Dear Colleagues:

The Point Loma Nazarene University forensics squad is pleased to invite you to our annual SUNSET CLIFFS CLASSIC Invitational forensics tournament. The tournament will be Friday through Sunday, October 23-25, 2026. We hope you can come enjoy our beautiful seaside campus and the typically sunny weather, nicely conditioned with an ocean breeze.

We will offer open and novice division competition in all eleven AFA individual events (collapsing some events and/or divisions, should numbers so dictate); preliminary rounds of Novice, Junior and Senior divisions of IPDA (5), TPDA(4) and NPDA(4) Parliamentary Debate with appropriate elimination rounds; four preliminary rounds of junior and senior divisions of NFA LD debate if numbers allow. We will not be able to offer BP this year though. Elimination rounds are planned for all events of course.

• British Parliamentary Debate Note: This year we will not be able to offer British Parliamentary Debate

• Topic Areas and Recommendations: You are encouraged to provide a list of debatable, balanced resolutions for tab staff to consider for all formats of parliamentary debate. There are often ballot issues on the California ballot during this time frame, so some of those topics may be debated in various events.

• Some noteworthy attractions of the Sunset Cliffs Classic include:

• Strong competition.

• A picturesque ocean front campus.

• Two $5,000.00 scholarships for the top community college competitors (one each for debate & IE’s) for tuition remission at PLNU the following year if accepted by our admissions.

• Attractive trophies.

• Enjoyable food nearby, and especially in the judge’s area for judges and coaches.

• We attempt to honor the rules and traditions of the governing bodies for these events, so for example we will not break brackets in IPDA and TPDA, and phones cannot be used in rounds for any reason, even time keeping in IPDA and TPDA. Although we will veer from the NPDA national organization’s custom/rules and will not allow electronic data devices to be used in NPDA debate rounds to honor PSCFA and Phi Rho Pi protocols. Phones can be used to keep time in NPDA though, and for no other reason. In NPDA brackets are broken. We will also allow group coaching in debate.

• IPDA, TPDA, AND NPDA DEBATE ROUNDS WILL ALTERNATE RATHER THAN RUN ON SEPARATE DAYS. THIS HELPS FOR MORE ROUNDS AND POWER MATCHING.

• INDIVIDUAL EVENTS: For IE teams, please note that rounds will be Friday only and starting late enough for LA Friends to come join us for the day.

Please let me know of any questions or concerns.

Dr. Skip Rutledge, Director of Forensics

skiprutledge@pointloma.edu

Cell (619) 655-0112