific information will be posted to our website and updated as necessary.

Tournament Hotels
Information for area hotels will be posted on the NFA website.

Closest Airport

2025 National Tournament Schedule
Changes will be shared via Speechwire

Thursday, April 17th

2:00 PM Registration Begins

3:00 PM Lincoln-Douglas Round 1

4:30 PM Lincoln-Douglas Round 2

6:00 PM Business Meeting/Student Meeting

Friday, April 18th

9:30 AM Extemp Draw

10:00 AM Flight C (Ext, Poe, ADS) Round 1

11:30 AM Flight D (DI, Pers, POI) Round 1

12:30 PM Lunch

1:30 PM Flight A (Duo, RC) Round 1; Lincoln-Douglas Round 3

3:00 PM Flight B (Pro, Info, Imp) Round 1

4:30 PM Flight A Round 2, LD Round 4

5:30 PM Extemp Draw

6:00 PM Flight C Round 2

Saturday, April 19th

8:00 AM Flight D Round 2, LD Round 5

9:30 AM Flight B Round 2

11:00 AM Flight A Round 3, LD Round 6

12:30 PM Lunch

1:30 PM Extemp Draw

2:00 PM Flight C Round 3

3:30 PM Flight D Round 3, Triple Octas LD

5:00 PM Flight B Round 3

6:30 PM Octafinals A, Double Octafinals LD

Sunday, April 20th

7:30 AM Extemp Draw

8:00 AM Octafinals C

9:30 AM Octafinals D, Octafinals LD

11:30 AM Octafinals B

1:00 PM Extemp Draw

1:30 PM Quarterfinals (Pro, Ext, ADS, RC)

3:00 PM Quarterfinals (Duo, DI, Poe, Imp)

4:30 PM Quarterfinals (Pers, Info, POI), Quarterfinals LD

Monday, April 21st

7:30 AM Extemp Draw

8:00 AM Semifinals A+C

9:30 AM Semis D+B, Semis LD

11:00 AM Extemp Draw

11:30 AM Finals A+C

1:00 PM Lunch

2:00 PM Finals D+B, Finals LD

4:30 PM Awards

Contact Information

NFA Tournament Committee
nfatournamentcommittee@gmail.com

Megan Koch (she/her)
President
Director of Forensics
Illinois State University
Campus Box 4480
Normal, IL 61790-4480
309-287-0652
mkoch@ilstu.edu

Trent Webb (he/him)

Tournament Director

Director of Forensics

Hofstra University

121 Hofstra University

Hempstead, NY 11549

516-463-5253

trent.webb@hofstra.edu

Dawn Lowry (she/her)
Vice President of Tournament Administration
Director of Forensics
George Mason University
4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030
309-370-2911
dlowry4@gmu.edu