How to Qualify for the New York State Speech & Debate Tournament

How does New York Speech & Debate Circuit Work?

The New York Speech & Debate Circuit is known publicly as the New York State Forensic  League (NYSFL). The NYSFL circuit has a set of competitive tournaments that they host every year, which you can find here. Each competitive district also hosts their own set of competitive tournaments, which you can find on their respective sites on Tabroom.

When and Where are NYSFL Tournaments?

NYSFL local tournaments typically occur on the weekends (occasionally including Friday) from the middle of September through the middle of April and occur all over the state at venues, such as Regis High School, Bronx Science High School, and the Berkeley Carroll School.

What competitive events does the New York Speech & Debate State Tournament offer?

The New York Speech & Debate State Tournament offers the following events for competition: Congressional Debate, Lincoln Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, Policy Debate, Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Extemporaneous Speaking, Humorous Interpretation, Impromptu Speaking, Informative Speaking, Program Oral Interpretation, and Original Oratory.

How to Qualify for the NYSFL State Tournament for Each Event?

There are three ways to qualify to the NYSFL State Tournament in your particular Speech & Debate event. 

The first way is to qualify through your regional qualifying tournament. There are seven (7) competitive districts in New York: Long Island, Brooklyn-Queens, Bronx-Manhattan, Hudson, Rochester-Buffalo, North Country, and Capital/Mid-State. You can find out which competitive district you specifically fall under here. NYSFL awards full qualifications based on the amount of entries at a regional qualifying tournament. 

The guidelines are as follows: one (1) full qualifier (for one (1) to three (3) entries in an event), two (2) qualifiers (for four (4) to six (6) entries in an event), three (3) qualifiers (for seven (7) to ten (10) entries in an event), four (4) qualifiers (for eleven (11) to fourteen (14) entries in an event), five (5) qualifiers (for fifteen (15) to twenty (20) entries in an event), six (6) qualifiers (for twenty-one (21) to twenty-five (25) entries in an event), seven (7) qualifiers (for twenty-six (26) to twenty-nine (29) entries in an event), eight (8) qualifiers (for thirty (30) entries in an event), and one (1) additional qualifier (for every ten (10) additional entries). As a competitor, you must reach the specified placement level to fully qualify to the state tournament based on the entry size of your particular event at your regional qualifying tournament.

The second way is to receive two (2) half-qualifications at NYSFL-sanctioned local tournaments throughout the competitive season. Half-qualifications are also awarded based on the amount of entries at such a NYSFL-sanctioned tournament. 

The guidelines are as follows: one (1) half-qualification (for three (3) to five (5) entries in an event), two (2) half-qualifications (for six (6) to ten (10) entries in an event), three (3) half-qualifications (for eleven (11) to fifteen (15) entries in an event), four (4) half-qualifications (for sixteen (16) to twenty (20) entries in an event), five (5) half-qualifications (for twenty-one (21) to twenty-five (25) entries in an event), six (6) half-qualifications (for twenty-six (26) to thirty (30) entries in an event), and one (1) additional half-qualification (for every ten (10) entries thereafter). As a competitor, you must reach the specified placement level at a NYSFL-sanctioned tournament to receive a half-qualification.

The third way is to be selected as a “wildcard entry” by your Speech & Debate coach. The “wildcard entry” system is designed to admit students that do not qualify to the NYSFL State Tournament under a previously mentioned qualification method. To be eligible to be designated as a “wildcard entry”, you must also have attended at least one NYSFL-sanctioned tournament during the competitive season. Each NYSFL member school receives one (1) “wildcard” entry for each Speech & Debate event and has the ability to use that at their coach’s discretion (i.e. the Speech & Debate coach at your school has the ability to decide which competitors will represent their school as a “wildcard entry”).

How to Prepare 

If you’ve read all the way until here, you have started to wonder: how do I prepare? There are multiple ways to do so, from running practice rounds with your teammates and other members of your community to spending countless hours revising your scripts to ensure that they are ready for competition. What’s important is that you remain consistent! 

Outside of working with your peers, receiving consistent coaching is key to success. A great option can be programs like Civic Debate Academy’s National Debate Club, which provides access to a team of students with similar goals, robust coaching, preparation materials, and practice rounds. If you want to learn more, click here!