CONSTITUTION
THE CATHOLIC FORENSIC LEAGUE
DIOCESE OF
ARTICLE 1 - NAME
The name of this organization shall
be The Catholic Forensic League, Diocese
of
ARTICLE 2 - PURPOSE
The purpose of this League shall be
the development of articulate young people through whose skill truth may be
widely spread and thus they might become an influence in the life of the
community. To achieve this purpose and
to promote forensic activities both in Catholic and non-Catholic schools, the
League aims to coordinate speech and debate activities in and among its member
schools. The League sponsors a diocesan
tournament to establish national qualifiers for the Grand Tournament at the end
of the scholastic year.
ARTICLE 3 - MEMBERSHIP
Section 1.
Eligibility
Any high school in the Diocese of
Pittsburgh shall be eligible for membership in the League. Voting will be restricted to members of the
prior year and/or full members. Students
of member schools of this organization whose moderators deem them qualified for
membership shall be entitled to membership in the League. A school must be a full member of the
National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL) before December 28 to compete in the
League Diocesan Tournament and thus to qualify for the NCFL Grand Tournament
during the academic year. To be a full
member, the school must have paid its dues and have submitted its NCFL data
card to the League moderator.
Section 2.
Certification
Application for membership shall be
made to the moderator of the League.
School membership shall become effective upon submission of a membership
fee the League moderator.
ARTICLE 4 - OFFICERS
Section 1.
Moderator
The league moderator shall serve for
a term of three years. In keeping with the tradition for which the League is
named, the moderator should be the director of forensics from one the Catholic
schools that is a member of the League.
The moderator will be elected by a majority of votes from member schools
during the general spring meeting, (conducted as part of the diocesan
tournament). Each member school shall
have one vote and a simple majority is needed to win. The moderator will be responsible for the
general operation of the League, finances, communication within the League,
enforcement of all provisions of the Constitution and its by-laws and shall
make necessary arrangements for the League's participation in the NCFL Grand
Tournament.
Section 2.
Executive Board
An executive board will be elected
by ballot in the spring at the diocesan qualifying tournament. Each member school shall have one vote and a
simple majority is needed to win. There
shall be four members, and each member shall have a term of four years. (For the first election, two members will be
elected for terms of two years, and two members elected for four years. After that, elections will be held every two
years, so that membership on the board is staggered.) The purpose of the board is to assist the
moderator in decisions concerning general League business, implementation of
the Constitution and its by-laws and other necessary League functions.
ARTICLE 5 - STANDING RULES
Section 1.
Number of entries
The number of entries to nationals
advancing from the diocesan qualifying tournament is determined by the number
of schools in the League as set forth in the NCFL constitution.
Section 2.
Alternate qualifiers
If a student who has qualified to
the NCFL Grand National Tournament cannot attend, the coach should notify the
League Director by April 1. The League
Director will then notify the next ranked student and his or her coach.
Section 3.
Speech material
All speeches and interpretation pieces must not have been used by the student prior to the current competition year,
Section 4.
Extraordinary circumstances
Extraordinary circumstances are to
be handled at the discretion of the League Director and/or the Executive Board.
BY-
ARTICLE 1 - DUES
Section 1.
Dues
The dues are $40.00 each year with $20.00 going to the National Headquarters and $20.00 staying with the Diocesan League for operating expenses.
Section 2. Fees
Each school shall be charged a fee
for each student entering the Diocesan Qualifying Tournament. The fee is to be determined by the diocesan
director in consultation with the executive board.
ARTICLE 2 - DIOCESAN QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT
Section 1. Speech guidelines
Rounds:
1.
All rounds will be randomly paired before the tournament. Scheduling will be the responsibility of the
tournament committee to be appointed by the diocesan director.
2.
There will be three guaranteed round if the category has eight or more
contestants. If there are fewer than
eight contestants, there will be two rounds with two judges per round.
3.
Final rounds will be determined by totaling ranks from the three
preliminary rounds. The five to seven
contestants with the lowest total ranks will advance to finals.
4. There will be three judges in each final
round. The ranks of the three judges
will be added to the preliminary totals
for each contestant to determine the final placement of each contestant.
Judges:
1.
One judge will be used in each preliminary round of speech, except as indicated
above.
2. Three judges will be used in each final
round.
3. The tournament committee in advance of the
tournament will schedule Judges.
