National Catholic Forensic League

The National Catholic Forensic League is a nonprofit speech and debate league that was formed in 1951. It is organized into regions that correspond to Latin 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 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.

WWW ncfl.org

NCFL Tournament

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.

Events

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.

National tournament sites

1952 Brooklyn, New York1953 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania1954 Cleveland, Ohio1955 Brooklyn, New York1956 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania1957 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania1958 Chicago, Illinois1959 Washington, District of Columbia1960 New York, New York1961 Baltimore, Maryland1962 Miami, Florida1963 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania1964 Denver, Colorado1965 Brooklyn, New York1966 Miami, Florida1967 Camden, New Jersey1968 Chicago, Illinois1969 Washington, District of Columbia1970 Miami, Florida1971 New Orleans, Louisiana1972 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania1973 Chicago, Illinois1974 New Orleans, Louisiana1975 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania1976 Detroit, Michigan1977 Milwaukee, Wisconsin1978 Washington, District of Columbia1979 Milwaukee, Wisconsin1980 Boston/Worcester, Massachusetts1981 New York, New York1982 Detroit, Michigan1983 Chicago, Illinois1984 Cincinnati, Ohio1985 Miami, Florida1986 Baltimore, Maryland1987 Buffalo, New York1988 New Orleans, Louisiana1989 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania1990 Chicago, Illinois1991 New York City, New York1992 Arlington, Virginia1993 Boca Raton, Florida1994 Oshkosh, Wisconsin1995 Chicago, Illinois1996 Topeka, Kansas1997 Baltimore, Maryland1998 Detroit, Michigan1999 Chicago, Illinois2000 Rochester, New York2001 New York City, New York2002 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania2003 Arlington, Virginia2004 Boston, Massachusetts2005 Milwaukee, Wisconsin2006 Chicago, Illinois2007 Houston, Texas2008 Appleton, Wisconsin2009 Albany, New York2010 Omaha, Nebraska2011 Washington, D.C.2012 Baltimore, Maryland2013 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania2014 Chicago, Illinois2015 Fort Lauderdale, Florida2016 Sacramento, California2017 Louisville, Kentucky2018 Washington, D.C.2019 Milwaukee, Wisconsin2020 Chicago, Illinois2021 Online2022 Washington, D.C.2023 Louisville, Kentucky2024 Chicago, Illinois2025 Chicago, Illinois2026 Washington, D.C.2027 Minneapolis, Minnesota2028 Lafayette, Louisiana

National tournament director

Past National Tournament Directors

Director	Years
Br. Rene Sterner, F.S.C.	1972–1992
James Lyness Loyola School New York, New York	1992–2002
Ron Steinhorst New London High School New London, Wisconsin	2002–2006
Roland Burdett Washington Arlington Catholic Forensic League Arlington, Virginia	2006–present

Past NCFL National Champions

Congressional Debate

1992 — J. Matthew Knight, Lake Highland Preparatory School, FL
1994 — Chris Dorworth, Colonial High School, FL
1995 – Bill Gallagher, Xavier High School, NY
1996 – Duarte Gerladino, Brooklyn Technical High School, NY
1997 – Sean Carmody, Pleasantville High School, NY
1998 – Seth Green, Taravella High School, FL
1999 – Matt Brennan, Iona Preparatory, NY
2000 – Ian Amelkin, Stoneman Douglas High School
2001 – Matt Spritz, Nova High School, FL
2002 – Scott Jacobsin, Nova High School, FL
2003 – Daniel Chapanian, Shrewsbury High School, MA
2004 – Matt Turetzky, Nova High School, FL
2005 – Results unavailable
2006 – Colin Outerbridge, Trinity Preparatory, FL
2007 – Sundeep Iyer, Ridge High School, NJ
2008 – Ben Berkman, Nova High School
2009 – Harlan Downs Tepper, Stuyvesant High School, NY
2010 – Alex Smyk, Ridge High School, NJ
2011 – Morgan Baskin, American Heritage, FL
2012 – Results unavailable
2013 – Michael Cervino, Ridge High School, NJ
2014 – Nic Gerard, Shrewsbury High School, MA
2015 – Carla Troconis, East Chapel Hill, NC
2016 - Katherine Klienle, Ridge High School, NJ
2017 - Muhammad Naeen, Western High School, FL
2018 - Gabrielle Cabeza, Western High School, FL
2019 - Nathan Felmus, Bronx High School of Science, NY
2021 - Olivia Pasquerella, Loyola School, NY
2022 - Ben Bressette, Broad Run High School, VA
2023 - Kadin Collier, Oak Grove High School, MS
2024 - Rhys Adams, Milton Academy, MA

Lincoln-Douglas Debate

1988 – Lisa Nass, Miami Beach High School, Miami Beach, FL
1989 – David Kennedy, Regis High School, New York, NY
1990 – Jeremi Suri, Stuyvesant High School, New York, NY
1991 – Mark Wunderlich, Walter Johnson High School, Bethesda, MD
1992 – Jerry Vildostegui, Miami Beach High School, Miami Beach, FL
1993 – Christopher J. Regan, Bishop Kearney High School, Irondequoit, NY
1994 – Elizabeth Rogers, Shenendehowa High School, Clifton Park, NY
1995 – Derek D. Smith, Winston Churchill High School, Potomac, MD
1996 – Randall Martinez, Christopher Columbus High School, Miami, Florida
1997 – Mac Hawkins, Lagrange High School, Lake Charles, LA
1998 – Chetan Hertzig, Lexington High School, Lexington, MA
1999 – Elizabeth O'Connor, Hunter College High School, New York, NY
2000 – Kevin Farrell, Elk Grove High School, Chicago, Illinois
2001 – Benjamin Rothstein, Milton Academy, Boston, MA
2002 – Duncan Cooper, St. John's Preparatory School, Boston, MA
2003 – Nina Thanawala, Ridge High School, Basking Ridge, NJ
2004 – Tara Tedrow, Celebration High School, Orlando, FL
2005 – Tara Tedrow, Celebration High School, Orlando, FL
2006 – Caitlin Halpern, W.T. Woodson High School, Arlington, VA
2007 – Ryan Zehner, Saint Joseph's Preparatory School, Philadelphia, PA
2008 – Ellen Noble, Walt Whitman High School, Bethesda, MD
2009 – Karlyn Gorski, Perkioman Valley High School, Philadelphia, PA
2010 – Stephanie Franklin, Walt Whitman High School, Bethesda, MD
2011 – Allison Douglis, Ridge High School, Basking Ridge, NJ
2012 – Katelyn Sheehan, Lake Braddock Secondary School, Arlington, VA
2013 – Austin Cohen, Elk Lake High School, Dimock, PA
2014 – Danny DeBois, Harrison High School, Harrison, NY
2015 – Joey Schnide, Evanston Township High School, Evanston, IL
2016 – Nicole Kastelic, Hawken School, Gates Mills, OH
2017 – Maya Arora, Cape Fear Academy, Wilmington, NC
2018 – Eva Lamberson, Canfield High School, Canfield, OH
2019 – Maya Arora, Cape Fear Academy, Wilmington, NC
2021 – Elias Altman, Myers Park High School, Charlotte, NC
2022 – Ryan Si, Hawken School, Gates Mills, OH
2023 – Robert Liu, Durham Academy, Durham, NC
2024 - Anthony Scarmozzino, Chaminade High School Mineola, New York

Public Forum Debate

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

Policy Debate

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
2024 - Nevaeh Sencion and Saidah Ervin, Baltimore City College, Baltimore, MD
2025 - Sophie Leonard and Lucy Pace, Shawnee Mission East HS, Prairie Village, KS