Regular Season Tournaments Invitation

Dear Forensics Community,

We are excited to welcome you to the National Online Forensics Regular Season online tournaments. These monthly synchronous and asynchronous competitions are a fantastic way to prepare your students for Nationals and provide additional rounds for team members throughout the year. With a condensed schedule of three preliminary rounds and one final, competitors get high-quality practice without spending the entire day waiting for rounds. Plus, with $0 travel costs, these tournaments are both convenient and cost-effective. Run by experienced tournament directors, our events are among the best online tournaments your competitors will attend.

Tournaments are offered across all grade levels—from kindergarten to college—in a wide variety of events. Our highly qualified tournament staff is committed to delivering a smooth, engaging day of competition. The schedule takes only half a day to complete (see schedule here), and winners receive Bronze, Silver, or Gold medals.

Key Information

• Registration Deadline: 8:00 PM Pacific the Tuesday before each tournament on ForensicsTournament.net

• Judging Requirements: One judge per 5 IE entries per pattern / 2 debate teams. Uncovered entries may be allowed at the discretion of the Tournament Director with applicable fees.

• Technology: Synchronous tournaments use video conferencing. See the Best Practices section of this invitation for guidance on preparing to compete online.

• Rules: The complete set of NOF rules is available here.

We hope you and your team will join us throughout the year. For questions, please email us at info@nationalonlineforensics.org.

Sincerely,
Robert Cannon, Danny Cantrell & Alexandra Smith
National Online Forensics

2024-2025 Synchronous Information 

Schedule (Pacific Time)

• Round 1: 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

• Round 2: 11:45 AM – 1:15 PM

• Round 3: 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM

• Elim Round 1: 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM

• Elim Round 2 (if needed): 4:45 PM – 6:00 PM

• Awards: 6:30 PM (earlier if possible)

Events offered:

Entry Policies

• Competitors may triple-enter in IE events (except Extemp, which is limited to double-entry).

• Competitors may enter only one debate format and no IE events if entered in debate.

• In small-entry scenarios, events may be combined within their category (e.g., “Interp” events).

Individual Events

• Three prelim rounds; one final (two elims if entries exceed 30).

• Entry Limit: 3 events per competitor (Extemp limited to 2).

• Judging Requirement: 1 judge per 5 entries.

• Prelim Ranking: Ranks / Decimal / Drop High Rank

• Elim Ranking: Total Rank / # of 1sts / Elim Rank / Elim Decimal / Judge Pref

• No speaker points will be used.

• Competitors will be recognized with Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honors awards.

• See the NOF Bylaws for more details.

Debate

• LD, PF, and Policy will follow the current NSDA topic.

• Prelims are randomly paired; brackets broken in elims.

• One final round (two if entries exceed 30).

• Debate entries are single-entry only.

• Judging Requirement: 1 judge per 2 debate entries.

• Speaker Point Scale: 70–100

• Prelim Ranking: Wins / Total Points / HL Points / Z Score / Opp Wins

• Speaker Ranking: Total Points / HL Points / Ranks / Z Score

• Top speakers (top 15%) will be recognized.

• A 5-minute forfeit rule applies to all debate rounds.

• Awards: Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honors

• See NOF Bylaws for more.

Congress

• Dockets released monthly at NationalOnlineForensics.org.

• Three prelim rounds; a final if entries require multiple chambers.

• Entry Limit: 3 IE/Congress events (Extemp limited to 2).

• Rounds will not be rerun for missed speeches.

• Judging Requirement: 1 judge per 5 entries.

• Prelim Ranking: Cume Rank / Cume Decimal / Adjusted Rank / Parli Rank

• Elim Ranking: Total Rank / # of 1sts / Rank Points / Decimal / Judge Pref / Parli Rank

• Elementary, Middle, and High School will each have separate prelim dockets, plus a shared Finals docket. Merged divisions will use the shared bills and the Finals docket as prelim material.

• Awards: Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honors

• See NOF Bylaws for more.

Awards

• Sweepstakes: Top schools recognized in each division (college, high school, middle, elementary).

• Physical Awards: Shipped to coaches following the tournament.

• Address Verification: Coaches confirm shipping address during registration. Additional charges may apply if an incorrect address is provided.

Judging

• Uncovered Entries: Must be approved by the Tournament Director in advance.

• Judges may be asked to accept ballots outside their registered events. Flexibility is appreciated.

• Judges must remain in the Judges Room until dismissed or until their ballot is picked up via email.

• Incomplete eBallots (minimal or no feedback) may incur a judge no-show fee.

Fees

• School Fee: $50

• Individual IE: $25

• DUO: $45

• Congress: $30

• Debate (1-person): $50

• Debate (2-person): $60

• Debate (Worlds): $75

Judging & Admin Fees

• Missed Ballots: $25 (first) / $50 (each additional)

• Uncovered IE/Congress Slot: $35 (with approval)

• Uncovered Debate Team: $125 (with approval)

• Entry Changes after Deadline: $25/change (with approval)

• Judge Drops within 24 hours: $150

• Incomplete eBallots: May result in judge no-show fees

• Tournament Delays (caused by school): $20–$100

• Competitor No-Shows (without notice): $35