National Forensic League

The National Forensic League is one of two U.S. national organizations which direct high school competitive speech events. (The other is the National Catholic Forensic League or NCFL.)

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Founded May 25 1925, the NFL hosted the first national high school speech tournament in 1930 with 49 schools from 17 states. By and large the rules that governed that tournament are still in effect today providing one of the longest running national competitions for high school students. Approximately 1 million high school students have been members of the NFL since 1925. Well over 30,000 high school students participate in NFL certified events every year.

Related Topics:
May 25 - 1925

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The NFL hosts the U.S. national high school forensics tournament annually in the US, attracting over 3000 high school students to compete for national honors in a wide variety of events including

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• Policy Debate (Cross-Examination Debate)
• Lincoln-Douglas Debate - philosophical "values" debate
• Public Forum Debate (formerly Ted Turner Debate) - "crossfire" style media debate
• Original Oratory
• Dramatic Interpretation
• Humorous Interpretation
• Prose Interpretation
• Poetry Interpretation
• Duo Interpretation
• International Extemporanious Speaking
• United States Extemporanious Speaking
• Impromptu Speaking
• Extemporaneous Commentary
• Expository Address
• Student Congress
• Duet Acting (not an NFL event, but practiced by some state organizations)
• Original Advocacy (not an NFL event, but practiced by some state organizations, including CHSSA)
• Oratorical Interpretation (not an NFL event, but practiced by some state organizations, including CHSSA)
• "Barbara Jordan" debate for inner city youth

Note, however, that one cannot qualify for the NFL National Tournament in all of these. Qualifying events are: Policy Debate, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, Original Oratory, Dramatic Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, and Student Congress. At the National Tournament, the NFL offers Prose Interpretation, Poetry Interpretation, Extemporaneous Commentary, Expository Address, and Impromptu Speaking as supplemental events for those who do not qualify past the preliminary rounds.

Related Topics:
National Tournament - Policy Debate - Lincoln-Douglas Debate - Public Forum Debate - Original Oratory - Dramatic Interpretation - Humorous Interpretation - Duo Interpretation - Student Congress - Prose Interpretation - Poetry Interpretation - Extemporaneous Commentary - Expository Address - Impromptu Speaking

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While the National Speech and Debate Tournament and the qualifying District Competitions are hosted by the NFL, most forensics tournaments during the school year operate under the auspices of other organizations. Chief among them are the state speech leagues, such as:

Related Topics:
National Speech and Debate Tournament - District Competitions

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• California High School Speech Association
• Ohio High School Speech League
• Oregon High School Speech League
• Texas Forensic Association
• Kentucky High School Speech League, Inc.

In other states, speech is classed with other high school interscholastic competition and is overseen by the same organization as football, basketball and gymnastics such as:

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• Kansas State High School Activities Association

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The lifetime ranking of an NFL member is determined by his or her NFL point score.

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National Forensic League: External links ►