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Grand National Speech and Debate Tournament is the premier public speaking event of the National Catholic Forensic League. It is held annually in the United States over Memorial Day weekend. One can qualify for the tournament by performing sufficiently well in a local qualifying tournament.
The Grand National Speech and Debate Tournament is the premier public speaking event of the National Catholic Forensic League. The event is held annually in the United States of America over Memorial Day weekend. [1] [2] Students can qualify for the tournament by performing sufficiently well in a local qualifying tournament. There are a number of events in which the participants may compete.
Grand National Tournament in Declamation (also known as Oratorical Declamation or Oratorical Interpretation, commonly abbreviated to "DEC") is a public speaking event of the National Catholic Forensic League. The category is almost always open to high school freshmen and sophomores only. It is often used as a "starter" event to get underclassmen used to the speech and debate activity in general and to prepare them for other categories such as Dramatic Performance or Original Oratory.
In simplest terms, Declamation is delivering a speech that was already written and delivered by another person. A competitor may choose any speech that has been delivered in public before. NCFL rules call for specific introductory material and a ten-minute time limit. The NCFL is the largest league in the United States that offers Declamation as a category for competition. Most local and state leagues adhere to NCFL rules or slight variations on them.
From the official NCFL critique sheet: [3]
Therefore, the purpose of the category is not to give an impersonation of the original speaker; it is to interpret their words in an interesting and convincing manner that fits the individual competitor. The competitor is only required to recreate the general "feel" of the original delivery, not mimic it.
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A joint venture of Miami Dade College and Miami Dade County Public Schools in Miami, Florida, the Project began in 1977, and is dedicated to exposing school children to the wide breadth of writings about the Black experience throughout the Diaspora. The Project seeks to provide an opportunity for school children in grades Pre-K through high school to discover and refine public speaking skills through a comprehensive and challenging level of learning and competition.
The Project is an in-person oratory, declamation and advocacy oral presentation of persuasive or inspirational material of literary merit prepared by another person; the advocacy component being a researched problem, identified solution, and the extolled benefits or burdens of an issue in an effectively, compelling speech. The speech is memorized and each speaker is allowed a minimum of 3 minutes to present. Judging is based primarily on the quality of the presentation as represented by the following evaluation criteria:
The Project's namesake, the Reverend Canon Theodore R. Gibson, a Miami city commissioner known for his oration and vision, made the remark that is the Project's theme: "Help the Children to Communicate...That is the Key".
The use of former Original Oratory speeches in Declamation has become quite widespread in recent years. Some see this practice as unfair or undermining the category's original purpose, as these speeches were originally written for the purpose of winning in forensic competition, and not necessarily conveying an important message. At the beginning of 2003–2004 season, the NCFL enacted a ban on all former high school competitive oratories, effective as of the 2005 Grand National Tournament. However, at the beginning of the 2004–2005 season, the restriction was removed, and thus, the ban never truly came into effect. State and local leagues may choose to ban or allow material as they wish.
The National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) is the largest interscholastic speech and debate organization serving middle school and high school students in the United States. It is also the national authority on public speaking and debate.
Lincoln–Douglas debate is a type of one-on-one competitive debate practiced mainly in the United States at the high school level. It is sometimes also called values debate because the format traditionally places a heavy emphasis on logic, ethical values, and philosophy. The Lincoln–Douglas debate format is named for the 1858 Lincoln–Douglas debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, because their debates focused on slavery and the morals, values, and logic behind it. LD debates are used by the National Speech and Debate Association, or NSDA competitions, and also widely used in related debate leagues such as the National Christian Forensics and Communication Association, the National Catholic Forensic League, the National Educational Debate Association, the Texas University Interscholastic League, Texas Forensic Association, Stoa USA and their affiliated regional organizations. The vast majority of tournaments use the current NSDA resolution.
The Ohio High School Speech League (OHSSL) is the body that organizes high school forensic competition in the state of Ohio. The OHSSL provides all of the National Forensic League events, but also provides several other events including Declamation. In the 2001-2002 season, Impromptu Speaking was added as an experimental event. The following year Impromptu was made an official OHSSL event. Following the 2013-2014 season, Impromptu was removed as an OHSSL event. OHSSL also offers many other common events such as debate and IE events such as International and United States Extemporaneous Speaking, Duo Interpretation, Dramatic Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Program Oral Interpretation, and Original Oratory. Each of the state districts takes part in a district tournament, called "Littles", where a set number of people can move on to compete in the State Championship.
