SAPPHIRE

NOF SAPPHIRE INVITATIONAL

ATTN: Parents who are looking to judge must first,

1) complete the judge certification process - click here
2) review the "how to give feedback" guideline - click here

You will need to upload the proof onto the registration form. Failure to do so will result in your child not being able to participate.

19 September 2026

DEADLINE

13 Sept 2026
NO REFUNDS AFTER THIS DATE

ELIGIBILITY

Open to middle and high school students

PLATFORM

Online through
forensicstournament.net and 8x8

Information

Dear Forensics Community,

We are excited to welcome you to the National Online Forensics Regular Season online tournaments. These monthly synchronous competitions are a fantastic way to prepare your students for Nationals and provide additional rounds for team members throughout the year. With a condensed schedule of three preliminary rounds and up to two elimination rounds, competitors get high-quality practice without spending the entire day waiting to compete. Plus, with $0 travel costs, these tournaments are both convenient and cost-effective.

Tournaments are offered across all grade levels, from kindergarten to college, in a wide variety of events. Our highly qualified tournament staff is committed to delivering a smooth, engaging day of competition. The schedule takes only half a day to complete (see schedule below).

Run by experienced tournament directors, our events are among the best online tournaments your competitors will attend. Winners of each event may receive a Gold, Silver, Bronze, or Honors medal. Physical awards for competitors with U.S.-based shipping addresses will be shipped as soon as possible after the tournament concludes. International competitors will have their achievement recognized with a certificate, as well as a small donation to one of our partner charities.

We hope you and your team will join us throughout the year.

Events Offered

Elementary Events:
Informative, Persuasive, Assigned Platform, Declamation, Prose, Poetry, Duo Interpretation, Storytelling, Impromptu, SPAR, Public Forum, Congress, NOF Parli, World Schools
Middle School Events:
Informative, Persuasive, Speech to Entertain, Assigned Platform, Declamation, Poetry, Prose, Program Oral Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Storytelling, Dramatic Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Extemp, Impromptu, Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, SPAR, NOF Parli, World Schools, Congress, NOF Mock Trial
High School Events:
Informative, Persuasive, Speech to Entertain, Assigned Platform, Declamation, Original Interpretation, Poetry, Prose, Program Oral Interpretation, Storytelling, Duo Interpretation, Dramatic Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Extemp, Impromptu, SPAR, Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, World Schools, NOF Parli, Congress, NOF Mock Trial

Rules
The complete set of NOF rules is available here.

Double Entry Policies

Competitors may enter a maximum of three events.
Competitors entered in a debate event may enter only one debate format and may not enter Individual Events in the same pattern.
SPAR is treated as an Individual Event for entry, judging, tabulation, and scheduling purposes.
In small-entry scenarios, events may be combined within their category, such as combined Interpretation events.

Individual Events

Three preliminary rounds will be held.
Elimination rounds will be offered according to the entry thresholds and advancement procedures established in the NOF By-Laws.
Competitors may enter a maximum of three events.
Prelim Ranking: Ranks / Decimal / Drop High Rank
Elim Ranking: Total Rank in Event / Number of Firsts in Event / Rank in Elim / Decimal in Elim / Judge Preference in Elim
Speaker points will not be used for IEs.
Competitors will be recognized with Gold, Silver, Bronze, and, where applicable under the NOF By-Laws, Honors awards.
SPAR is treated as an Individual Event for entry, judging, tabulation, and scheduling purposes.
See the NOF By-Laws for more details.

Debate

High School Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, and Policy will follow the current NSDA topic where those events are offered.
(Middle schoolers will need to compete in the HS division as they use a different topic for their MS debate divisions.)
Preliminary rounds will be randomly paired. Brackets will be broken in elimination rounds as permitted under the NOF By-Laws.
Elimination rounds will be offered according to the entry thresholds and advancement procedures established in the NOF By-Laws.
Debate entries are single-entry within their pattern. Competitors entered in debate may not enter Individual Events in the same pattern.
Speaker Point Scale: 70–100, except where an event such as World Schools uses its own scoring system.
Prelim Ranking: Wins / Total Points / High-Low Points / Z Score / Opponent Wins
Speaker Ranking: Total Points / High-Low Points / Ranks / Wins / Z Score
The top 15% of speakers will be recognized.
A 5-minute forfeit rule applies to all debate rounds.
Competitors will be recognized with Gold, Silver, Bronze, and, where applicable under the NOF By-Laws, Honors awards.
World Schools and other debate formats with specialized procedures will follow the event-specific rules contained in the NOF By-Laws.
See the NOF By-Laws for more details.

