Grand National Speech and Debate Tournament

Grand National Speech and Debate Tournament is the premier public speaking event of the National Catholic Forensic League. It is held annually in the United States over Memorial Day weekend. One can qualify for the tournament by performing sufficiently well in a local qualifying tournament.

The Grand National Speech and Debate Tournament is the premier public speaking event of the National Catholic Forensic League. The event is held annually in the United States of America over Memorial Day weekend. Students can qualify for the tournament by performing sufficiently well in a local qualifying tournament. There are a number of events in which the participants may compete.

Grand National Tournament in Declamation (also known as Oratorical Declamation or Oratorical Interpretation, commonly abbreviated to "DEC") is a public speaking event of the National Catholic Forensic League. The category is almost always open to high school freshmen and sophomores only. It is often used as a "starter" event to get underclassmen used to the speech and debate activity in general and to prepare them for other categories such as Dramatic Performance or Original Oratory.

In simplest terms, Declamation is delivering a speech that was already written and delivered by another person. A competitor may choose any speech that has been delivered in public before. NCFL rules call for specific introductory material and a ten-minute time limit. The NCFL is the largest league in the United States that offers Declamation as a category for competition. Most local and state leagues adhere to NCFL rules or slight variations on them.

From the official NCFL critique sheet:

Therefore, the purpose of the category is not to give an impersonation of the original speaker; it is to interpret their words in an interesting and convincing manner that fits the individual competitor. The competitor is only required to recreate the general "feel" of the original delivery, not mimic it.

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