Policy debate is an American form of debate competition in which teams of two usually advocate for and against a resolution that typically calls for policy change by the United States federal government. It is also referred to as cross-examination debate because of the 3-minute questioning period following each constructive speech. Evidence presentation is a crucial part of Policy Debate. The main argument being debated during a round is to change or not change the status quo. When a team explains why their solvency is greater than the opposition's, they compare advantages. One team’s job is to argue that the resolution— the statement that we should make some specific change to a national or international problem —is a good idea. Affirmative teams generally present a plan as a proposal for implementation of the resolution. On the other hand, the Negative teams present arguments against the implementation of the resolution. In a single round of debate competition, each person gives two speeches. The first speech each person gives is called a “constructive” speech, because it is the speech when the first speaker positively, without rebuttal that has not occurred, presents the basic arguments they will make throughout the debate. The second speech is called a “rebuttal”, because this is the speech were each person tries to rebut the arguments made by the other team, while using their own arguments to try to convince the judge to vote for their team. The Affirmative has to convince the judge to vote for the resolution, while the Negative has to convince the judge the Negative's position is a better idea.
The National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL) is a speech and debate league that was formed in 1951. It is organized into regions that correspond to Roman Catholic dioceses. Member schools include both public and parochial high schools. The NCFL recruits member schools in both the United States and Canada. As of January, 2011, there were 65 active dioceses with NCFL leagues. The IRS recognizes the NCFL as an organization eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable donations.
Congressional Debate is a competitive interscholastic high school debate event in the United States. The National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA), National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL) and many state associations and national invitational tournaments offer Congressional Debate as an event. Each organization and tournament offers its own rules, although the National Speech and Debate Association has championed standardization since 2007, when it began to ask its districts to use one of a number of procedures for qualification to its National Tournament. The Pakistan Student Congress event is a conference, and not interscholastic competition.
Individual events in speech include public speaking, limited preparation, acting and interpretation are a part of forensics competitions. These events do not include the several different forms of debate offered by many tournaments. These events are called individual events because they tend to be done by one person unlike debate which often includes teams. This distinction however is not entirely accurate any more given the addition of duo interpretation events and forms of single person debate. Competitive speech competitions and debates comprise the area of forensics. Forensics leagues have a number of speech events, generally determined by geographical region or league preference. While there are several key events that have been around a long time, there are several experimental events around the country every year that can be limited to individual tournaments. Forensics leagues in the United States includes the National Speech and Debate Association, the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association, the American Forensics Association, the National Forensics Association, the Interstate Oratorical Association and Stoa USA. Organized competitions are held at the high-school and collegiate level. Outside of the rules for each event provided by the individual leagues, there are several cultural norms within each region that are not written into law but are almost always followed. Rules for time limits vary by event and by individual tournaments, but there are penalties in every event for exceeding the time limits though the severity of the penalty widely varies.
Original Oratory is a competitive event in the National Speech and Debate Association, Stoa USA, National Catholic Forensic League, and other high school forensic competitions in which competitors deliver an original, factual speech on a subject of their choosing. Though the rules for the category change from organization to organization, a speech must generally be written and memorized by the performer and should be no more than ten minutes in length, and at most only 150 words can be quoted. The finished speech must be approved by the National Speech and Debate Association. This speech is frequently highly persuasive and is normally about a slightly controversial topic. An orator is given free choice of subject and judged solely on the effectiveness of development and presentation.
Public forum debate is a widespread form of middle and high school competitive debate which centers on current events and relies on both logic and evidence to construct arguments. Invented in the US, Public Forum is one of the most prominent American debate events, alongside policy debate and Lincoln-Douglas debate; it is also practiced in China and India, and has been recently introduced to Romania. Individuals give short speeches that are interspersed with 3 minute "Crossfire" sections, questions and answers between opposed debaters. The winner is determined by a judge who also serves as a referee. The debate centers on advocating or rejecting a position, "resolve", or "resolution", which is usually a proposal of a potential solution to a current events issue. Public Forum is designed to be accessible to the average citizen.
The Christian Speech & Debate League, also known as the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association, is a speech and debate league for Christian students in the United States. The NCFCA was established in 2001 after outgrowing its parent organization, the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), which had been running the league since it was originally established in 1995. NCFCA is now organized under its own board of directors with regional and state leadership coordinating various tournaments throughout the season.
