Forensics (NFL)

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, but -- </p>

<p>Does anyone know if NFL allows you to compete as an individual? I live in Virginia and my high school doesn't have a speech or debate team and so obviously isn't a member of NFL. I know a lot of people who compete though, and I'm really passionate about speech, so I was wondering if I could compete as an individual? Or could I maybe latch onto the team of a nearby school? </p>

<p>I emailed my District contact and he didn't know anything either. I emailed the national office and haven't received a response. Could anyone who is familiar with NFL help me out? Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Do what I did and start a team.</p>

3

<p>You can, but it requires a lot of paperwork from your school.</p>

4

<p>To compete individually, your school still has to sign up in the league, because every player has to be linked back to somewhere. In other words, if you win first place at an event, there has to be a school that the win is officially credited to, if that makes any sense. </p>

<p>I think this would involve more contact with your school officials than with people from the NFL.
This is the application for a new school: <a href=“http://www.nflonline.org/uploads/AboutNFL/New%20School%20Form082410fillin.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nflonline.org/uploads/AboutNFL/New%20School%20Form082410fillin.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>So you should probably talk to someone in your school who handles stuff like this.</p>

5

<p>Thank you so much! I’ll talk to my school and see what they can do. </p>

<p>Does anyone know if I could still get transportation to and from the tournaments from a nearby team? I know I’d probably have to find out which nearby schools have teams and ask them myself, but I can’t view the list of nearby teams unless I’m a member - and I can’t become a member unless I compete. haha. Is there any other way to find teams in the area?</p>

6

<p>go to debateresults.com and check out the various high school competitions. it will list results and by that, you can figure out which schools near you compete. of course you need to look at tournaments that are near you to find this info.</p>

<p>and yes, with some hoop jumping, you can compete… though with some difficulty.</p>

7

<p>I think I might start my own Speech and Debate team at my school. Does anyone have any experience on how to go about doing this? My school has always been reluctant to start new teams or join into organizations like the NFL. And even if I did get permission, I’m afraid that no one will be interested to join. Any suggestions?</p>

8

<p>

I have done this. I’ve actually started a few clubs, including a Speech/Debate club.</p>

<p>Here are some steps:

  1. Hold an interest meeting, inviting all students, to see if there’s sufficient demand.
  2. Find a faculty ally/sponsor/representative.
  3. Petition your school using the interested students.
  4. Talk to your state debate association to find out membership requirements and tournament dates.
  5. If the team is doing well, you can register for the NFL later. You only need to register if you actually go to official NFL tournaments (regionals+).</p>