Please read the following information carefully.

This is the official tournament page for the AFA District 1 Qualifying Tournament. While we are offering this tournament officially, it is important to note that a decision has been made to dissolve District 1. The AFA organizing body has not yet voted on the future of the states within our district. Consequently, this will be the last time I organize this tournament under the current structure.

For this year, the tournament will be a one-day-only event, held virtually on March 9th.

If there is a group or contingency within our community that wishes to communicate with the AFA to explore a path forward, please get in touch with me directly. Without such engagement, officially, your school may be without a district tournament in the foreseeable future until a new arrangement is agreed upon.

This situation presents an opportunity for reflection and proactive engagement. It's crucial for all interested parties to consider how they can contribute to shaping the future of forensic competition in our region. Your input and action could be instrumental in navigating through this transition period.

Before proceeding, please make sure to thoroughly review the following information listed here AFA-NST (google.com)

You must have the following for any student entered if you wish to be officially registered:

Student Verification Forms:

Linik for Forms

Eligibility:
Any regularly enrolled undergraduate student in a two-year or four-year college is eligible to participate. Eligibility standards for AFA will be enforced.

Individual Events:
We will offer all eleven AFA-NIET events in a single-day virtual tournament. The events are as follows:

• Pattern A: Prose, Informative, POI, Extemporaneous, After Dinner Speaking
• Pattern B: Impromptu, Duo, Persuasion, Drama, Communication Analysis, Poetry

Participants are limited to a maximum of six events. The events are subject to the rules of the AFA National Individual Events Tournament. We have adapted the event patterns for a streamlined one-day format, diverging from the traditional AFA-NIET 3-pattern system to better accommodate the virtual setting. Complete event descriptions can be found on the official AFA-NIET website: http://www.afaniet.org/

Tournament Procedures:
The tournament will proceed as a virtual event and will only be held if a minimum of five schools enter. Only an open division will be offered. Any event with 7 contestants or fewer will not have a final round. For events with more than 7 competitors, a final round will be held, and any event with 37+ entries will advance to semifinals.

Advancing to Elimination Rounds:
No more than half of the field will advance to finals, with seeding based first on cumulative rankings, then by the highest speaker points. Efforts will be made to ensure a clean break by cumulative rankings.

Placement in Elimination Rounds:
Students will be rank-ordered first by cumulative rankings (with an exception for majority first-place rankings), then by judges' preferences, and finally by the highest cumulative ratings.

*Note: The district chair reserves the right to make the necessary decisions to ensure the timely and accurate completion of the tournament.

Qualification Procedures:
At-Large Legs Records should be prepared using the AFA-NIET At-Large Reporting Form and uploaded for evaluation by David Hale, District I Chair, no later than at the time of registration. Complete leg packets must include verification of legs. For questions, email haledr@elac.edu.

I will not process any forms after the date of registration. You must also have your enrollment verification forms.

Qualification to the AFA-NIET: Ten percent of participants in each event will advance to the AFA-NIET, rounded up to the nearest whole number, with a minimum of three qualifiers per event.

Fees:
A single fee structure will apply due to the virtual format:

Entry Fee: $10 per individual event slot.

Judging: 1 judge covers three entries, NO JUDGING BUYOUTS. If you cannot cover your judging slots, then you will not be able to enter the students.