Parliamentary debate is an academic debate event. Many university-level institutions in English-speaking nations sponsor parliamentary debate teams. In addition the format is currently spreading to the high school level. Despite the name, the parli is not related to debate in governmental parliaments beyond formal speaker titles such as "Opposition Leader" and "Prime Minister".
Extemporaneous Speaking is a speech delivery style/speaking style, and a term that identifies a specific forensic competition. The competition is a speech event based on research and original analysis, done with a limited-preparation; in the United States those competitions are held for high school and college students. In a Extemporaneous Speech competition, enrolled participants prepare for thirty minutes on a question related to current events and then give a seven-minute speech responding to that question. The extemporaneous speaking delivery style, referred to as "off-the-cuff", is a type of delivery method for a public presentation, that was carefully prepared and practiced but not memorized.
Westminster Senior High School is a high school located in Westminster, Maryland, United States.
The Florida Forensic League, Inc., or FFL, is a speech and debate organization offered to all schools in the state of Florida. It is the governing body for local and state speech and debate competitions in Florida, with higher-level competition under the auspices of the National Forensic League and the National Catholic Forensic League. The league was officially incorporated by the State of Florida on November 20, 2003, and began operations on January 1, 2004, although it existed some time before then in an unorganized fashion. Competitors in the league have been extremely successful at national tournaments.
The Iowa High School Speech Association (IHSSA) consists of member high schools from four districts in Iowa, United States, and offers three categories of competition: debate, large group, and individual events. At the end of each of the three contests, the Cooley Sweepstakes Trophy is awarded. To get to the all-state speech tournament, one must first proceed from the district and state tournaments. At district for speech, there is one judge who issues ratings and every team or individual who receives a "I" goes on. At State there are three judges, and two out of three must not only give a "I" rating, but also give a recommendation.
Iona Preparatory School, or simply Iona Prep, is an independent, Roman Catholic, all-male, college-preparatory school located in the north end of New Rochelle, New York, in suburban Westchester County. It consists of the Upper School for Grades 9 through 12 and the Lower School for Grades kindergarten through eighth grade. The primary and secondary schools are located on separate and nearby campuses less than a mile apart on Stratton Road. It is a privately-owned independent school without parochial affiliation and is located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. The school was named for the Scottish island of Iona, the school was founded in 1916 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers.
The Bancroft Literary Association and the Carrollton-Wight Literary Society are two competitive forensic societies at the Baltimore City College and are the formal names for the school's speech and debates teams. Founded in 1876 and 1878 respectively, the Bancroft and Carrollton-Wight Societies are the oldest literary societies at a public high school in the United States. Historically, the two societies competed mainly between themselves. The rivalry culminated each year with an annual debate. In the 20th century, the societies began to compete with other secondary schools and some universities. At the time, the teams' most notable rival was Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, City College's chief rival in sports and academics. The Bancroft and Carrollton-Wight Societies disbanded for a time in the 1980s and early-1990s, but were revived in the late-1990s. Baltimore City College is a charter member of the Chesapeake Region of the National Forensics League and the National Catholic Forensic League, and is founding member of the Baltimore Catholic Forensic League and the Baltimore Urban Debate League.
Natick High School is an urban/suburban public high school serving students in grades 9 to 12 in Natick, Massachusetts, United States. The school is located on the banks of Dug Pond. Its enrollment was 1,603 students during the 2015–2016 school year. The original building was built in 1953 at approximately 189,000 sq ft (17,600 m2). and opened in 1954. The building was expanded in 1965. Additional renovations took place in 1985. In 2010, the town voted to replace the Natick High School building. The new facility was constructed on the fields immediately to the south of the former building. Demolition on the former building began on June 25, 2012. The new building design is based on a model approved by the state of Massachusetts. This was necessary in order to maximize state reimbursement for design and construction; it cost $78 million. The new high school opened to students on August 29, 2012.
The California High School Speech Association, or CHSSA, is a speech and debate organization offered to all schools in the state of California. It is the governing body for local and state speech and debate competitions in California, with higher-level competition under the auspices of the National Forensic League and the National Catholic Forensic League. The league held its first championship tournament in 1958, and continues to hold championship tournaments every April.
Stoa USA, also referred to as Stoa, is a Christian homeschool forensics organization in the United States. It is one of the four major national high school forensics organizations: the others are the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA), National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL), and the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association (NCFCA).
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