The Basics
Stoa uses the open and public National Christian Homeschool Speech and Debate Rankings (Speechranks) website to determine invitations to the National Invitational Tournament of Champions, hosted by Stoa. Stoa tournaments must meet certain minimum criteria for rounds competed as specified on the Speechranks website. Results posted for Stoa tournaments through April 30 will be used for invitational purposes.
Two Invitational Models
National Invitation Model: Two Green Check Marks
Two Green Check Marks next to your name in a NITOC event means you will receive an invitation to NITOC in that event. Green checks are given only for those students achieving these levels at Stoa tournaments that have met our Stoa minimum tournament standards.
Green Check Marks are defined as:
Speech
- For all speech events except Impromptu, students who rank in the top 40% for a tournament will receive a checkmark. For impromptu, students will need to rank in the top 30% for the checkmark..
Debate
- Tournaments will give checkmarks to the top 38% of the participating field in debate. Awarding the top 38% of the final tournament ranking standardizes the number of checkmarks we are currently awarding from each tournament for NITOC qualification. This change keeps the actual qualification percentage rate similar to previous seasons.
State Invitation Model
- The top speaker (duo team) from each state in each NITOC speech event will receive an invitation to NITOC in that event
- The top two debaters in Lincoln Douglas Value Debate and the top two teams in Team Policy and Parliamentary Debate from each state will receive an invitation to NITOC in that event
NOTE: For Duo Interpretation, Team Policy, and Parliamentary Debate only teams may be invited to the National Invitational Tournament of Champions, hosted by Stoa. In other words, a student may not receive an invitation with one partner and then compete at the National Invitational Tournament of Champions, hosted by Stoa, with another. If a student receives an invitation with two different partners in the same event, he/she must choose with which partner to compete.
Debate at NITOC
- Round One will be randomly paired.
- Rounds Two through Six will employ standard Stoa Hi/Lo (within W/L brackets) Power Matching.
- There is no state protection.
- Club protection will be employed in Rounds One through Four.
Speech Seeding at NITOC
- Speech events at the National Invitational Tournament of Champions, hosted by Stoa, will be seeded based on the rankings on the Speechranks website. Seeding is based on a student’s three best performances during the speech and debate season. This provides a motivation toward continued excellence throughout the year, as that excellence is rewarded at NITOC.
Preliminary Rounds of speech will be “power protect” rounds.- In Speech Events, all preliminary rounds will spread the top-ranked students, one per classroom, equal to the number of classrooms per event. This has advantages for both the top-ranked students and those that are not highly ranked as the competition is spread more evenly among the rooms.
- For the top students, this means they will not have to compete against the other top students in prelims. This should increase their chances of advancing to outrounds.
- For the lesser-ranked students, this means they will not have to endure a prelim round with all the top-ranked students in their room. This should also increase their chances of advancing to outrounds.
- In Speech Events, all preliminary rounds will spread the top-ranked students, one per classroom, equal to the number of classrooms per event. This has advantages for both the top-ranked students and those that are not highly ranked as the competition is spread more evenly among the rooms.
For those who would like to read more about the Stoa Founders’ NITOC philosophy and the development of the balanced and bicameral invitational models, the Founder’s Stoa NITOC Document is included below. Click to view or right-click (or control-click) to download.
Founder’s Stoa NITOC Document