NOF Onyx Invitational

(Click here for the full NOF calendar for 2026-2027 season)

Hosted virtually by National Online Forensics

Dear Forensics Community,

We are excited to welcome you to the National Online Forensics Regular Season online tournaments. These monthly synchronous 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 up to two elimination rounds, 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. Physical awards for competitors with U.S.-based shipping addresses will be shipped as soon as possible after the tournament concludes.

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 competitors may receive Gold, Silver, Bronze, and, where applicable, Honors recognition.

Key Information

• Registration Deadline: 8:00 PM Pacific the Tuesday before each tournament on ForensicsTournament.net
• Judging Requirements: One judge per 5 IE/Congress entries per pattern or 2 debate entries per pattern. Uncovered entries may be allowed at the discretion of the Tournament Director with applicable fees.
• 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 Robert@NationalOnlineForensics.org.

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

Synchronous Tournament Information Schedule

All times are Pacific.

• Round 1: 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
• Round 2: 10:45 AM – 12:15 PM
• Round 3: 12:30 PM – 2:15 PM
• Elim Round 1: 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
• Elim Round 2, if needed: 4:45 PM – 6:00 PM
• Awards: 7:30 PM or ASAP

Events Offered

Elementary Events:

Informative, Persuasive, Assigned Platform, Declamation, Prose, Poetry, Duo Interpretation, Storytelling, Impromptu, SPAR, Public Forum, Congress, NOF Parli, World Schools

Middle School Events:

Informative, Persuasive, Speech to Entertain, Assigned Platform, Declamation, Poetry, Prose, Program Oral Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Storytelling, Dramatic Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Extemp, Impromptu, Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, SPAR, NOF Parli, World Schools, Congress, NOF Mock Trial

High School Events:

Informative, Persuasive, Speech to Entertain, Assigned Platform, Declamation, Original Interpretation, Poetry, Prose, Program Oral Interpretation, Storytelling, Duo Interpretation, Dramatic Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Extemp, Impromptu, SPAR, Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, World Schools, NOF Parli, Congress, NOF Mock Trial

College Events:

Informative, Persuasive, Speech to Entertain, Communication Analysis, Assigned Platform, Dramatic Interpretation, Poetry, Prose, Program Oral Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Extemp, Impromptu, NFA-LD, IPDA, NOF Parli, SPAR

Entry Policies

• Competitors may enter a maximum of three events.
• Competitors entered in a debate event may enter only one debate format and may not enter Individual Events in the same pattern.
• SPAR is treated as an Individual Event for entry, judging, tabulation, and scheduling purposes.
• In small-entry scenarios, like-events may be combined within their category at the discretion of the Tournament Director and consistent with the NOF By-Laws. For example, interpretation events may be combined into a Mixed Interpretation event.

Individual Events

• Three preliminary rounds will be held.
• Elimination rounds will be offered according to the entry thresholds and advancement procedures established in the NOF By-Laws.
• Competitors may enter a maximum of three events.
• Judging Requirement: 1 judge per 5 entries per pattern.
• Prelim Ranking: Ranks / Decimal / Drop High Rank
• Elim Ranking: Total Rank in Event / Number of Firsts in Event / Rank in Elim / Decimal in Elim / Judge Preference in Elim
• Speaker points will not be used.
• Competitors will be recognized with Gold, Silver, Bronze, and, where applicable under the NOF By-Laws, Honors awards.
• SPAR is treated as an Individual Event for entry, judging, tabulation, and scheduling purposes.
• See the NOF By-Laws for more details.

Debate

• Middle School and Elementary School divisions of Lincoln-Douglas and Public Forum will use the NOF debate topic found on the NOF Topics page.

The topic for the April tournament for Elementary and Middle School Public Forum and Lincoln-Douglas is:

The United States ought to require that self-driving cars replace human drivers on public roads.

• High School Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, and Policy will follow the current NSDA topic where those events are offered.
• Preliminary rounds will be randomly paired. Brackets will be broken in elimination rounds as permitted under the NOF By-Laws.
• Elimination rounds will be offered according to the entry thresholds and advancement procedures established in the NOF By-Laws.
• Debate entries are single-entry within their pattern. Competitors entered in debate may not enter Individual Events in the same pattern.
• Judging Requirement: 1 judge per 2 debate entries per pattern.
• Speaker Point Scale: 70–100, except where an event such as World Schools uses its own scoring system.
• Prelim Ranking: Wins / Total Points / High-Low Points / Z Score / Opponent Wins
• Speaker Ranking: Total Points / High-Low Points / Ranks / Wins / Z Score
• The top 15% of speakers will be recognized.
• A 5-minute forfeit rule applies to all debate rounds.
• Competitors will be recognized with Gold, Silver, Bronze, and, where applicable under the NOF By-Laws, Honors awards.
• World Schools and other debate formats with specialized procedures will follow the event-specific rules contained in the NOF By-Laws.
• See the NOF By-Laws for more details.

Congress

• Dockets will be released monthly at NationalOnlineForensics.org.
• Three preliminary rounds will be held. A final round will be held when required under the advancement and chamber procedures established in the NOF By-Laws.
• Competitors may enter a maximum of three events, including Congress.
• Rounds will not be rerun for missed speeches.
• Judging Requirement: 1 judge per 5 Congress entries per pattern.
• Prelim Ranking: Rank Points / Decimal / Drop High Rank Points / Parliamentarian Rank Points
• Elim Ranking: Total Rank in Event / Number of Firsts in Event / Rank Points in Elim / Decimal in Elim / Judge Preference in Elim / Parliamentarian Rank Points in Elim
• Elementary, Middle School, and High School will each have separate preliminary dockets, plus a shared Finals docket. Merged divisions will use shared legislation and the Finals docket as preliminary material as directed by the Tournament Director.
• Competitors will be recognized with Gold, Silver, Bronze, and, where applicable under the NOF By-Laws, Honors awards.
• See the NOF By-Laws for more details.

Awards

• Sweepstakes: Top schools will be recognized in each division: College, High School, Middle School, and Elementary School.
• Competitors receiving Gold, Silver, or Bronze recognition with a U.S.-based shipping address will receive physical awards following the conclusion of the tournament and receipt of tournament fees. Competitors outside the United States will receive recognition for their accomplishments, which may include digital certificates or other forms of recognition.
• Address Verification: Coaches with U.S.-based shipping addresses will be asked to confirm their shipping address during registration. Please contact the Tournament Director as soon as possible if awards should be shipped to a different U.S.-based address than the address on file. Additional shipping costs may be assessed if an incorrect address is supplied.

Judging

• Judging Requirements: One judge per 5 IE/Congress entries per pattern or 2 debate entries per pattern.
• Schools that are unable to provide the required number of judges may request approval from the Tournament Director to pay an uncovered-entry fee instead. Please contact the Tournament Director as early as possible to make this request.
• Judges may be assigned 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 with minimal or no substantive feedback may incur a judge no-show fee.

Fees

• School Fee: $50
• Individual Event Entry: $25
• Duo Interpretation: $45
• Congress: $30
• Debate, 1-person: $50
• Debate, 2-person: $60
• World Schools: $75

Judging & Admin Fees

• Missed Ballots: $25 for the first missed ballot / $50 for each additional missed ballot
• Uncovered IE/Congress Slot: $35 with Tournament Director approval
• Uncovered Debate Team: $125 with Tournament Director approval
• Entry Changes after Deadline: $25 per change with Tournament Director approval
• Judge Drops within 24 hours: $150
• Incomplete eBallots: May result in judge no-show fees
• Tournament Delays, depending on the violation: $20–$100
• Competitor No-Shows without prior notice: $35