National Catholic Forensic League

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National Catholic Forensic League

Company type	Non Profit Organization
Founded	1951
Key people	Susan Peebles President Ann Marie Duffy, First Vice President Thomas Beck, Second Vice President Michael Colletti, Executive Secretary – Treasurer Katy Cecil, Publicity Director / Recording Secretary Roland Burdett, National Tournament Director
Website	http://ncfl.org

The National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL) is a speech and debate league that was formed in 1951. It is organized into regions that correspond to Roman Catholic dioceses. Member schools include both public and parochial high schools. The NCFL recruits member schools in both the United States and Canada. As of January, 2011, there were 65 active dioceses with NCFL leagues. The IRS recognizes the NCFL as an organization eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable donations.^[1]

The NCFL sponsors the Grand National Speech and Debate Tournament held each year over Memorial Day weekend. It offers an array of events similar, but not identical, to those of the National Speech and Debate Association.

Due to the Coronavirus, the organisation was forced to not host their national tournament. This was incredibly historic as it was the first time in history the NCFL was unable to do so. After virtually hosting the tournament online in 2021, normal operation procedures followed in the time since then, as of March 2024.^[2]

• Dramatic Performance – A ten-minute memorized performance of a dramatic or humorous selection of literature.
• Duo Interpretation of Literature – A ten-minute memorized performance of a dialogue, story, or script by two performers, who are required to maintain off-stage focus and to not look at or touch each other.
• Oral Interpretation of Literature – A ten-minute reading event, alternating between Prose and Poetry each round.
• Extemporaneous Speaking – A seven-minute analytical / persuasive speech on a question of current events, given with only 30 minutes' prior notice.
• Oratorical Declamation – A ten-minute memorized performance of a historical speech, commencement address or former competition speech to be delivered as if it were the speaker's own address. Limited to freshmen and sophomores.
• Original Oratory – A ten-minute memorized original speech delivered to inspire or persuade the audience.
• Lincoln-Douglas Debate – 1v1 Value debate on a topic chosen by the NCFL specifically for the Grand National Tournament. Four Minutes of preparation time is allotted to each debater per debate. The focus of the debate is on the philosophical ramifications of affirming or negating the resolution.
• Policy Debate – Two-person, switch-side, cross-examination debate, with five minutes of preparation time per team, on the national topic.
• Public Forum Debate – A team event that advocates or rejects a position posed by the resolution. The focus of the debate is a clash of ideas in a persuasive manner that can be understood by a "lay" judge. Side and speaking order are assigned to each team every round in order to ensure students have the opportunity to debate both sides of a topic.
• Student Congress – Mock legislative sessions where students debate bills and resolutions submitted by schools from participating dioceses.

Past National Tournament Directors

• 2007 – Dennis Howe and Robert Wyllie, Regis High School, New York, NY
• 2008- Jonathan Freidman and Jeanine Sinan-Singh, Trinity Preparatory School, Florida
• 2009 – Danny Welch and Will Miller, Lake Highland Preparatory School, Orlando, Florida
• 2010 – Bud Peters and Thomas Pigott
• 2011 – Brian Grumka and Thomas Pigott
• 2012 - Kyle Newman and Michael Adams, Pinecrest HS, North Carolina
• 2013 – Cameron Silvergate and Ethan Goldstein
• 2014 – Tim Perevozchikov and Zach Kirsch, Hawken School, Ohio
• 2015 – Ben Kessler and Jakob Urda, Stuyvesant HS, New York
• 2016 - Eitan Ezra and Harrison Hurt, Poly Prep Country Day School, New York City, NY
• 2017 - Atticus Nelson and Silas Nelson, DeSoto Central High School, Southaven, MS
• 2018 - Alyson Brusie and Robert Linck, Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach, FL
• 2021 - William Pan and Arvindh Manian, Providence High School, Charlotte NC
• 2022 - Alex Huang and Michael Hansen, Durham Academy, Durham, NC
• 2023 - Julien Benchek and Mehul Lakhanpal, Hawken School, OH

• 2014 - Anav Sharma and Aditya Rout, St. Francis Mountain View HS, Mountain View, CA
• 2015 - Henry Walter and Ali Dastjerdi, Shawnee Mission East HS, Prairie Village, KS
• 2016 - Saif Bajwa and Daniel Birzer, Blue Valley West HS, Overland Park, KS
• 2017 – Stephen Lowe and Danish Kahn, Blue Valley Southwest HS, Overland Park, KS
• 2018 - Sumaya Hussaini and Rachel Holzer, Blue Valley Southwest HS, Overland Park, KS
• 2019 - Jet Semrick and Luke Bledsoe, Shawnee Mission East HS, Prairie Village, KS
• 2021 - Jasleen Randhawa and Daksh Jain, Silver Creek HS, San Jose, CA
• 2022 - Clare Bradley and Brooklynn Hato, Shawnee Mission South, Overland Park, KS
• 2023 - Jeremiah Rimpson and Maddie Augustine, Shawnee Mission South, Overland Park, KS

• Competitive debate in the United States

• Speech and Debate Forensics Jobs Board Jobs Board dedicated to the forensics community.
• NCFL Home Page
• NCFL 2007 Grand National Tournament page
• National Catholic Forensic League on ForensicsWiki
• Past National Tournament Results
• NCFL Info and Profile