NCFCA
Logo of the NCFCA
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| Formation | 1995 |
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| Headquarters | Mountlake Terrace, Washington, United States |
| Website | www |
The National Christian Forensics and Communications Association is a speech and debate league for Christian homeschooled students in the United States. The NCFCA was established in 2001 after outgrowing its parent organization, the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), which had been running the league since it was originally established in 1995. NCFCA is now organized under its own board of directors with regional and state leadership coordinating various tournaments throughout the season.
The NCFCA is an entirely volunteer-run, non-profit organization. Tournaments are run by volunteers, who are usually parents, club directors, and league officials in the area. The judging pool includes parents of competitors, NCFCA alumni, and members of the community. Coaches also serve as judges on a strictly volunteer basis. The NCFCA is governed by a board and divided into ten regions. Each region has a regional coordinator and each state has a representative.
As homeschooled debaters do not have "schools" to compete with, the fundamental unit of the NCFCA is the "club." A club is a group of competitors, coaches, and families who meet together to practice, help one another, and organize tournaments and classes.
The NCFCA is divided into ten regions. This is known as the Regional System and was adopted during the 2003–2004 season to accommodate the growth of the league. Each region receives a specific number of qualifying slots to nationals, the year-end championship tournament held in a different location each June. The number of slots allotted to the region is determined largely by the number of affiliates in that region. A majority of a region's slots are awarded at a regional championship tournament sometime in April or early May, known as "regionals." The rest are given out on an "at large" basis to the highest performing teams that do not qualify through regionals. In previous years, other methods of dividing slots included giving slots to the states in the region, which then held state championships, or simply dividing the slots up amongst a series of pre-regional tournaments.
The ten NCFCA regions are:
Starting in the 2015–16 season, and due to the overwhelming size of the student population of specific regions in comparison to other regions around the nation, Region 4 and 8 were split into 'Districts.' Competitors must now affiliate with their district based on geographical location within the region, with the regional tournament now encompassing all competitors who advanced to outrounds from each separate district. (e.g. The northern Region 4 cities of Dallas, TX and Oklahoma City, OK, are considered 'District A.' While the more southern cities of Austin, Houston, and San Antonio, TX are grouped in 'District B.' They each will have separate tournaments within the district, but will then combine for the regional tournament in order to divide national slots.)
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