We compete in two leagues:
Despite the name, the PCFL has no religious component. Tournaments are typically Saturdays and feature 3 rounds (2 of CX).
The "post-season" tournaments qualify the top 6 in each event to the National Catholic Forensics League Grand National Tournament in May. Recent and upcoming host cities include Milwaukee (2019), Chicago (2020 oops), Minneapolis (2021), Washington, DC (2022), Louisville, KY (2023).
Students MUST compete at a PCFL tournament in order to attend national qualifiers by league rule. Team rule includes participation at two PCFL tournaments. See Mr. Kahn if you think you are worthy of an exception.
EVENTS: Policy, LD, PF, Congress, DEC, DP, DUO, EX, OI, OO
See Qualifier Rules for special rules followed at national quals.
Formerly the NFL, NSDA is a national league, but has no local tournament besides the qualifier in March. The top 2 in the district (eastern PA) spend a week in June in a place like Birmingham, Kansas City, Dallas, or Indianapolis. The national tournament also includes a few consolation events besides your regular event.
See Qualifier Rules for special rules followed at national quals.
EVENTS: Policy, LD, PF, Congress, DI, HI, DUO, EX (split into US and International at quals and nationals), OO, INF, POI
Non-league tournaments are called invitationals; confusingly, any school can attend an invitational, but only member schools are invited to league tournaments. Some follow CFL rules and some follow NSDA rules; some follow a mix depending on which events they have. Especially if you do Prose/Poetry/POI, you should pay attention.
Some tournaments also have special events like Radio Announcing, Impromptu, Extemp Commentary, and more.
The Pennsylvania High School Speech League is our state's tournament. It is horrible, and we are not a member.
Rules and dates for qualifying to nationals:
Grand National Tournament: May 27-31, 2021, Minneapolis, MN
Qualifiers: February 27 - PCFL Finals (William Tennent HS)
Requirements: must participate in two PCFL-sponsored tournaments, one in the event category (by league rule)
Limits: two entries per event per school
National Tournament: June 13-20, 2021, Des Moines, IA
Qualifiers: Friday-Sunday, March 5-7 - Valley Forge District Tournament (William Tennent HS)
Requirements: must be an NSDA member with 25 points, paid dues, and a speechanddebate.org account
Limits: four entries per event per school, except 10+ in Congress pending number of team degrees. Double-entry allowed in some combinations; triple-entry if one of them is Congress
Unfortunately, we cannot bring every eligible student to qualifiers, and at times we will have to select the students who will represent Strath Haven, leaving others out of their event. The following criteria may be considered (in no order):