Question 1

How many tournaments a year are there?

Accepted Answer

There are six tournaments in the regular season, not including invitationals, generally one each month between September and February. There are two regional championships in late Winter/early Spring, and two national championships, one in late May and one in early/mid June. All tournaments--except the national championships and any invitationals--take place in Maryland, at various schools across the state, or virtually through Tabroom.com.

Question 2

How are tournaments run?

Accepted Answer

Tournaments during the regular season usually run from about 7:00am to 7:00pm on six Saturdays every academic year. There are three rounds of competition at each of these tournaments. That means, for example, that a debater will do three debates during the day, each against a different opponent and before a different judge. When all rounds are concluded, there is an awards ceremony for the best-performing competitors in each event.

Question 3

Is there transportation to tournaments?

Accepted Answer

Yes! For most tournaments taking place outside of Howard County but within Maryland, a bus is provided through HCPSS. The bus leaves from Howard HS and will take students to the tournament and back. When the tournament finishes, the bus will collect the students to take them back to Howard HS.

That being said, there are limited number of seats on the bus(es) that must be shared by schools throughout the county. Among those seats allocated to Reservoir, availability is generally first-come, first-served.
 
Additionally, transportation to national championships and invitationals are usually at your own expense. While the team will do what it can to assist, and while sometimes transportation will be paid for by the school system, transportation to these events is not guaranteed.

Question 4

How are speech events judged?

Accepted Answer

Most tournaments have three rounds of competiton. During each round, competitors will be grouped into "rooms" based on their event. A room will have six or seven competitors who will take turns performing in front of the judge. Each round will have a different judge and a different group of competitors in each room. The judge will rank the performances so that the best performance is ranked 1, the next best is ranked 2, the next best is ranked 3, and so forth. Much like in golf, lower scores are better. 
 
After the tournament's three rounds, a contestant who has earned a total score of 3 or 4 will earn a gold medal. A contestant who has earned a total score of 5 or 6 will earn a silver medal. And a contestant who has earned a total score of 7 will recieve an honorable mention. There are no bronze medals in speech events.

Question 5

How are debate events judged?

Accepted Answer

Each tournament has three rounds of competiton. For each round, a debater or team of debaters will be paired against a different opponent and will debate in front of a different judge. The judge will listen to the debate and choose a winner. A judge will generally decide the winner of a debate by evaluating the argumentation in the round independent of the debaters' speaking abilities.
 
The judge will also assign speaker points after they have chosen a winner. Speaker points range from a customary minimum of 20 to an absolute maximum of 30. Speaker points are used to determine the quality of each debater's performance as well as the size of the defeat. For example, a round with a 26-25 split indicates a competitive round (only 1 point difference) in which both debaters were average. A round with a 29-25 split indicates a noncompetitive round (a 4 point difference) in which one debater was spectacular and the other was average. The rules usually require that the winner recieve more or equal speaker points to the loser, so that there are no "low point wins."
 
After the tournament's three rounds are completed, any debater who has won all three of their debates will earn a medal. The undefeated debater with the highest total speaker points at that tournament will earn gold. The undefeated debater with the next highest total speaker points will earn silver. All other undefeated debaters will earn bronze.
 
[This information applies to LD, Policy/CX, and PF debate. Student Congress and World Schools use a different judging system.]

Question 6

Who can watch me compete?

Accepted Answer

In debate, it is typically only you, your opponent, and your judge who will watch your round. Rarely, other people may ask to watch your round. However, you have the right to ask any observers to leave, and you are encouraged to do so if their presence makes you uncomfortable. Any potential observer must have the permission of both debaters and the judge in order to watch.
 
In speech, except for Impromptu, it is normal for your judge and your competitors in that round to watch your performances. You may, of course, watch their performances as well. Observing is a great way to get ideas for enhancing and developing your own performances. If any other individuals (besides the competitors scheduled in that room and the judge) want to observe, you have the right to ask those other individuals to leave, and you are encouraged to do so if their presence makes you uncomfortable. 
 