Awards

Sweepstakes: Top schools will be recognized in each division: College, High School, Middle School, and Elementary School.
Physical Awards: Competitors receiving Gold, Silver, or Bronze recognition with a U.S.-based shipping address will receive physical awards shipped to coaches following the tournament.
Address Verification: Coaches with U.S.-based shipping addresses will be asked to confirm their shipping address during registration. Please contact the Tournament Director as soon as possible if awards should be shipped to a different U.S.-based address than the address on file. Additional shipping costs may be assessed if an incorrect address is supplied.
Competitors who earn Gold, Silver, Bronze, or Honors recognition but are unable to receive a physical award will receive a digital certificate recognizing their achievement.

Judging

Judges may be assigned ballots outside their registered events. Flexibility is appreciated.
Judges must remain in the Judges Room until dismissed or until their ballot is picked up via email. Failure to do so will incur a fine.
Incomplete eBallots with minimal or no substantive feedback may incur a judge no-show fee.

Judging & Competitor Fines

JUDGE Missed Ballots: $25 for the first missed ballot / $50 for each additional missed ballot
Entry Changes after Deadline: $25 per change
JUDGE Drops within 48 hours: $150
JUDGE Incomplete eBallots: May result in judge no-show fees
Tournament Delays, depending on the violation: $20–$100
Competitor No-Shows without prior notice: $35

Competitor Logistics / Best Practices

All competitors must have a verified email saved on ForensicsTournament.net. You do this by verifying your email through the notification you receive within 24 hours of signing up for the tournament. If you have verified your email in the past, you do not need to do it again.
Competitors will receive an email with their ePostings information. Postings will be sent approximately 10 minutes prior to each round.
The ePostings will have a link to a Live Video Room where they will perform. Click that link to go to your round. No logins or passwords are required. Judges will be in the same Live Video Room to listen and rank the round. The tournament will be using 8x8 video conference room software.
If double-entered, students should go to each room before competing and type in the chat window that they are double-entered so judges are aware. Request to compete early and leave promptly to join the next event.
Please do not immediately start to talk when entering a Live Video Room. Another student may be performing. Please wait to be recognized by the judge(s).
Students should remain in the Live Video Room as audience members and have video on, as much as possible.
Students can, if it fits their particular setup, sit while performing. Judges are instructed not to penalize students for sitting while speaking since the particular tech setup may work better while sitting.
Students are also encouraged to use a mic/headphones since audio quality is much better than with an external mic. Judges are instructed not to penalize students for having mics/headphones on.
We recognize technological limitations create some challenges for certain events. But we trust in the ingenuity of the forensics community to adapt to the online environment. Some students may have better quality video, lighting, sound, etc. We will all try our best.
If a student’s internet connection drops or audio quality is poor, they will be required to call into the video conference room and give their speech with audio only. While not ideal, it will ensure all student’s speeches are listened to by a judge. You can get the dial-in information from the info icon in the bottom right of the screen.
Request help by going to the help room and communicate promptly if any issues arise.

Judge Logistics / Best Practices

All judges must have a verified email saved on ForensicsTournament.net. You do this by verifying your email through the notification you receive within 24 hours of signing up for the tournament. If you have verified your email in the past, you do not need to do it again.
Judges will receive an email with their eBallot link. Judges should click on that link within 5 minutes of receiving it to indicate that they have “picked up” their ballot.
On your eBallot you will have all of the competitors listed in that round along with a link to a live video room. Click that link to go to your video conference room. Competitors who are double entered, will have that listed adjacent to their name. Please be flexible in accommodating double entered competitors.
Your eBallot has fields where you can add your feedback to the competitor. Feedback can be added while they are performing and added throughout the competition until the awards ceremony. The eBallot also has a timer to make it easy to time each speaker.
If a judge’s keyboard is loud they are encouraged to mute audio during performances but please leave the video feed on so competitors can receive your visual feedback.
Judges are instructed not to penalize competitors for sitting while speaking since the competitor's particular tech setup may work better while sitting.
Judges are also instructed not to penalize students for having mics/headphones on since audio quality is usually much better using a mic/headset.
Judges are also instructed not to penalize students for lighting, video/audio quality, video background to the extent possible.
If a judge’s internet connection drops or audio quality is poor, they will be required to call into the video conference room and listen to speeches with audio only. While not ideal, it will ensure all student’s speeches are listened to by a judge. You can get the dial-in information from the info icon in the bottom right of the screen.
For Impromptu/Extemp, the eBallot will have the quotations/questions listed on it under prompts - or in the case of extemp, the prompts will be provided by the tournament prior to the start of the round and competitors will arrive after their designated prep period.

