Invitation and Information

This is a Middle/High School tournament in Pace, Florida.

You are cordially invited to the Patriot Parlance Speech & Debate Tournament! The Patriot Parlance, will be held Saturday, January 17, 2026 at Pace High School, 4065 Norris Road, Pace, Florida, 32571. This tournament will be live and in person.

The tournament offers middle school and high school divisions for most events. This is an open tournament and all schools are welcome to compete. NCFL-Pensacola League members receive a 50% discount on up to 10 entries.

FEES: $20.00 per single entry and $30.00 for partner events.

There will be three rounds of competition in all events. Please plan to arrive at Pace High School 30 minutes prior to your event start time. This means no later than 8:00 for extempers and no later than 8:30 for all other speakers/debaters for all other events to check-in. Judges should plan to arrive at 8:00 and should be in the library by 8:15 for Judge Training.

Tournament check-in begins at 8:00 a.m. CST, for competitors and judges.

8:15: Judge Training Begins

8:30: Check-in time ends/ Prep for Extemp Events begins

9:00: Round 1 of Competition Begins

3:00: Tentative Ending/Awards but please be flexible regarding the end time of the event.

EVENTS and DIVISIONS: We offer middle school, and high school divisions. If numbers allow. We reserve the right to combine divisions for events with low entry numbers. If we combine divisions, we will separate events and divisions for awards.

Double entries ARE allowed for students in the following IE events ONLY: DEC, DP, DUO, OI, OO, POI, PP, IMP. EXT, STO

EVENTS INCLUDE:
Debate Events-(1 judge per every 2 entries)

• Public Forum Debate
• Lincoln Douglas Debate

Speech/Congress Events-(1 judge per every 5 entries)

• Student Congress
• Extemp Speaking
• Declamation
• Dramatic Performance
• Storytelling
• Duo Interpretation
• Oral Interpretation
• Original Oratory
• Informative Speaking
• Program of Oral Interpretation
• Impromptu

TOPICS:

NOTE: Students will debate BOTH sides of the resolution.

IMPROMPTU TOPIC AREAS: American Milestones, U.S. Presidents, Quotes from Famous Patriots

EXTEMP TOPIC AREAS are : Round 1: The Americas 2: Eastern Hemisphere Foreign Policy 3: Technology

LINCOLN DOUGLAS TOPIC (NSDA Jan/Feb Resolution):

Resolved: The possession of nuclear weapons is immoral.

PUBLIC FORUM TOPIC (NSDA Jan/Feb Resolution):

Resolved: The People's Republic of China should substantially reduce its international extraction of natural resources.

CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATION: Legislation Packet will be posted by 5:00 pm 1/6/26

JUDGES: We will need your judges in order to run the tournament.

The judge ratio for this tournament is 1 judge for every two debate entries; 1 judge for every 5 speech/interp/congress entries.

Please bring parents, teachers, former students, community members, etc.! Judges should be available for the duration of the tournament. Leaving early must be communicated with the tabroom and approved in order to avoid a no-show fee.

Judge training videos and additional judging resources can be found at https://www.speechanddebate.org/learn/judge-accreditation/

It is the affirmative duty of the coach to ensure that all judges (except students) must be approved as volunteers through their district’s volunteer system.

LUNCH: Meals will be provided for all coaches, and judges. Student lunches may be purchased for a $5 fee per student using the concessions tab on your entry page.

CONCESSIONS for sale: Concessions, including breakfast items, coffee and snacks will be available for purchase with cash only.

NO OUTSIDE FOOD DELIVERIES ARE PERMITTED AT THE TOURNAMENT.

COACHES: Coaches must be available on-site for the duration of the tournament.

Please make checks payable to:

Pace High School

C/o Donna Abernathy

4065 Norris Road

Pace, FL 32571

Contact information for tournament questions via email or text to:

Tournament Director
Donna Abernathy, abernathyd@santarosa.k12.fl.us

850-304-1334

and League Contact:

Ashley Carter, cartera@santarosa.k12.fl.us

850-516-8586