In Impromptu, competitors are prohibited from observing one another, in order to preserve the secrecy of the topics on which they will be asked to speak. Non-competitors may observe under certain restrictions; however, you have the right to ask any non-competitor observers to leave, and you are encouraged to do so if their presence makes you uncomfortable.

Question 7

How many events can I enter?

Accepted Answer

League rules allow you to do up to four events at a particular tournament. However, there are some exceptions to that rule. If you are competing in a debate or partner event, you cannot do more than 2 other events at the same tournament. You cannot do more than one debate or partner event at the same tournament. And, you cannot do a debate event and a partner event at the same tournament. There are other considerations which may apply as well.
 
League rules notwithstanding, for new RHS teammembers, the team will generally not enter first-year competitors in more than one event per tournament (or two events, if one of those two events is Impromptu) until you have attended at least three tournaments. This policy is in place for three reasons: to ensure that new competitors don't spread themselves too thin, to give them a firm anchoring in at least one event before they begin to branch out, and to give them an idea of how tournaments and events are run before multi-entering.

Question 8

What do you wear to a tournament?

Accepted Answer

The dress code is business attire. Business attire is professional, formal, and seemly. Clothing should be appropriate for a workplace environment. Mostly, just use your commonsense about what to wear and what not to wear and you should be fine. 
 
For men, business attire means a suit and tie. If a suit is not an option, a vest and tie, shirt and sports jacket, or shirt and tie are totally acceptable. If none of these are possible, dress as nicely and as formally as possible. Ties should not be in distracting, mismatching, or vulgar prints.
 
For women, business attire means pant suits or skirt suits. If these are not an option, polished separates in monochromes or non-distracting prints are totally acceptable. If none of these are possible, dress as nicely and as formally as possible. Clothes should not be too tight or revealing.

Judges are instructed not to factor competitors' attire into their decisions. As far as the team is concerned, all that is asked of students is that dress as nicely as they reasonably can given their budget and circumstances.

Question 9

How do you deal with nerves?

Accepted Answer

The honest answer is that it gets easier over time, but the nerves never really go away completely. The nerves become less and less scary every time you overcome them by stepping into a round and doing your thing. Win or lose, just being there and trying is a victory.
 
Nevertheless, there are several things you can do to help you deal with nerves. First, prepare diligently. If you feel prepared, then you'll have more confidence to perform. Second, breathe and relax. Take time in-between rounds to play cards or chat with friends. Inhale, go on a walk, and take your mind off the stress for a few minutes. Third, remember that no one is going to criticize you for not doing well. No one on the team is going to hold it against you, because we've all been there. We have all had those tournaments where nothing went our way. We get it, and we support you.

Fourth, get some sleep. Feeling well rested and alive make a world of difference. Fifth, psyche yourself up. If your nervous, picture yourself winning. Give yourself a pep talk, and commit to manifesting that vision. Finally, remember that your first few tournaments are low-stakes. If you're in a novice/JV event, then your opponent is probably just as new as you are. And even if your ultimate goal is to qualify to states (though it might be just to become a better speaker!) you have 6 tournaments to do that, and only three of them count. It's okay if you have a rough couple of tournaments at the beginning of your speech and debate career.

Question 10

Is there a JV division?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but only for debate. In debate, JV (also commonly called "novice") is available for anyone who has not already competed in Varsity. It is common for our team's debaters to compete at 2-3 tournaments in the JV/novice division before they move up to Varsity. Rarely does anyone spend a full year in JV.
 
In speech, while there is no JV division, there is an event which is exclusively for freshmen and sophomores. This event--Oratorical Declamation (or "Dec" for short)--is a great way for new competitors to get introduced to speech. For more on Dec, check out our Events page!

Question 11

How do I qualify for the BCFL Metro Championship?

Accepted Answer

Generally, the top 16 competitors in every event will be invited to attend the Baltimore Metro Championships. Spots among the top 16 will be determined by each contestant's best 3 tournament performances in an event. This means that if you attend four tournaments in an event, only your best three results will count towards Metros. It is possible to qualify for and compete in more than one event at Metros.
 
If you compete in an event at fewer than three tournaments, you are not eligible to qualify for Metros in that event, no matter how well you did. For debaters, tournaments in which you competed in the novice/JV division will not count towards the three tournaments you need to be eligible for states. 
 
