Grand National Tournament Qualification Procedures
1. Introduction.
The Charlotte Speech and Debate Points Race ("the Points Race") is a season-long competition for speech & debate competitors of member schools of the NCFL speech and debate league ("the league") for the Diocese of Charlotte ("the diocese"), which covers western North Carolina and the Carolina West NSDA District, including (but not limited to) the metropolitan areas of Asheville, Charlotte, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem and their surrounding counties. Student competitors earn points based on their competition results in open/varsity level speech & debate events hosted at tournaments within the geographic area of the diocese. At the end of the competition season, the top ranking students will qualify to attend the Grand National Tournament hosted by the NCFL. The number of qualifiers in each event is dependent on the number of active schools in the league.
2. School eligibility.
All secondary public, private, and home schools located in the geographic area of the diocese and/or the Carolina West NSDA District are eligible.
3. Presumption of school eligibility.
All schools located within the diocese who compete at tournaments within the diocese are presumed to be league members, and their students will be included in the rankings, unless they fail to join the NCFL by the Spring deadline.
4. School withdrawal.
All schools who fail to join the NCFL by the Spring deadline will have all their students withdrawn from the rankings.
A coach may voluntarily remove his/her school from the rankings at any time prior to that date by notifying the league moderator.
Once withdrawn, a school may not reenter the Points Race for the season.
5. Student eligibility.
All student competitors in grades 9-12 of member schools who compete in an eligible event at an eligible tournament will be included in the Points Race.
6. Student/team withdrawal.
A coach may voluntarily remove one or more of his/her students/teams from the rankings at any time by notifying the league moderator.
Students who do not intend to attend the Grand National Tournament, if they qualify, should withdraw and have their coaches report their withdrawal as soon as possible.
A student who transfers to a school outside of the diocese will be withdrawn.
Once withdrawn, a student/team may not reenter the Points Race for the season.
7. Event eligibility.
The event must be similar to an NCFL event in name and have approximately the same rules (for example, Program Oral Interpretation shall qualify for OI), and be classified as the open or varsity division and have at least seven entries in the event at the particular tournament and have at least three rounds of competition (two sessions for Congress) requirement.
The event must be held at three tournaments in which the entry requirement is met in order for the league to offer qualifying slots for the event.
Students must enter the event representing their school. No points are earned for independent entry.
For Dramatic Performance, both open/varsity Dramatic Interpretation and Humorous Interpretation are eligible.
The NCFL events are:
8. Tournament eligibility.
All formal open entry speech & debate tournaments for high school competitors held within the geographic area of the diocese that host eligible events and are attended by at least three schools from the diocese, excluding the Carolina West NSDA District Tournament and the Tarheel Forensic League State Championship Tournament.
Tournaments must be held between the first weekend of September through the 2nd weekend of March ("the season").
Informal tournaments or scrimmages are not eligible.
9. Earning points.
Points are earned by each competitor/team based upon his/her/their rank at the end of all rounds, including elimination rounds, of each eligible event at each eligible tournament. Using the official results from each tournament, competitors/teams from non-eligible schools are removed from the results, leaving the competitors/teams of eligible schools ranked against each other in each event. Using these revised ranks, the top six ranking competitors/teams in each event will receive the following points:
In the event of ties, all competitors/teams tied will receive the higher points. For example, if there are two competitors tied for 3rd place, both will receive 5 points. The next placing competitor will be 5th and will receive 3 points. All other eligible competitors/teams will receive 1 point in that event for their participation.
If a tournament offers double entry in both Dramatic Interpretation and Humorous Interpretation, the best rank between those two events at that tournament will be used for the points to assign to the Dramatic Performance ranking.
Points earned as a team may only be applied to that team.
Only freshmen and sophomores may earn points for Declamation. If a tournament allows upperclassmen to compete in Declamation, those competitors will be removed from the event calculations of ranks and points.
10. Accumulating points.
Points are additive and are accumulated throughout the competition season up to a maximum of a designated number of tournaments (MAXT). If a competitor/team competes at more than MAXT, the tournaments with his/her/their MAXT highest point totals in a particular event will be used in the Points Race calculation for the event.
