What is the NCFCA?
The National Christian Forensics and Communication Association is the third largest speech and debate league in the nation. Students who are homeschooled or attend school are welcome to join. The NCFCA was started 25 years ago by Michael Farris, the lawyer who founded Patrick Henry College and the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, and his daughter, Christy Shipe. It has gained a reputation with colleges in the nation for training students to speak well. You can learn more about the NCFCA at www.ncfca.org
We are in Region 9 (North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware).
When and where do you meet?
We meet at Regent University on Mondays from 4:30-6:30. Speech and Debate alternate weeks.
What ages can join?
Our Junior club is for ages 7-11, and our Senior club is for ages 11 through high school. Students need to be 12 by January 1, 2027 in order to attend the Senior club.
Are there any requirements for attending the club?
Each student will need to work on at least one speech for the year and will also learn how to give an Impromptu speech. Impromptu speeches are where you have 2 minutes to prepare a speech that can be up to 5 minutes long. The skills learned in Impromptu speeches are very helpful for job interviews, scholarship interviews, etc., that each student will benefit from learning how to give an Impromptu speech.
Debate is optional but highly recommended! It will be a lot of fun, and students will learn many great skills in Debate as well.
How much does it cost to join the club?
$350 per student with sibling discounts and payment plans. This is much cheaper than other in-person and online speech and debate classes. I want to keep this affordable for families while also being able to compensate our coaches.
How much does it cost to join the NCFCA?
It is optional to join the NCFCA. Your family will only need to join the NCFCA if you would like to attend an NCFCA tournament next spring. (You can decide later in the fall if you would like to also join the NCFCA.)
Through July 31, the family affiliation fee to join the NCFCA is $135 for families with Senior club competitors. Beginning August 1, the price will be $160. (That was last year’s price, and it doesn’t look like they will raise that price this year.)
Families who have only Junior competitors and would like them to compete at an NCFCA tournament will pay a $30 family affiliation fee with the NCFCA.
What are the 3 types of speeches students can learn?
1. Platform speeches--informing or persuading speeches
2. Interpretive speeches--acting out a book or play, etc.
3. Limited Prep speeches--Extemporaneous (speaking on a current world or US event), Impromptu--choosing one of two topics and giving a short speech, Apologetics--learning how to defend their faith
What skills/experience will my student gain?
Speech--Students will learn how to speak confidently and respectfully on subjects they are passionate about. They will choose the speech category and topic they would like to work on. They will also develop their writing skills and learn how to apply feedback given on their work as they continue to work on their speech throughout the season.
If they attend Apologetics, they will learn how to defend their faith.
Debate--Students will learn to think critically and do research. They will also learn how to listen well to their opponent is saying and to be able to think quickly in order to respond.
How much homework will my student have?
This depends on how many speeches your student would like to do. Students often start with one speech and then, after watching other students give their speeches, they are inspired to start writing a second speech in a different category! It’s awesome to watch them learn confidence as a speaker and to be excited to try new things as the year progresses. It’s all up to them!
We work incrementally on Speech writing, so there won’t be a lot of homework, but students will need to come to club with their homework finished so that they are able to share their speech in club, get feedback, and apply what they are learning at club to their speech writing. Parents will need to doublecheck that homework is completed before the club meetings.
Debate homework will consist mostly of researching, with a lot of help from their Debate coach. They will do practice debates in club. Occasionally, Debaters may meet with the Debate coach outside of club time for further help, as needed.
Should my student try Debate even if they’re not sure they want to compete in Debate?
Yes! I highly recommend that students attend Debate weeks to learn what Debate is like. It is such a great skill to learn that will help them a lot in high school, college, and anything else they do after high school. They will be able to do practice debates at club and will be able to compete at NCFCA tournaments, as well, if they like.
Is the club for both homeschooled students and students who attend school?
Yes! Both students who are homeschooled and students who attend school are welcome to join Lighthouse!
What if my student is shy or hesitant about joining the club?
I can relate to this question because my own kids were shy and hesitant about joining a club when we first started in 2016.