FAQ

Where is the Extemp Prep Topic announce Room? Video room links will be sent out to competitors on the day of the tournament for these events with instructions. We will use extemproom.com for topic distribution.
How will I get my impromptu prompt/quotation? The judge will have the impromptu prompts/quotations on their eBallot. When it’s your turn to speak your judge will copy/paste the prompts into the chat window in the Live Video Room.
What type of awards will be given out? Awards will be sent out to each school following the tournament.
How will we strike IPDA topics? The judge will have all five IPDA topics on their eBallot. At the start of the round go to your Live Video Room. The judge will copy/paste the resolutions into the chat window. Each team will strike as normal. Turn off your audio/visual feeds in the room during prep. 30 minutes later the round will commence.
What about poor internet connections? In order for the video conference to work, Internet connections should be at least 6 Mbps. Check internet speed here. In the event of a poor Internet connection, each Live Video Room has an option to “call in” via phone. While there will be no visual, competitors can still present the audio portion of their speech.

Entry Price

These fees assume that you (parent) will be judging,
One Speech Event $75
Two Speech Events $100
Three Speech Events $125
LD Only $100
PF Only $80

If your child is doing speech and you are opting out of speech judging, you will pay an additional $70.
If your child is doing debate and you are opting out of debate judging, you will pay an additional $110.

Parent Judges: First Missed Ballot - $25 / Subsequent Missed Ballots - $50
*please accept all ballots or wait in the standby room when you don't get one to avoid these charges

Other fines - please read:

Judge drops after the registration deadline will be charged a $150 judge no-show fee on top of the opt-out fee.
Changes or student drops after the deadline will be charged a $25 nuisance fee for each change or drop.
Teams who supply grossly unprepared judges will be charged a nuisance fee of $50.
Judges who submit incomplete eBallots (with little to no substantive feedback) may be charged a judge no-show fee for failing to complete their judge assignment which includes both ranking the speakers along with giving sufficient comments.
Delay of tournament fees may be assessed from $20-$100 based on the severity of the delay.
Competitor no-shows (coaches did not notify the tournament prior to the missed round) - $35

Registration will not be complete until payment is received.

Schedule

All times are Pacific Standard Time.

Based on past schedules, all judges might have a mandatory meeting at 8:00 AM Pacific on the day of the tournament.
Round 1: 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Round 2: 10:45 AM – 12:15 PM
Round 3: 12:30 PM – 2:15 PM
Elim Round 1: 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Elim Round 2, if needed: 4:45 PM – 6:00 PM
Awards: 7:30 PM or ASAP

*Do not make any other plans on the day of as tournaments frequently run late.

Topics:

Competitors in Impromptu, SPAR, and NOF Parli will receive their topics directly from their judge in the video competition room. Please make sure the students are in the video competition room at the start time.
Competitors in Extemp should go to ExtempRoom.com to receive their Extemp prompts. In order to access the room, they will need to enter the join code: Join code: Sapphire26. Draw time begins when the round begins; we do not stagger draw time to begin before everyone else’s round. Please remind Extemp competitors to double check their speaking order to ensure that they are receiving the correct prompt.

Although the tentative schedule lists the start and end times, please keep in mind that there are various factors that may arise during a tournament that can cause rounds to be delayed. Therefore, if you are signing up for this tournament, please make sure you do not double book yourselves on these dates. Keep your schedule open and DO NOT leave the tournament without notifying the GSA chaperones first.

Drop Fee

All changes or student drops after the deadline will be charged a $25 nuisance fee for each change or drop. Judge drops after the registration deadline will be charged a $150 no-show fee.