For tournaments above MAXT for a particular competitor/team that are not included in his/her/their Point Race calculation, the competitor's/team's ranks will still be included in the calculations for those tournaments and, thus, still influence the points earned by competitors/teams ranking below him/her/them at those tournaments.
MAXT will be determined by the total number of open/varsity level tournaments held in the geographic region of the diocese each academic year for each event. The formula is:
1-2 Tournaments: MAXT 1
3-4 Tournaments: MAXT 2
5-6 Tournaments: MAXT 3
7-9 Tournaments: MAXT 4
Because some tournaments might not offer all the qualifying events, it is possible that MAXT may differ per event.
The value of MAXT will be based on completed eligible tournaments, not on the estimated eligible tournaments for the competition season. Therefore, the incremental published rankings will be based on a MAXT value that starts at the value of one after the first tournament, and increments upward only as tournaments are held and completed.
11. Breaking ties.
12. Minimum participation.
Competitors/teams only need to compete in one eligible event at one eligible tournament to be included in the Points Race.
13. Grand National Tournament qualification.
The final top ranking competitors/teams in each event will qualify to compete at the Grand National Tournament. The number of qualifiers depends on the number of active schools in the league. This number will be published on the CFL of Charlotte Rankings page on or before January 10 of the given school year.
5 Schools: 1 Qualifier in Each Event
6-10 Schools: 2 Qualifiers in Each Event
11-15 Schools: 3 Qualifiers in Each Event
16-20 Schools: 4 Qualifiers in Each Event
21-25 Schools: 5 Qualifiers in Each Event
26 or More Schools: 6 Qualifiers in Each Event
14. Grand National Tournament single entry.
Preferably prior to the end of the season, but required within seven school days of the publishing of the final rankings, students who qualify in multiple events must declare which event they will compete in at the Grand National Tournament. This declaration must be sent to the league moderator by the student's coach. Failure to meet this requirement will result in the student being withdrawn.
The single entry requirement does not affect the ranks and points earned by the student in other events. The student's ranks will still be included in the calculations for those events and, thus, still influence the points earned by competitors/teams ranking below him/her at those tournaments.
15. Written commitment to attend the Grand National Tournament.
All students who qualify for the Grand National Tournament must have a commitment form signed and returned to the league moderator within seven school days of the publishing of the final ranks. Failure to meet this requirement will result in the student being withdrawn.
16. No independent entry.
Students must enter and compete at the Grand National Tournament representing their school.
17. Grand National Tournament competitor/team replacement.
If a qualifying competitor/team for the Grand National Tournament withdraws after the final rankings are published, the next ranking competitor/team will be offered the slot. The competitor/team will have three school days to return the commitment form, otherwise the opportunity will be offered to the next ranking competitor/team, and so on.
18. Publication of the Points Race.
The rankings of the top eight competitors/teams in each event will be updated and published within seven school days after each tournament. Invoices will be sent out to the schools within seven days of the publishing of the final ranks.
19. Audit and protest.
Coaches are welcome to audit the calculations at any time.
Coaches will have seven school days to protest the final ranking. The league will resolve that protest within seven school days.
20. Unfilled slots.
If there are events with unfilled qualification slots at the end of the season, the Board of Directors of the league shall have discretion to choose competitors to fill those slots.
21. Rule interpretation by the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors of the league shall be the sole authority to provide the final interpretation of these rules and to address situations not identified herein. The league moderator shall break any tie votes of the Board of Directors.
The Charlotte Speech and Debate Points Race ("the Points Race") is a season-long competition for speech & debate competitors of member schools of the NCFL speech and debate league ("the league") for the Diocese of Charlotte ("the diocese"), which covers western North Carolina and the Carolina West NSDA District, including (but not limited to) the metropolitan areas of Asheville, Charlotte, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem and their surrounding counties. Student competitors earn points based on their competition results in open/varsity level speech & debate events hosted at tournaments within the geographic area of the diocese. At the end of the competition season, the top ranking students will qualify to attend the Grand National Tournament hosted by the NCFL. The number of qualifiers in each event is dependent on the number of active schools in the league.
