SpeechWire Tournament Services - Forensics Tournament Software

Patriot Games Classic

2026 Invitation

George Mason University cordially invites you to attend the 21st Annual Patriot Games Classic to be held on the George Mason University Campus in Fairfax, Virginia on December 5^th and 6^th, 2026. Thank you to everyone who has made Patriot Games an important part of their travel schedule for the past two decades!!.

The deadline for entry is Friday, November 13^th at 11:59 PM EST, but we strongly encourage people to enter early, as once we are filled, we will no longer be to accept entries. Registration is open. Registration will take place through the website:

We have been able to reserve a block of rooms at the Fairfax Marriott for this tournament. Information on the block is in the invite. This weekend promises to be full of high energy and stress, which sometimes can effect students adversely. As a reminder, please bring all relevant medical forms with you in case a medical professional needs them.

We look forward to seeing you all in December!

Sincerely,

Tournament Co-Directors

Dawn Lowry

Director of Forensics

Tyler Watkins

Assistant Director of Forensics

Student Tournament Co-Directors

Abigail Lizotte and Camila Canelas Soto

EVENTS OFFERED/ENTRY CAPS:

Pattern A

EXT Extemporaneous Speaking 8

HI Humorous Interpretation 8

OI Oral Interpretation 8

DUO Duo Interpretation 8

INFO Informative Speaking 8

IMP Impromptu 8

Pattern B/Debate:

OO Original Oratory 8

DI Dramatic Interpretation 8

DEC Declamation 8

POI Program Oral Interpretation 8

PF Public Forum Debate 8

LD Lincoln-Douglas Debate 8

CD Congressional Debate 8

Additional slots may be requested via Speechwire’s wait list feature. After positive feedback, we are attempting to add Impromptu to our in-person tournament. As this does impact room availability, we cannot guarantee being able to increase event size. Schools will be notified which entries have been accepted from the wait list each Monday, starting Nov. 16^th, 2026.

Competitors at most may enter:

2 speech events per pattern; or

1 form of debate and 2 speech events in Pattern A.

A: EXT, HI, OI (1^st Round Prose), DUO, INF, IMP

B: OO, DEC, DI, POI, All debate, and Congress

FEES:

IE Entry, Duo (per team) $45.00

IE Judge (per uncovered entry) $25.00

Congress, LD, PF (per team) $70.00

Debate Judge (per uncovered entry) $45.00

Entry Drop/Change 11/16 @ 5PM Entry Fee (EF)

Entry Drop/Change 11/23@5PM EF + $25.00

Entry Drop/Change 11/30@5PM EF + $35.00

Entry Drop/Change 12/4 EF +$50.00

Judge Drop 11/23@5PM $50

Judge Drop 11/30@5PM $100.00

Judge Drop 12/5 $200.00

JUDGE REQUIREMENTS:

A qualified judge should be provided for every 6 entries or fraction thereof in individual events.
A qualified judge should be provided for every 2 entries or fraction thereof in PF and LD.
A qualified judge should be provided for every school with Congressional Debate entries.
Judge pools are separate; no judge may cover more than one obligation.

Entry fees will be calculated at 9pm on Monday November 16^th 2026.

All additional fee changes take place at 5:01 pm of the specified date on pg.1.

Fees are due at or before registration: School or personal checks should be made payable to George Mason University. Hold checks are not accepted. Schools can also pay online.

https://secure.touchnet.com/C20788_ustores/web/store_main.jsp?STOREID=110&SINGLESTORE=true

Fees assessed once the tournament has started (for no-show students or no-show judges) should be paid immediately at the ballot table. Schools with outstanding fees risk preventing their students from participating in elimination rounds.

TOURNAMENT HOTEL:

Marriott Fair Oaks will once again serve as the official tournament hotel for the GMU Patriot Games. A block of rooms has been reserved here for the tournament weekend. $99 for King Rooms and $124 for Doubles.

Marriott Fairfax at Fair Oaks:

11787 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway

Fairfax, VA 22033

(703) 352-2525

*10 minute drive from campus

Room rates have been reserved for us under GMU Patriot Games. A reduced rate will be available through the November 6th. The following note is from the hotel regarding making reservations:

METHOD OF RESERVATIONS

Reservations for the Event will be made by Rooming List to be provided directly to the hotel on or before:

Friday, November 6th, 2026, by 4:00pm (EST).