Once they joined the club and started listening to other students’ speeches and received encouragement from other parents and students, they began to speak more confidently and made great friendships, which made the club even more fun! My kids will say that this prepared them more for college than anything else they did in high school, which is what a lot of students say! It’s amazing to watch a student’s transformation throughout the school year.
We play some icebreaker games and provide opportunities for students to get to know each other so that they are making friends in the club as well.
Professors also notice students who are confidently speaking in class, know how to take feedback well, and are respectful, which often opens more doors for students in college.
What if my student loves to do theater?
My daughter competed in the NCFCA for 4 years and then attended Regent as a theater major. Most of her theater training in high school was from doing Interpretive speeches in the NCFCA. I’m very excited that Avishai Deshpande will be teaching at our Speech camp at Regent on July 29-30! He just won first place at the National Championship in the Open Interpretation category with “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde and has coached many students in Interpretive speeches in the NCFCA. Students who love acting will really be inspired and learn many skills by working on an Interpretive speech! I recommend signing them up for the Speech camp as well as club so that they can learn from Avishai in July.
How do I put this club on my student’s high school transcript?
For the first year, they’ll have enough hours with the work they do both at club and at home to put this on their transcript as “Public Speaking I” and “Lincoln Douglas Debate I”. Additional hours they do (example--researching the U.S. government for the debate resolution) can go to other subjects, like Civics/Government on their transcript. Additional Speech writing hours can go toward the hours for their English credit.
Do parents need to attend all the club meetings?
Parents of Juniors (ages 7-11) need to attend all meetings with their Junior.
New this year--Parents of Seniors will not need to attend each meeting but are welcome to attend. Parents of Seniors will attend certain weeks (these will be on the calendar that will be available later in August) to learn how to give feedback to students and will also judge at our Practice Tournaments at Club next spring.
Does our family have to attend an NCFCA tournament next spring?
New this year--Families do not need to attend an NCFCA tournament next spring. The tournaments are amazing to attend and are a lot of fun--and your student will learn a lot by watching other students in our region (North Carolina to Maryland). I highly recommend attending a tournament because your student will gain a lot of skills and friends (parents will make friends too!) and will be inspired by watching other students give their speeches and compete in Debate, but attending one is not mandatory.
The reason it is not mandatory this year is because some families want their kids to learn and attend club but can’t attend an NCFCA tournament. We still want you to be able to attend the club and learn the skills! The 3 practice tournaments we have in club will give students the experience of giving their speech in front of 3 judges (other parents and community judges) and will be helpful for them.
Where were last year’s NCFCA Region 9 tournaments?
Liberty University, Cary Christian School, Fredericksburg Christian School, and our Regional tournament was at Regent.
What is an NCFCA tournament like?
Tournaments are 2-3 days long. A parent needs to attend and stay on site during the tournament in order to judge rounds. There are also online tournaments a student can attend.
Judging is a lot of fun! They will provide a short training before parents judge, and no other experience is needed. Parents learn a lot as they judge rounds that will help them as they help their own students.
How many practice tournaments will you have at club in the spring?
We will have 3 practice tournaments at club next spring. Parents will judge at each one and families will recruit community judges to also come judge. People really enjoy judging because they are very inspired as they listen to the students! A lot of our community judges ask when they next one will be because they would like to come back and judge again.
Why do parents and students say that the NCFCA prepared them more for college than anything else they had done in high school?
Students who learn how to speak confidently and respectfully in high school go to college classes and speak confidently and respectfully there as well. In this day and age, many students are shy and hesitate to speak up in class, so NCFCA students do very well in college because of their public speaking skills. Many students have told me that they were grateful they learned how to speak in high school because it prepared them so well for college and gave them many great opportunities in college.
What do colleges think of the NCFCA?
Colleges love NCFCA students! Regent actively recruits them with very good scholarships. This just happened this spring when one of the deans at Regent spoke at our Regional tournament and said that that Regent loves NCFCA students and wants them to attend Regent. NCFCA students have a great reputation, and colleges notice that. They often win very good scholarships because their skills set them apart.
If you have a question that wasn’t answered here, contact Jennifer Garrido at lighthousevb9@gmail.com and we can set up a time to talk on the phone, or I can answer your questions over email--whichever you prefer!