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The Washington Area Speech and Debate League (WASDL) Metropolitan Championship Tournament for Speech on Saturday, March 7, 2026 is being held at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Maryland.

The WASDL MetroFinal Tournament determines which students will represent the Arlington Diocese and Washington Archdiocese at the NCFL Grand National Speech & Debate Tournament in Washington DC over Memorial Day weekend. In 2026, six Arlington and six Washington entries in each event will be selected to compete at NCFL Nationals.

At Speech MetroFinals, students from the Washington and Arlington Dioceses will compete separately. After round four, the top three finishers in each diocese will compete together in a Championship round. This round determines placement of winners within the league, but does not determine qualifications to Nationals.

This letter provides details needed to participate at Speech MetroFinals. Please read it carefully and communicate with your students and judges. The full rules and procedures are in the WASFL By-Laws (Art. V, page 36). We encourage coaches, judges, and student competitors to read the relevant sections prior to registering for and competing in the MetroFinal Tournament. If you have questions, please email Speech Vice President Meghan Pafumi at mpafumi@wacfl.

PLEASE REFER TO THE LETTER AND THE BYLAWS FOR ALL RELEVANT DETAILS REGARDING REGISTRATION AND COMPETITION

Registration deadlines are—

Competitors: 9:00 pm, Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Judges: 9:00 pm, Friday, February 27, 2026
Drops/Name Changes: 9:00 pm, Tuesday, March 3, 2026.

Please check the tournament's Email Archive upon registration to catch up on any communications. Feel free to contact Mark Deaton at mdeaton@wacfl.org with questions.

Ensure all of your competitors and judges are linked.

An authorized adult representative or coach MUST be with the students at the tournament site at ALL times.