2. School eligibility.
All secondary public, private, and home schools located in the geographic area of the diocese and/or the Carolina West NSDA District are eligible.
3. Presumption of school eligibility.
All schools located within the diocese who compete at tournaments within the diocese are presumed to be league members, and their students will be included in the rankings, unless they fail to join the NCFL by the Spring deadline.
4. School withdrawal.
All schools who fail to join the NCFL by the Spring deadline will have all their students withdrawn from the rankings.
A coach may voluntarily remove his/her school from the rankings at any time prior to that date by notifying the league moderator.
Once withdrawn, a school may not reenter the Points Race for the season.
5. Student eligibility.
All student competitors in grades 9-12 of member schools who compete in an eligible event at an eligible tournament will be included in the Points Race.
6. Student/team withdrawal.
A coach may voluntarily remove one or more of his/her students/teams from the rankings at any time by notifying the league moderator.
Students who do not intend to attend the Grand National Tournament, if they qualify, should withdraw and have their coaches report their withdrawal as soon as possible.
A student who transfers to a school outside of the diocese will be withdrawn.
Once withdrawn, a student/team may not reenter the Points Race for the season.
7. Event eligibility.
The event must be similar to an NCFL event in name and have approximately the same rules (for example, Program Oral Interpretation shall qualify for OI), and be classified as the open or varsity division and have at least seven entries in the event at the particular tournament and have at least three rounds of competition (two sessions for Congress) requirement.
The event must be held at three tournaments in which the entry requirement is met in order for the league to offer qualifying slots for the event.
Students must enter the event representing their school. No points are earned for independent entry.
For Dramatic Performance, both open/varsity Dramatic Interpretation and Humorous Interpretation are eligible.
The NCFL events are:
- Dramatic Performance
- Duo Interpretation of Literature
- Extemporaneous Speaking
- Oral Interpretation of Literature
- Oratorical Declamation (freshmen and sophomores only)
- Original Oratory
- Lincoln-Douglas Debate
- Public Forum Debate
- Policy Debate
- Student Congress
8. Tournament eligibility.
All formal open entry speech & debate tournaments for high school competitors held within the geographic area of the diocese that host eligible events and are attended by at least three schools from the diocese, excluding the Carolina West NSDA District Tournament and the Tarheel Forensic League State Championship Tournament.
Tournaments must be held between the first weekend of September through the 2nd weekend of March ("the season").
Informal tournaments or scrimmages are not eligible.
9. Earning points.
Points are earned by each competitor/team based upon his/her/their rank at the end of all rounds, including elimination rounds, of each eligible event at each eligible tournament. Using the official results from each tournament, competitors/teams from non-eligible schools are removed from the results, leaving the competitors/teams of eligible schools ranked against each other in each event. Using these revised ranks, the top six ranking competitors/teams in each event will receive the following points:
- 1st Rank: 7 Points
- 2nd Rank: 6 Points
- 3rd Rank: 5 Points
- 4th Rank: 4 Points
- 5th Rank: 3 Points
- 6th Rank: 2 Points
In the event of ties, all competitors/teams tied will receive the higher points. For example, if there are two competitors tied for 3rd place, both will receive 5 points. The next placing competitor will be 5th and will receive 3 points. All other eligible competitors/teams will receive 1 point in that event for their participation.
If a tournament offers double entry in both Dramatic Interpretation and Humorous Interpretation, the best rank between those two events at that tournament will be used for the points to assign to the Dramatic Performance ranking.
Points earned as a team may only be applied to that team.
Only freshmen and sophomores may earn points for Declamation. If a tournament allows upperclassmen to compete in Declamation, those competitors will be removed from the event calculations of ranks and points.
10. Accumulating points.
Points are additive and are accumulated throughout the competition season up to a maximum of a designated number of tournaments (MAXT). If a competitor/team competes at more than MAXT, the tournaments with his/her/their MAXT highest point totals in a particular event will be used in the Points Race calculation for the event.
