2024 Async Championships

Invitation

(Invite last updated 5/5/24)

Dear Forensics Community,

National Online Forensics is excited to announce the inaugural 2024 National Online Forensics Async Championships for High School, Middle School, and Elementary School.   This will be an asynchronous video national championship tournament.

Tournament Dates:All videos are due by Monday, June 3rd at 8:00 PM Pacific. Preliminary rounds will be held Tuesday through Thursday; elimination rounds (as necessary) will be held Friday through Sunday. The award ceremony will be on Monday evening.

National Online Forensics sees a tremendous value in an online national championship that can afford more competitors and programs the opportunity to compete and showcase their skills on a national level.

Key Points:

• Reasonable entry fees payable by credit card on the website. Payment will be available the week of the tournament.

• Each school is required to provide one judge for every 5 entries per pattern. At the discretion of the Tournament Director, uncovered entries may be allowed (penalty fees apply).

• It is highly recommended to upload the competitor’s videos as YouTube unlisted. Coaches are responsible for verifying that the link submitted 1) both works and 2) is the correct video for the competitor/entry.

• There will be a single championship division for all events.

We hope you and your team can join us for a celebration of the hard work our forensics competitors have been doing all season.  If you have any questions please feel free to email us at alexandra@nationalonlineforensics.org 

Sincerely,

The National Online Forensics Team

Topics:

LD Topic: Resolved: The primary objective of the United States criminal justice system ought to be rehabilitation.

PF Topic: Resolved: The United Nations should abolish permanent membership on its Security Council.

Policy Topic:Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase fiscal redistribution in the United States by adopting a federal jobs guarantee, expanding Social Security, and/or providing a basic income.

Congress, Async Debate, Assigned Platform, and NOF Mock Trial: Topics will be released 3 weeks prior to the tournament (12:00 PM Pacific May 13th).

Extemp: Topics will be released on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at noon pacific.

Impromptu: Topics will be released on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at noon pacific

Events:

Competitors may enter as many different events in each pattern as they’d like including up to two Async Debate & Async Congress (one per side).

College Events

Informative, Persuasive, Speech to Entertain, Communication Analysis, Impromptu, Program Oral Interp, Poetry, Prose, DUO, Dramatic Interp, Extemp, Async Congress, Async Debate 

High School Events

Informative, Persuasive, Speech to Entertain, Impromptu, Program Oral Interp, Poetry, Prose, DUO, Dramatic Interp, Humorous Interp, Original Interp, Declamation, Storytelling, Extemp, Async Congress, Async Debate 

Middle School Events

Informative, Persuasive, Speech to Entertain, Impromptu, Programmed Oral Interp, Poetry, Prose, DUO, Dramatic Interp, Humorous Interp, Original Interp, Declamation, Storytelling, Extemp, Async Congress, Async Debate

Elementary School Events

DUO, Impromptu, Declamation, Poetry, Prose, Storytelling, Informative, Persuasive, Async Debate, Async Congress

Individual Events

• Three prelims will be held; elimination rounds will be held as necessary.

• Competitors may enter as many events per pattern as they would like! 

• 1 Judge is required for every 5 entries per pattern

• Prelim Ranking: Ranks/Decimal/Drop High Rank  

• Elim Ranking: Total Rank/Number of Firsts in Event/Rank in Elim/Decimal in Elim/Judge Pref in Elim

• Speaker Points will not be used.

• Competitors will be recognized with Gold, Silver, Bronze, and/or Honors awards. See NOF Bylaws for more information. 

• All competitors in elimination rounds will receive recognition. 

• The top speaker in each event will be recognized as the National Async Champion.

Limited Prep Events:

• Extemp and Impromptu topics will be provided on the tournament homepage on Saturday, June 1 at noon pacific.

• Congress, Async Debate, NOF Mock Trial fact pattern will be released Saturday, May 13 at noon pacific on the tournament homepage.

Platform Events:

• While competitors are allowed to still use electronic Visual Aids, they are encouraged to have them printed on 8.5x11 pages to show to the audience while presenting. 

• Screen sharing to show a PowerPoint or image is permitted.  Competitors should be familiar with the 8x8 video sharing feature and do so at their own risk. Any technological issues may influence judge ranks. 

Interp Events:

• Books are encouraged but not required. Given the nature of the video conferencing system, holding books while performing can block many cameras. Competitors are encouraged to use them to hold true to traditional forensics tournaments but this adaptation is left to the competitors. Judges are instructed not to penalize competitors for not using books. 

Async Congress

• Preliminary Round Sectioning: Competitors will ideally be assigned to panels/chambers of 10-20 competitors apiece. Each panel/chamber shall not exceed 24 competitors.

• Competitors will remain in the same chambers for all prelim rounds.

• Competitors will be recognized with Gold, Silver, Bronze, and/or Honors awards. See NOF Bylaws for more information. 

• Prelim Ranking: Ranks/Decimal/DropHighRank

• Elim Ranking: Total Rank/Number of Firsts/Elim Rank/Elim Decimal/Judge Pref

Sweepstakes

• Top schools will be recognized in the following categories:

• Elementary, Middle, High School.

• Top 5 speakers will be recognized. 

• See the NOF Bylaws for event point values. 

Fees

• School Fee: $50

• Individual Event Entries: $30/entry

• Duo Entries: $40/entry

• Async Congress Entries: $30/entry

• Async Debate Event Entries: $30/entry

• Judges: First Missed Ballot - $25 / Subsequent Missed Ballots - $50

• Uncovered IE/Congress Slot (with Tournament Director Approval): $30/slot

• Changes after the entry deadline: $25 per change (subject to tournament director approval) 

• Judge drops within 24 hours of the tournament will be charged a $150 judge no-show fee.  

• Judges who submit incomplete eBallots (with little to no substantive feedback) may be charged a judge no-show fee for failing to complete their judge assignment which includes both ranking the speakers along with giving sufficient comments.

• Delay of tournament fees may be assessed from $20-$100 based on the severity of the delay.

Any schools seeking to buy out of their judging requirements must have approval by the Tournament Director. Please contact us early so we can let you know if we will be able to approve uncovered entries.  

Any judges seeking to be hired by the tournament may register using the judge interest form on the registration page.

Official Rules

For more information about National Online Forensics Tournaments, please consult our by-laws: 

National Online Forensics (NOF) By-Laws