4. Each school is responsible for
supplying one qualified judge for every three contestants or a fraction thereof.
These judges will be required to remain for the duration of the
tournament.
5. Schools are encouraged to exercise good
judgment in choosing qualified and sensitive judges.
6.
Judges may assess a penalty for overtime after a 30-second grace
period. A judge should interrupt no
speaker. The penalty may not be more
severe than ranking the student last in the round.
Tie-breaking procedures:
1. Ties in preliminary rounds will be broken
using reciprocals.
2.
Ties in final rounds will be broken first on judges' preference in the
final round and then by reciprocals.
3.
If a tie for a national qualifying position still exists, a one round
run-off will be held with a three-judge panel.
Format of the tournament:
1. A one-day tournament will be standard with
the site open to any school that wishes to host the tournament.
2.
Coaches should adhere to pre-registration guidelines. (Tournament registration deadlines should be
met, judging quotas should be met, fee should be submitted on time, and schools
should arrive at the tournament site at least 15 minutes before registration is
scheduled to close.)
3.
Speech registration should begin at least one-half hour before the opening assembly.
4.
The opening assembly should include general instructions to all
participants followed by specific instructions by category for all judges. The assembly will be conducted by the
diocesan director and/or appointed committee members.
5.
Three rounds of competition will be held before lunch, with final rounds
being held after lunch. In categories with fewer than eight participants, a
staggered time schedule may be used.
6.
Final placement for national qualifiers in each speech category will be
determined by the cumulative method.
(All judges' ranks from all rounds will be totaled.) The lowest scores -
number of qualifiers determined by the national quota- will qualify for the
Grand National Tournament. First and
second alternates, if available, will be designated in each category. An alternate will be invited to participate
in the national tournament if one of the qualifiers is unable to participate
and the change meets the national deadline.
7.
Coaches must notify the diocesan director by April 1 if a national
qualifier is unable to participate at the national tournament. Students who are precluded from participating
at the national tournament should not enter the Diocesan Qualifying Tournament.
School quotas:
1. Individual schools may bring no more than
four contestants in any speech or debate category.
Section 2.
Debate guidelines
Judging:
1.
The quota of judges for team debate will follow this table:
1-2
teams 1 judge
3-4
teams 2 judges, one of whom should
be neutral for all schools involved
2. The quota of judges for Lincoln Douglas
debate will follow this table:
1
contestant 1 judge
2-3
contestants 2 judges
4
contestants 3 judges, or 2 judges
one of whom should be neutral for all schools involved
3. One judge will be used in all rounds.
Tournament format:
1.
There will be four rounds of debate in the Diocesan Qualifying
Tournament. Two random rounds will be
paired in advance. Schools will not meet
their own schools.
2.
Succeeding rounds will be power-paired, based on record. The scheme will be straight-power (best
record vs. best record). Teams meeting
previously in the tournament will debate the opposite side. No team will hit another team more than
twice.
3. Ties will be broken in the following
priority:
win-loss record
median team speaker points
median team speaker ranks
total team speaker points
total team speaker ranks
Lincoln
Douglas will use the first, second and fourth criteria listed above.
All national qualifiers will be
determined in this fashion. At no time
in the tournament will teams from the same school meet each other.
4.
In the event of an uneven number of teams in policy debate, a bye shall
be given in each round. Byes will be
determined at random in the first two rounds, and will go to the lowest record
team in rounds three and four. However, no school or team will receive more
than one bye. Speaker points and ranks
will be averaged for the purpose of breaking ties and pairing rounds.
5. In the event of an uneven number
of contestants in Lincoln Douglas debate, a bye will be given in rounds one and
three, to be made up with that contestant debating twice in rounds two and
four.
6.
Teams should debate an even number of rounds both affirmative and
negative in the tournament. Exceptions
will be made if power pairing requires teams to meet. In such cases, sides will be drawn at
random, with both coaches present.
General standards for selecting
judges:
1. Judges should have a minimum of one year of
judging experience in NCFL, NFL, or PHSSL events.
2.
Judges should normally be a sophomore in college or older. Exceptions might be made with a request to
the tournament committee.
3.
Coaches must familiarize all judges with judging criteria for NCFL
events in advance of the tournament.
CONSTITUTION
DIOCESE OF
Written: Fall 1996
Approved and Implemented: Spring
1997
Revised: Fall 1997