2026 Off-Broadway Swing

December 5 – 6, 2026

 

 

Hofstra University

 

Hofstra University and the Hofstra Forensics Alumni would like to invite you to the 2026 Off-Broadway Swing!  Both portions of the swing will be held IN-PERSON on our beautiful campus in Hempstead, NY located just 35 miles east of fabulous New York City. Both halves will feature all 11 NFA events.  In addition, the Hofstra portion (Saturday) will feature IPDA debate, while the Hofstra Forensics Alumni portion (Sunday) will feature PKD Public Forum and NPDA. What follows is all the information you should need to plan your trip, but feel free to contact me if you have any other questions. We’re looking forward to hosting you this December!

 

 

Trent Webb, M.A.

Director of Forensics

Hofstra University

516-463-5253

Trent.Webb@Hofstra.edu

 

 

Alisa Osborne, Co-Tournament Director

Kye McDougal, Co-Tournament Director

JT Brockmann, Co-Tournament Director

 

 

 

We will be using Speechwire for Judges (We will be using e-ballots again this year! Each school is responsible for setting up accounts for each of their judges!)

 

1. Go to live.speechwire.com .

2. Log in with your email and password.

3. See your e-ballots on that page once they are released.

4. Click an e-ballot and click start when the round has begun.

5. Please submit your e-ballots promptly at the conclusion of the round.

 

Registration

1.  Each school may enter a maximum of 6 students per event.

 

2.  Each student may enter up to 3 events per pattern. However, STUDENTS ENTERED IN DEBATE MAY NOT CROSS-ENTER IN INDIVIDUAL EVENTS ON THE SAME DAY!!

 

3.  Patterns will be as follows:

 

         PATTERN A: Impromptu, Drama, ADS, RC, Prose

         PATTERN B: Extemp, Persuasive, POI, Duo, Poetry, Informative

 

4.  Registration will be via Speechwire. All schools must submit their entry by Tuesday, December 2 @ 9PM EST.

 

Fees

 

 

Option 1: (Preferred)

Pay fees online via debit/credit using the following link. Use your invoice from Speechwire to determine fees.

Link: https://ebill.hofstra.edu/C20848_ustores/web/store_main.jsp?STOREID=42&SINGLESTORE=true

 

Option 2:

Make a check payable: Hofstra University (Attn: Forensics-23100)

 

 

1.  The following slot fees shall be assessed:

 

         School fee         $30 per school per half

         I.E. slot             $10 each

         IPDA                  $25 per debater

         PF          $30 per team

 

2.  Fees for uncovered slots/debaters will be assessed as follows:

 

         Uncovered IE slot = $20 per slot

         Uncovered Debate = $ 50 per debater or team

 

NOTE: ALL TEAMS MUST COVER AT LEAST 50% OF THEIR ENTRY!!!**

 

**If you really can’t cover 50%, please email me.

 

3. Fees will initially be calculated on Wednesday, December 3 at 1pm. Add/drop fees will be assessed as follows:

 

         Add/drops on Thursday, Dec. 3: $15 per change plus entry fee

         Drops on Friday, Dec. 4 incur a $30 per drop plus entry fee

         NO ADDS ALLOWED ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4!!!

         Drops on Saturday, Dec. 5: $50 per drop plus original entry fee

         Drops on Sunday, Dec. 6: $100 per drop plus original entry fee

         NO ADDS ALLOWED ON SATURDAY OR SUNDAY!!!

 

JUDGE DROPS: Friday, Dec. 4 - $100/Saturday or Sunday, Dec. 5 – 6  - $200

 

3.  Each judge can cover 6 slots and 2 debaters/teams. Please make every attempt to cover your entry. As the saying goes, we’d MUCH rather have your judges than your money.  Schools are responsible for entering their judges as the right judge type when it comes to calculating fees.

 

4.  Judges who fail to pick up ballots will render their students ineligible for elimination rounds.

 

5.  Judges will be used in both debate and individual events unless otherwise noted.  Judges are obligated to judge one round past their student’s elimination.

 

 

 

Competition Rules

1.  NFA rules and descriptions will govern all NFA events. Phi Rho Pi rules will govern IPDA. Please make note of these rules, as they may differ from tournaments in your region.  PKD rules govern PF. There will be no C/X in the final round of Extemp.

 

2.  When in conflict, accommodation requests will take precedence over any NFA or IPDA rule.

 

3.  On Saturday, we will offer one division of Individual IPDA debate. Please make note of the following rules:

         a. Debaters will be presented with 5 resolutions. Both debaters will alternatively strike one resolution each, starting with the negative. The 30-minute preparation period begins at the first negative strike.  We will follow the time constraints set forth by the IPDA: 5-2-6-2-3-5-3.

         b. During prep time, students are allowed to access any prepared material and/or electronic materials.  This includes access to the Internet. In addition, students are allowed to prep with other students, but NOT COACHES.

         c. All preliminary rounds will be randomly preset, however we reserve the right to power match rounds to break ties. Brackets will NOT be broken in elimination rounds.

         d.  There will be a designated room for topic draw. Students MUST report there ON TIME for draw! IPDA will most likely be flighted so students should note which flight they are. Further info can be found at www.ipdadebate.info

        

4. NEW IPDA schedule: there will be NO outrounds for IPDA. All debaters will debate 5 rounds (rounds 4 and 5 may be powered to break ties). All 5-0 debaters receive Gold; 4-1 debaters receive Silver; and 3-2 debaters receive Bronze.

 

 

5. Additionally on Sunday, we will offer one division PKD-sponsored Public Forum (PF). Please make note of the following rules:

         a. The PKD Fall 2026 resolution shall be used.

         b. Time constraints, structure, and general rules can be found by accessing the following link:

 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RpjvLOpMNWoSYHmSfJx_K76Yl6cJ06t_EycRaXMjKD8/edit?usp=sharing

 

        

6.  NO disclosure in debate rounds.  Please turn in ballots before offering any oral critiques.

 

7. Impromptu Schema: As always, expect Broadway-themed prompts.

 

Awards

1.  Awards will be presented to each finalist in individual events.

 

2.  In PF debate, there will be two elimination rounds. Debaters reaching the first elimination round receive Bronze. The winners of the second elimination round receive Gold, while the other debater(s) receive Silver.

 

3.  In individual events, sweepstakes points are awarded as follows:

         12 points – 1st place in finals

         10 points – 2nd place in finals

         8 points – 3rd place in finals

         6 points – 4th place in finals

         4 points – 5th place in finals

         2 points – 6th/7th place in finals

 

4.  In debate, sweepstakes points are awarded as follows:

         5 points for each prelim win (top 4 debaters/teams count)

 

5.  In addition, the top speakers and schools will be recognized.  Students must be entered in four events to be eligible for individual sweeps; schools must be entered in BOTH debate and IE to be eligible for overall sweeps.

 

Hotel/Transportation

-       There’s no official tournament hotel. I strongly recommend using your hotel site of choice.

-       The NYC metro region is serviced by four airports: LaGuardia and JFK are both 30-40 minutes from campus. Newark is 60-90 minutes away, while Islip is about 2 hours from campus.

-       I recommend using the Playbill website, the TodayTix app and Trip Advisor to plan any extracurricular activities while in NYC.

 

 

 

 

 INDIVIDUAL EVENTS SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES EASTERN STANDARD TIME)

 

 

 

DEBATE SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES EASTERN STANDARD TIME)

 

 

 

(vr24)