American Forensic Association National Speech Tournament
The American Forensic Association National Speech Tournament (AFA-NST) is an intercollegiate, individual events based forensics tournament held in conjunction with the first Saturday in April, beginning on the prior Friday and continuing through the subsequent Monday.
[5] Formed in 1949, the American Forensic Association was created with the goal of teaching students to utilize the skills of argumentation and advocacy.
In the first decades of its existence, the AFA was primarily focused on promoting debate competitions, with little to no interest in individual events.
As a result in the rapid rise of interest in individual events in the late 1960s, Dr. Seth Hawkins of Southern Connecticut State University, Dr. Raymond Beaty of Ohio University and Dr. Jack Howe of California State University, Long Beach began to propose ideas of an organized national tournament focused on individual events.
[2] During the 1970-71 forensics season, Dr. Hawkins made the decision that, despite the lack of support from the debate community, the increased interest in IEs (individual events) justified the establishment of a national championship tournament.
Tame, the Chair of the Educational Policies Committee, proposed that the AFA enact institutional changes to accommodate IEs.
[7] In the three years following its establishment, the Committee worked towards developing an inceptive procedural standard for the AFA-NST.
Within the first year of taking office, Weaver established the National Individual Events Tournament Committee, and appointed Larry Schnoor of Minnesota State University, Mankato as Chair.
Shortly thereafter, Schnoor and the committee began making preparatory arrangements for the inaugural AFA-NST.
Interpretation events involve the performer selecting and cutting a script (usually from a play, book, or movie), and acting out the scenes.
[11] Under the AFA rules of Drama Interpretation, the performer is to create a cutting from either stage, screen, or radio with significant literary merit.
[11] Program Oral Interpretation is an event that is unique to the AFA-NST and is not sanctioned by NFA nationals.
[12] In POI, the performer is to create a program of selections linked by a common theme, and consisting of at least two of the different genres of forensics interpretation literature (prose, poetry, and drama), with the pieces being of significant literary merit.
Public address events involve the performance of an originally written speech covering a specific topic or issue.
Persuasive speaking involves the performer delivering an original speech that is intended to inspire action or change the beliefs of the audience.
After dinner speaking is an original, humorous speech centered on a single theme or subject.
Judging should be based on speaking skill, speech coherence, and good taste in humor.
In extemporaneous speaking, competitors receive three topics covering a range of current events.
The competitor will select one of the three topics, and is then given 30 minutes to prepare an original speech utilizing multiple sources.
(e.g. 3rd, 3rd, 2nd; 5th, 2nd, 1st; 6th, 1st, 1st; 1st, 1st, 1st) In the event that a final round contains more than six competitors (e.g. unbreakable tie), no placing beyond 6th will count as a leg under any circumstances.
