BCFL Metro
2026 — Towson, MD/US
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February 25, 2026
Dear BCFL Coaches:
The members of the BCFL Executive Committee had the job to certify the qualifiers for the Metro Championship Tournament. Decisions are based upon cumulative scores from this year’s BCFL tournaments and established league formulas. Schools will receive the list of qualifiers in email in the coming week along with an invoice should you need one for billing.
Qualifiers and events
For debate events, we are qualifying:
12 teams in Policy Debate,
24 teams in Public Forum Debate,
16 debaters in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, and
20 competitors in Student Congress
For speech events, we are qualifying:
10 in Dramatic Performance
16 in Original Oratory (this event will have 2 prelims, a semis and a final round)
11 teams in Duo Interpretation
10 in Extemporaneous Speaking
10 in Oral Interpretation
12 in Oratorical Declamation
12 in Children’s Literature (auxiliary event)
15 in Impromptu (auxiliary event)
Apart from the auxiliary events, all will compete for one of the 6 BCFL positions in each event at the NCFL Grand Nationals on Memorial Day weekend. Please note that, while Impromptu and Children’s Literature count into the Metro Sweepstakes totals, these are not NCFL events. Please also note that students who qualify for NCFL Grand Nationals may only compete in one event at the Grand National Tournament.
Metros will be held on Saturday, March 14th at Calvert Hall College. Check-in will be from 7:30 AM – 8:00 AM and we expect rounds to begin at 8:30 AM.
Student Congress Finals will be held on Saturday, March 7th at Reservoir High School. You will receive additional information about this from the Student Congress director if you have students competing in Student Congress Finals.
Registration Fees
There is a fee of $25 per student per event to cover the tournament costs. For instance, one Public Forum team’s registration cost is $50. A triple entered student’s registration fee is $75. Any judging fees incurred should be added to your registration costs. Checks made payable to “BCFL” should be presented at Metros and not mailed. Credit card payments are accepted but a 3% processing fee will be added.
Online Registration
The Tournament Director will pre-register all competitors in advance. Coaches will still need to enter their school’s judges on Tabroom.com. Note that the judging requirements are greater for Metros.
Drops: please email Teresa Needer at tneeder@bcps.org as soon as you know if a student will not be attending Metros so she can call up the next available student and adjust panels if necessary.
Coaches, when you enter your judge information, please also indicate if your judge is a first-year college student in the notes section, and please check that all your judges have provided cell phone numbers.
Judging Requirements, payments, and deadlines
Your judging requirements are as follows:
2 judges per Policy team up to a maximum of 6.
2 judges per LD debater up to a maximum of 6.
2 judges per Public Forum team up to a maximum of 6.
1 judge per each 2 entries in speech up to a maximum of 6.
No judge requirement for Student Congress.
Judges should be expected to help in multiple events as needed to field clean panels.
Judges should have some experience judging. Please avoid bringing anyone new to judging. If you are struggling to meet your school’s quota, contact us to see if there are judges that might be available for hire. We cannot guarantee that your school can hired judges. We need to know as soon as possible but no later than March 8th.
We need enough judges to fill panels all day long. We offer these incentives to get good judges:
1. Please contact your team’s alumni to come judge. They can serve as hired judges. If they are available for all rounds, we will provide reimbursement of $80. They need prior approval from the directors. Please indicate these judges in your registration in the notes section.
2. If your school is not competing, please come judge. Coaches who judge at Metros will receive a discount on next year’s dues for their school.
National Qualifiers Meeting March 14th: Coaches must be present to accept bids immediately after the Metro Awards ceremony
After the Metro awards assembly at the conclusion of this tournament, the BCFL must certify the students who will be accepting bids to National. Coaches of all students who competed at Metros need to be present for this meeting.
Prior to the meeting, ask each of your students these questions, and bring the answers:
1) Do you wish to compete on Memorial Day weekend at Nationals, and do you have any conflicts that would prevent you from competing in Washington, DC that weekend?
2) You may only compete in one event at the Grand National Tournament. If you are entered in two or more events (not counting IM and CL) which would you prefer?
We are all hoping for a good tournament on March 7th for Student Congress and on March 14th for all the other events. Please direct any questions to the appropriate director. We hope you will all bring your best!
Sincerely,
The BCFL Executive Committee:
Diocesan Director: Steven Sprouse ddbcfl@gmail.com
Tournament Director: Teresa Needer tneeder@bcps.org
Speech Asst. Director: Michelle Dacey ellieacd@gmail.com
Student Congress AD: Rachel Campbell krc4camp@yahoo.com
Policy Asst. Director: Peter Susko suskop@calverthall.com
LD Assistant Director: Marlo Lacson mmlacson.work@gmail.com
PF Assistant Director: Patrick Daniels patrick.daniels@gmail.com
Secretary/Treasurer: Aimee Sann sanna@notredameprep.com
Website Manager: Rachel Campbell krc4camp@yahoo.com