Please do not drop out last minute to avoid being charged these fees.

Contact Info

Victor Rivas Umana
Contact email: [email protected]
Nadia Budiman
Contact email: [email protected]
Or [email protected]

Registration Form

STUDENT INFORMATION
Suggested attire for the tournament can be found here.

Competitor Guide
Judge Guide
Tournament Best Practices

* Indicates required field

Student Name *

First

Last

Student Email *

Student Phone Number *

If I had not done so in the past, I need to verify my email and agree to the competitor waiver. A notification for these will be sent to the competitor email within 24 hours of signup. *

YES I UNDERSTAND AND WILL DO

PARENT CONTACT INFORMATION
Your email address will be the one included when we send the logistics email.

Parent Name *

First

Last

Parent Email *

Parent Phone Number *

EVENT SELECTION

If double-entered, students should go to each room before competing and type in the chat window that they are double-entered so judges are aware. Request to compete early and leave promptly to join the next event.
Debate does not allow double entry, even with speech, so don't choose a second event if you are doing PF/LD
Extemp does not allow triple entry, so don't choose a third event if you are doing Extemp
For tournament purposes, any 6-8th grader is considered middle school, regardless of how their school categorizes them. So, if a school considers a 6th grader an elementary student, this tournament would consider them in middle school.
NO CROSS ENTRY, SO PLEASE DO NOT CHOOSE SPEECH AND DEBATE
Middle schoolers will need to compete in the HS division of PF & LD as they use a different topic for their MS debate divisions.

JUDGE PROVISION

If you are signing up to judge, you must be available for the entire tournament schedule.
For this tournament specifically, debate judges may be asked to adjudicate speech rounds as well and vice versa.

Judges are obligated to be on standby for each round. If you do not get a ballot, please go to the help room and wait there in case you get called to cover for a no-show judge. This tournament is very strict in using fines for enforcing punctuality and judge presence, so make sure to follow all their rules to avoid getting charged.
Judges who do not accept their assigned ballot will be charged a $25 no-show fee for the first offense. Each subsequent no-show from the judge will warrant a $50 charge. Judges can avoid this fee by coming to the judge standby room for their ballot assignment; sometimes e-mails delay delivery for any number of reasons that are outside the control of the tournament staff. By coming to the standby room, judges can be messaged their ballot directly so that they aren’t marked as having missed the round.
Judge drops after the registration deadline will be charged a $150 no-show fee.
Judges who do not write sufficient feedback to the competitors will be fined per round. Unsatisfactory ballots will be determined by the tabulation staff.
See good ballot examples here

Will you (parent) be judging at this tournament? *

Judge Name *

Judge email *

Judge phone *

Submit Judge Certificate (if you opted to judge but fail to submit this document, your child will NOT be entered to the tournament) *

Max file size: 20MB

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

I understand that if payment is not received we won't be registered and our spot will be given up to someone else. *

YES

I understand that my child must check in and check out periodically at the tournament with the coach and that if I do not my child will be barred from participating in following tournaments. This is to ensure coaches can see where students are at competitively and to give any initial feedback for improvement. *

YES

I understand that although the tentative schedule lists the start and end times, there are various factors that may arise during a tournament that can cause rounds to be delayed. Therefore, we will not double book ourselves on these dates. We will keep our schedule open and we will make sure to notify the GSA chaperones first before leaving a tournament. *

YES I UNDERSTAND AND WILL NOTIFY THE GSA CHAPERONE WHENEVER I AM ABOUT TO LEAVE A TOURNAMENT

Submit/take to payment

We would love to have you visit soon at one of our open houses.
Check our home page for the schedule!

School year Hours

M-F: 3:45 pm - 8:30 pm
Sun: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Telephone

510-270-8480
510-470-0531

Email (preferred)

For more info email us at: [email protected]

Locations

Fremont: 200 Brown Rd #201, Fremont, CA 94539

Cupertino: 20432 Silverado Avenue Suite 211, Cupertino, CA 95014

Aborn Institute: 2804 Riedel Road, San Jose, CA 95135

Dublin: Loving Tree Academy, 6693 Owens Dr, Pleasanton, CA 94588

NOF SAPPHIRE​ INVITATIONAL