NEAT #4 - HBCU Asynchronous Tournament

Registration	General information	Schematics	Files for download	Tournament schedule	Fees	Registration handbook

General information

This is a College tournament in New York.

View manager contact information

NEAT # 4 - HBCU Asynchronous Tournament

November 2 - 6, 2026

Dear Colleagues:

I am thrilled to welcome you to the 2026 Northeast Alliance Tournament (NEAT) # 4 HBCU Tournament! We are excited to host you for an exciting week of competition. This asynchronous tournament will be the 4th NEAT (Northeast Alliance Tournament) of the 2026 - 27 season. The asynchronous schedule will be held on U.S. Eastern Time. Please observe the time zone differences!

Although this tournament is open to all colleges and universities, special emphasis will be placed on welcoming and highlighting participation from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The tournament is intended to recognize the important tradition of public address, advocacy, and civic leadership at HBCUs while expanding their representation and opportunities within intercollegiate forensics.

Randy Perez

Tournament Director

Entry Rules:

1. Schools may enter students up to three events per pattern.

2. Entry fees shall be $9 per IE slot.

3. Students may enter up to 3 events per pattern. Two duos count as two events.

4. Please provide a qualified judge for every 6 slots.

5. Hired judges will be $12 for each uncovered slot.

6. The deadline for entry (via Speechwire) is Monday, November 2^nd, 2026 at 5pm U.S. Eastern Time (E.T.)

7. Drop fees will be assessed as follows:

Monday, November 2^nd, 2026 (at 5PM E.T.):

Add/Drops at the registration deadline are assessed a $25 fee in addition to the original entry fee.

Thursday, November 5^th, 2026 (at 4PM E.T.) & Friday, November 6th, 2026 (at 2PM ET):

Missing ballots at the preliminary and final round ballot deadlines will be assessed a $25 late submission penalty. Please submit your ballots on time!

Competition Rules:

1.  Schools may enter up to six students in each event.

2.  Base entry team fees are $30 per team to help cover the cost of hired judges.

3. Please provide at least ONE qualified judge.

4. If you cannot provide a judge, a flat fee of $60 will be charged.

5.  Students must be entered in at least three individual events to be eligible for speaker awards.

6.  For IE school sweeps, points will be awarded based on final round placement as follows: 6^th place = 1 point; 5^th place = 2 points; 4^th place = 3 points; 3^rd place = 4 points; 2^nd place = 5 points; 1^st place = 6 points

Please note the following entry/judging deadlines:

NOTE: TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE WILL RUN ON U.S. EASTERN TIME! PLEASE NOTE TIME ZONE DIFFERENCES.

Monday, Nov. 2^nd

5pm ET: All entries must be received with all video links uploaded!

6:30pm ET: Round 1 & Round 2 speech events released to judges.

Thursday, Nov. 5th

4pm ET: All Round 1 & Round 2 Preliminary Ballots Due!

6pm ET: Final Round speech events released to judges.

Friday, Nov. 6th

2pm ET: All final round ballots due

6pm ET: Final results announced via Speechwire

Competition Rules:

Competitors will provide videos of their performances which will be judged asynchronously.

Video Submission Requirements:

Participating teams are expected to submit videos recorded specifically for this tournament. Each submitted video must include the tournament name, “NEAT #4 HBCU Asynchronous Tournament,” in the video title or description.

Any video found to have been previously submitted or used at another asynchronous tournament will be considered ineligible and the entry will be automatically disqualified.

Coaches and competitors are responsible for confirming before the tournament entry deadline that every submitted video link is working, accessible, and contains clear audio. Any submission with a broken or inaccessible link, no audio, or other audio problems at the tournament entry deadline will receive a rank of “0.”

By entering this tournament, each team acknowledges that all submitted video links are working, contain no audio problems, and feature performances recorded specifically for the NEAT # 4 HBCU Asynchronous Tournament.

Judging Responsibilities:

Judges provided by each participating team are expected to watch all prerecorded videos assigned to them and submit their electronic SpeechWire ballots by the published ballot-submission deadline. Teams are responsible for ensuring that their judges complete every assigned ballot.

Any ballot not submitted by the deadline may be reassigned to another judge, and the responsible team will be assessed a $25 late judging fee for each late or missing ballot.

How to provide your video?

Our individual events tournament will be conducted asynchronously. Students should record their video, then upload it to their own private (or a team) YouTube channel. Once uploaded, students can adjust the video setting to “unlisted.” This will make the video un-searchable, but still viewable to anyone with the link (url.)

We will be using AFA - NST standards for videos. We are following identical asynchronous tournament procedures held by OATS (Online Asynchronous Tournament Series), where students maintain an "honor system" for recording Limited Preparation speech events. 

When registering for the tournament, Speechwire will provide a space to enter a student name and event.  After inputting entries, you can provide links to videos under the “links” tab on Speechwire’s main menu.

When judges receive their dance cards / eballots, those links will be provided to them. These links will also be provided to other competitors in the round. Due to privacy concerns, only judges and students participating in a specific round will have access to video links for that round. Please do not share these links out of respect for the performers. The same video will be used for all rounds: 2 preliminary rounds and finals. 

Final Round Video Access and Consent:

Final-round video links may be made available after the tournament for educational purposes. A competitor’s final-round video will be shared beyond the tournament only if the competitor completes the Google Video Release Consent Form authorizing its use.

Competitors are not required to consent to the educational release of their videos as a condition of entering or advancing at the tournament. Videos without affirmative consent will remain restricted to the judges, competitors, and tournament administrators who require access during the competition.

Manager contact information

Randy Perez
Email address: randy@neatspeech.info
Phone number: (516) 858-3156

Mailing address

Queens, NY