· Each submitted Rooming List must be fully complete at the time of submission.

· Rooming Lists with blank name spaces or unknown dates will not be uploaded or guaranteed.

· Mandatory Information – Room First & Last Name / Arrival & Departure Dates / Room Type / Email Address

· Submit Rooming List to the Sales Office – seth.weiner@fairfaxmarriott.com

· Please do not call the Hotel directly for reservation assistance. All reservation details of any kind must go through the Sales Office via email to Seth Weiner.

GUARANTEED RESERVATIONS

All reservations must be accompanied by a first night room deposit.

Hotel will not hold any reservations unless secured by one of the above methods.

BILLING ARRANGEMENTS

The following billing arrangements apply: Individual to Pay

Individual Master Billing requests will be addressed after rooming list confirmations on a school-by-school basis.

CANCELLATION

If an Individual guest wishes to cancel their reservation, they must do so by 6:00pm 48-hours prior to their reservation arrival date. If the reservation is not cancelled and the guest does not check into the hotel the guest will be charged for 1 night’s room and tax to the credit card on file when the reservation was made.

OTHER OPTIONS: Fairfax is home to numerous hotels, so if you need to find one that suits your team’s needs, it wouldn’t be hard to find. We can also make recommendations if you need them.

22^nd Annual Patriot Games Tournament Schedule

<Tentative and subject to change>

Friday December 4^th, 2026

7:00-8:30 Registration, Marriott Fair Oaks

Saturday December 5^th, 2026

8:00 LD Round 1, PFD Round 1, Congress 1 (8:00-11:00)

9:00 LD Round 2, PFD Round 2

10:00 Round 1B (OO, DEC, DI, POI)

11:15 Draw

11:45 Round 1A (EXT, HI, OI, DUO, INF)

1:30 LD Round 3, PFD Round 3, Congress 2 (1:30-4:30)

2:30 Round 2B

4:00 LD Round 4, PFD Round 4

5:00 Draw

5:30 Round 2A

7:00 Round 3B, Congress Semis

8:30 LD Round 5, PFD Round 5

10:30 Posting of Congress, PFD, and LD elimination round participants online

Sunday December 6^th, 2026

7:30 Triple Octo PFD (as needed)

8:15 Draw

8:45 Round 3A

10:15 Double Octo-Finals PFD and LD, Quarter-Finals B Pattern, Congress Final 1 (9:30-11:30)

11:30 Draw

11:45 Quarter-Finals A Pattern

12:45 Octo-Finals PFD and LD

1:15 Semi-Finals B Pattern, Congress Final 2 (1:15-2:45)

2:00 Quarter-Finals PFD and LD

2:45 Draw

3:15 Semi-Finals PFD and LD, Semi-Finals A Pattern

4:45 Finals LD, Finals PFD, Finals B Pattern

5:45 Draw

6:00 Finals A Pattern

8:30 Awards (ASAP)

EVENT RULES:

Congress:
Each school entering Congress must provide a bill or resolution for debate. The bills should be emailed to dlowry4@gmu.edu no later than 5 p.m. Monday November 16^th 2026. Please use the NSDA template when submitting your bill. We will post the legislation packet for all schools on the website no later than Friday, November 23^rd, 2026. Schools who enter Congress students without submitting legislation risk their students being removed from the competition. All applicable rules will be published with the legislation packet.

Public Forum Debate: NSDA Rules
Public Forum will use the December 2026 NSDA Topic as published on the NSDA website.

Lincoln/Douglas Debate: NSDA Rules

LD will use the November/December 2026 NSDA Topic as published on the NSDA website.

Duo Interpretation: NSDA Rules

Declamation: NCFL Rules

Freshman and Sophomore competitors only.

Oral Interpretation: NCFL Rules (Round 1 begins with Prose)

Dramatic Interpretation: NSDA Rules

Humorous Interpretation: NSDA Rules

Original Oratory: NSDA Rules

Extemporaneous Speaking: NSDA Rules
Please note that the final round will feature an open 3-minute cross-examination period.

Informative Speaking: NSDA Rules

Program Oral Interpretation: NSDA Rules

Impromptu: NSDA Rules **

** Round Themes will be announced once registration closes.

Team and Individual Sweepstakes: Top 5 Overall Team Sweepstakes, Top Debate School, Top IE School, and Top Congress Schools, Top 5 in Individual Sweepstake (must be entered in 3 events to be eligible).