How Async Debate Works: A Guide for NOF Competitors

Async Debate brings the rigor of competitive debate into a format that fits NOF's model: fully online, on your own schedule, with thoughtful written feedback from real judges.

The Basics
In Async Debate, students record and submit a single constructive speech rather than debating live. Each competitor records either their affirmative/pro case or their main negative/con strategy, not to exceed five (5) minutes. That speech is the core of the event: a tight, well-organized argument that a judge can evaluate on its own.

Because everything is recorded and submitted, there's no live scheduling to coordinate and no travel involved. Students prepare, record, and upload their submission, and our judges evaluate on their own time.

Topic Releases
A single Async Debate topic is posted for each Asynchronous Invitational on the 1st of the month before the tournament's registration date. That gives students more than a full month to research, build their case, and refine their delivery before they ever hit record… plenty of runway to do their best work.

The Preliminary Rounds
Async Debate consists of three (3) preliminary rounds. Each competitor's recorded constructive speech is circulated to judges for evaluation. To keep ballots manageable and fair, no more than seven (7) constructive speeches will appear on any single preliminary-round ballot.

One important detail: in the preliminary rounds, judges rank the speeches 1–5. There are no speaker scores in Async Debate; students are evaluated on the strength of their case and argumentation, not a separate points tally.

Breaking to the Final Round
Competitors who break to the final round will be notified of their advancement and asked to record a rebuttal speech for that round. Here's where the format shifts gears: finalists have forty-eight (48) hours to record their rebuttal and upload it to their entry on ForensicTournament.net (FTN).

Once rebuttals are in, the Tournament Director pairs the final-round ballots and circulates them to the final-round judges, who evaluate and submit their decisions. Unlike the preliminary rounds, the final round is scored win/loss: head-to-head, just like a traditional debate.

A Quick Note on Tabbing
Async Debate has an unusual structure, and that's reflected in how it's scored across the tournament. Because the preliminary rounds evaluate a single recorded speech per competitor, preliminary rounds are tabbed as an Individual Event. The final round, which pairs finalists head-to-head with a rebuttal, is tabbed as a debate event. Preliminary ballots are ranked 1–5; the final is ranked win/loss.

We hope that your team enjoys the changes to this event to allow for more engaging asynchronous debates! If you've been curious about getting your students into debate but the live format has never quite worked for their schedule, Async Debate is a great place to start.

Questions about Async Debate? Reach us at info@nationalonlineforensics.org, and keep an eye on the schedule for the next Asynchronous Invitational.