For tournaments above MAXT for a particular competitor/team that are not included in his/her/their Point Race calculation, the competitor's/team's ranks will still be included in the calculations for those tournaments and, thus, still influence the points earned by competitors/teams ranking below him/her/them at those tournaments.
MAXT will be determined by the total number of open/varsity level tournaments held in the geographic region of the diocese each academic year for each event. The formula is:
- Where the total number of tournaments is seven or less, use one-half the total number of tournaments rounded up;
- Otherwise use one-half the total number of tournaments rounded down.
1-2 Tournaments: MAXT 1
3-4 Tournaments: MAXT 2
5-6 Tournaments: MAXT 3
7-9 Tournaments: MAXT 4
Because some tournaments might not offer all the qualifying events, it is possible that MAXT may differ per event.
The value of MAXT will be based on completed eligible tournaments, not on the estimated eligible tournaments for the competition season. Therefore, the incremental published rankings will be based on a MAXT value that starts at the value of one after the first tournament, and increments upward only as tournaments are held and completed.
11. Breaking ties.
- The lowest point result of the MAXT tournaments for each tied competitor/team will be dropped from the accumulated points. If a tie still exists,
- The highest point result of the MAXT tournaments for each tied competitor/team will be dropped from the accumulated points. If a tie still exists,
- Weighting the original point results by the number of diocesan competitors/teams in the particular event at each tournament. If a tie still exists,
- Ignoring the MAXT restriction, the total number of eligible tournaments competed in the event by each tied competitor/team. If a tie still exists,
- School year: seniors over juniors over sophomores over freshmen. If a tie still exists,
- A randomization methodology.
12. Minimum participation.
Competitors/teams only need to compete in one eligible event at one eligible tournament to be included in the Points Race.
13. Grand National Tournament qualification.
The final top ranking competitors/teams in each event will qualify to compete at the Grand National Tournament. The number of qualifiers depends on the number of active schools in the league. This number will be published on the CFL of Charlotte Rankings page on or before January 10 of the given school year.
5 Schools: 1 Qualifier in Each Event
6-10 Schools: 2 Qualifiers in Each Event
11-15 Schools: 3 Qualifiers in Each Event
16-20 Schools: 4 Qualifiers in Each Event
21-25 Schools: 5 Qualifiers in Each Event
26 or More Schools: 6 Qualifiers in Each Event
14. Grand National Tournament single entry.
Preferably prior to the end of the season, but required within seven school days of the publishing of the final rankings, students who qualify in multiple events must declare which event they will compete in at the Grand National Tournament. This declaration must be sent to the league moderator by the student's coach. Failure to meet this requirement will result in the student being withdrawn.
The single entry requirement does not affect the ranks and points earned by the student in other events. The student's ranks will still be included in the calculations for those events and, thus, still influence the points earned by competitors/teams ranking below him/her at those tournaments.
15. Written commitment to attend the Grand National Tournament.
All students who qualify for the Grand National Tournament must have a commitment form signed and returned to the league moderator within seven school days of the publishing of the final ranks. Failure to meet this requirement will result in the student being withdrawn.
16. No independent entry.
Students must enter and compete at the Grand National Tournament representing their school.
17. Grand National Tournament competitor/team replacement.
If a qualifying competitor/team for the Grand National Tournament withdraws after the final rankings are published, the next ranking competitor/team will be offered the slot. The competitor/team will have three school days to return the commitment form, otherwise the opportunity will be offered to the next ranking competitor/team, and so on.
18. Publication of the Points Race.
The rankings of the top eight competitors/teams in each event will be updated and published within seven school days after each tournament. Invoices will be sent out to the schools within seven days of the publishing of the final ranks.
19. Audit and protest.
Coaches are welcome to audit the calculations at any time.
Coaches will have seven school days to protest the final ranking. The league will resolve that protest within seven school days.
20. Unfilled slots.
If there are events with unfilled qualification slots at the end of the season, the Board of Directors of the league shall have discretion to choose competitors to fill those slots.
21. Rule interpretation by the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors of the league shall be the sole authority to provide the final interpretation of these rules and to address situations not identified herein. The league moderator shall break any tie votes of the Board of Directors.