If one of the top 16 is unable to attend Metros for any reason, the next person in line (i.e. the 17th best competitor) will be invited to attend. Historically, at least a few events are forced to invite alternates to compete each year due to one of the top 16 being unavailable.
 
Finally, it is generally a good idea to compete in as many tournaments as possible if your goal is to qualify to Metros. Attending more tournaments increases your odds of having good tournaments, and hedges your bets against bad tournaments.

Question 12

How does the BCFL Metro Championship work, and how do I qualify for Nationals?

Accepted Answer

For debate, States runs like March Madness (if you're into basketball). All debaters are organized into a bracket (the upper tier) based on their season ranking, with higher ranked debaters facing lower ranked opponents. One loss eliminates you from the upper tier of the bracket, moving you to the lower tier where higher ranked opponents will continue to debate lower ranked ones. Two losses eliminates you from the tournament. The champion is the only debater left undefeated. To ensure fairness, instead of their being one judge in each round, there will be three, with two judges' votes needed to win any round. If you're wondering what this set-up looks like, here is the bracket from the 2017-2018 LD season:

For speech, all competitors will have a chance to perform twice. Each round will consist of rooms with a more or less even mix of higher ranked and lower ranked competitors. After these two rounds, the 6 contestants who recieved the highest scores will advance to a final round, from which the best-scoring contestant will be named the champion.

In both debate and speech, the top 6 competitors in each event will qualify to compete at the national championship. In debate, the qualifiers are the final four of the upper tier and the surviving two of the lower tier. In speech, the qualifiers are those who make the final round. Importantly, a competitor can only attend nationals in one event. If a competitor qualifies to nationals in more than one event, they must choose which event they wish to compete in at nationals. If one of the original qualifiers is unable to attend nationals for any reason, the next person in line will be invited to attend instead.

[This information applies only to the qualification process for the NCFL Grand National Championship, not the NSDA National Tournament]

Question 13

Do all events go to Nationals?

Accepted Answer

Sadly, not all events are offered at the National Championship. "Supplemental" speech events terminate at the state level, meaning that the highest honor one can achieve in those events is State Champion. There are only two supplemental speech events offered by our league: Impromptu and Children's Literature.

Additionally, World Schools is only offered at the NSDA National Tournament, not the NCFL Grand National Championship. All other events besides these exceptions, are offered at the National Championship.

Question 14

How does Nationals work?

Accepted Answer

Nationals is held every year over Memorial Day weekend in late May. Competitors usually arrive Friday, compete on Saturday and Sunday, and leave on Monday.
 
In debate, all debaters are guaranteed five rounds of competition on Saturday. Any teams which have a 4 or more wins at the end of Saturday will advance into Sunday's sudden death rounds, during which higher ranked debaters will face off against lower ranked ones moving along a bracket. The champion will be the only debater without any defeats on Sunday.
 
In speech, all contestants are guaranteed four rounds of competition on Saturday. The top 48 contestants in each event at the end of Saturday will advance into Sunday's rounds. After each round on Sunday, half of the remaining contestants will be eliminated until only the top 6 remain in the final. The winner of the final will become the National Champion in their event.
 
Each year, a different city will host nationals, giving different leagues and states an opportunity to bring the event to their area. About 215 students from across the country will compete in each event at Nationals, meaning that about 2,150 competitors total will be in attendance. As a bonus, additional celebrations--including the National Award Ceremony and the Postings Party--will be open to competitors, coaches, and family.

[This information applies only to the NCFL Grand National Championship, not the NSDA National Tournament]

Question 15

What leagues do you compete in?

Accepted Answer

Our team primarily competes in the National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL) and its local affiliate the Baltimore Catholic Forensic League (BCFL). Despite its name, it is open to all schools and to people of all religions. It was originally founded by a network of Catholic schools, but has long since expanded to include schools of all affiliations.
 
We also also compete in the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA), formerly known as the National Forensic League (NFL), which offers a nationally recognized honor society in which students can enroll. The NSDA's local affiliate is the Chesapeake District.

Frequently asked questions