Texas Forensic Association

Goals

• to foster cooperation between the worlds of speech and theatre
• to show the importance of speech and theatre education to the public
• to create a forum to collaborate and solve common problems in the speech and theatre fields
• to forward the standards of the speech and theatre activities
• to promote cooperation and friendship among students and teachers in the organization

  Regions

• Region 1 covers the Texas panhandle, area code 806. The Region 1 representative is Ryan Lovell of Tascosa High School.
• Region 2 covers Northeast Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. The area codes included are 214, 254, 469, 682, 817, 903, 940, and 972. The Region 2 representative is Rhonda Smith of Plano West Senior High School.
• Region 3 covers South Texas, including the San Antonio and Austin metro areas. The area codes included are 210, 361, 512, 830, and 956. The Region 3 representative is Davy Holmes of Dripping Springs High School.
• Region 4 covers East Texas. It is the smallest region and mainly encompasses the Houston metro area. The area codes included are 281, 409, 713, 832, 936, and 979. The Region 4 representative is Brian Darby of Clear Creek High School.
• Region 5 covers West Texas, area code 915, 432, and part of 325. It is the largest geographical region, spanning close to 550 miles across. The Region 5 representative is Yolanda Silva of Franklin High School.

  Events offered

State qualifying events

• Policy Debate : Debate between two teams of two students on a question of policy, which remains the same for the competitive season
• Lincoln-Douglas Debate : Debate between two students on a question of values or morality, which changes every two months
• Public Forum Debate : Debate between two teams of two students in which each team accepts or rejects a position
• Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking : A 7-minute extemporaneous speech on a foreign current events topic
• Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking : A 7-minute extemporaneous speech on a domestic current events topic
• Original Oratory : A 10-minute memorized speech on a topic of the student's choosing
• Informative Speaking : A 10-minute memorized speech on a topic of the students choosing with the help of non-electric visual aids
• Humorous Interpretation : A 10-minute memorized humorous presentation of a published work
• Dramatic Interpretation : A 10-minute memorized dramatic presentation of a published work
• Duet Acting : A 10-minute scene from a published work, presented by a team of two students
• Duo Interpretation : A 10-minute memorized presentation of a published work, presented by a team of two students
• Congressional Debate : A mock congress session where students make speeches and motions on a set of given legislation
• World Schools Debate : A style of debate popular in Australia and Asia, where teams of 3-5 debate upon a set of given motions, which center around principled value and practicality

  Non-qualifying events

• Prose Interpretation: A 7-minute non-memorized presentation of a published piece of prose
• Poetry Interpretation: A 7-minute non-memorized presentation of a published piece of poetry
• Impromptu Speaking: A 5-minute impromptu speech on one of three topics, usually including pop culture references/ more lighthearted options that the other speaking events.

  State Tournament

• The 2008 TFA State Tournament was held March 6–8 at Coppell High School, Dallas, Texas.
• The 2009 TFA State Tournament was held March 5–7 at Cypress Ranch High School, in Houston, Texas.
• The 2010 TFA State Tournament was held March 10–13 at Hanks High School in El Paso, Texas.
• The 2011 TFA State Tournament was held March 10–12 at Flower Mound High School in Flower Mound, Texas
• The 2012 TFA State Tournament was held on March 1–3 at Amarillo High School in Amarillo, Texas.
• The 2013 TFA State Tournament was held on March 7–9 at South Grand Prairie High School in Grand Prairie, Texas
• The 2014 TFA State Tournament was held on March 6–8 at Cypress Creek High School in Houston, Texas
• The 2015 TFA State Tournament was held on March 5-7 at Franklin High School in El Paso, Texas
• The 2016 TFA State Tournament was held on March 10-12 at Hendrickson High School in Pflugerville, Texas
• The 2017 TFA State Tournament was held on March 9-11 at Plano West Senior High School in Plano, Texas
• The 2018 TFA State Tournament was held on March 1-3 at La Vernia High School, La Vernia Junior High School, La Vernia Intermediate School, La Vernia Primary School in La Vernia, Texas
• The 2019 TFA State Tournament was held on March 14-16 at Alief Taylor High School in Houston, Texas.
• The 2020 TFA State Tournament was held March 5-7 at Franklin High School in El Paso, Texas.
• The 2021 TFA State Tournament was held March 10-13 through a virtual learning campus.
• The 2022 TFA State Tournament was held March 9-12 at Gregory-Portland High School in Portland, Texas.
• The 2023 TFA State Tournament was held in March at the Marriott Westchase hotel in Houston, Texas.
• The 2024 TFA State Tournament was held in March, again at the Marriott Westchase hotel in Houston, Texas.
• The 2025 TFA State Tournament was held in March at Jordan High School in Houston, Texas.

  Points system

State winners

Scholarship