Category: Uncategorized

I N T E R N A T I O N A L   F O R E N S I C S    A S S O C I A T I O N 

37th ANNUAL SPEECH & DEBATE TOURNAMENT AND CONFERENCE

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA – MARCH 6-11, 2027

Dear Colleagues,

We cordially invite your students and coaches to join us in Buenos Aires on March 6–11, 2027, to compete in the International Forensics Association’s 37th Annual International Speech and Debate Tournament.

The tournament will be conducted in English and will feature team debates in the National Parliamentary Debate Association and British Parliamentary formats; individual debates in the International Public Debate Association format; five interpretation of literature events; four platform speaking events; two limited preparation speaking events; two online events; and a Nuance event designed to honor our host nation. All competition rounds will be hosted at the NH Buenos Aires City Hotel.

We recognize that the cost of attending an international tournament is often the primary reason programs are unable to participate. By announcing the tournament dates well in advance and securing an affordable hotel rate of $140 per night (double occupancy), we hope to make attendance more accessible for your program.

Should you have any questions regarding the registration process, please consult the attached instructions or contact our Tournament Director, Dr. Bryan Malinis, regarding tournament-related matters or our Treasurer, Prof. Sarah Hinkle, regarding financial questions.

We look forward to welcoming your team to Buenos Aires for an unforgettable week of competition, cultural exchange, and international friendship.

Respectfully,

Michael J. McHan

Dr. Michael McHan

President, International Forensics Association

www.IFA.edu

The reservation link to book hotel rooms for IFA 2026 in Athens, Greece is now available. Please see the details below:

IFA Tournament 2026 – Athens

• Tournament Hotel: Wyndham Athens Residence
• Group Rate: 150€ (approx. $156) per night
• Room Type: Double room, breakfast included
• Note: All king beds can be converted into two twin beds if needed.

Reservation Link: IFA Tournament 2026- Athens

If you are planning on competing in the tournament it is required that you stay at the tournament hotel. 

I encourage you to reserve rooms as soon as possible, as we anticipate a large turnout for this tournament. At the same time, we understand that some schools may not know their exact room needs until closer to the event. Nevertheless, booking early will be extremely helpful for planning purposes.

I N T E R N A T I O N A L   F O R E N S I C S    A S S O C I A T I O N

36th ANNUAL SPEECH & DEBATE TOURNAMENT AND CONFERENCE

ATHENS, GREECE – MARCH 8-12, 2026

Dear Colleagues,

We cordially invite your students and coaches to join us in Athens, Greece next year from 8-12 March 2026 to participate in the International Forensics Association’s 36th Annual Speech & Debate Tournament and Conference. The IFA business meeting and reception will take place on March 8th, the tournament on March 9th and 10th, and two days of optional cultural excursions planned for March 11th and 12th.

The competition will be conducted in English and consist of team debates in National Parliamentary Debate Association and British Parliamentary formats; individual debates in International Public Debate Association format; five interpretation of literature events, four platform speaking events, two limited preparation speaking events, two online events, and a nuance event designed to honor our host nation.

We know that the cost of travel is often the reason programs are unable to attend, but we hope that by identifying the dates at an early juncture, keeping our fees low, and securing a reasonable hotel contract (Wyndham Athens Residence – $150€ for double occupancy, including breakfast) near public transit at one of the primary airports that service Athens will put the opportunity within reach for your students.

All competition rounds in Athens will be hosted at the tournament hotel. Should you have any questions regarding the registration process or our organization please visit our website at www.IFA.edu or contact us directly at internationalforensics@gmail.com.

We look forward to the prospect of seeing your team in Athens next Spring for the experience of a lifetime!

Kind Regards,

Dr. Michael McHan

President, International Forensics Association

Grossmont College

internationalforensics@gmail.com

http://www.IFA.edu

Dear Colleagues,

We cordially invite your students and coaches to join us in Incheon, South Korea on March 7-9, 2025, to compete in the International Forensics Association’s 35th Annual International Speech and Debate Tournament.

The tournament will be conducted in English and consist of team debates in National Parliamentary Debate Association and British Parliamentary format; individual debates in International Public Debate Association format; five interpretation of literature events, four platform speaking events, two limited preparation speaking events, two online events, and a nuance event designed to honor our host nation. All competition rounds will be co-hosted by the University of Utah-Asia Campus and George Mason University-Korea.

We know that the cost of airfare is often the reason programs are unable to attend, but we hope that by identifying the dates at an early juncture, keeping our fees low, and securing an affordable hotel contract at the Sheraton Grand Incheon ($204 for double occupancy including breakfast) will help your program participate.

Please reference our registration page https://forensicstournament.net/IFA/25 for the full invitation to the tournament and contact us with any questions you may have. We look forward to the prospect of seeing your team in Korea for the experience of a lifetime!

Kind Regards,
Nicholas Butler, Ph.D.
President, International Forensics Association
University of Maryland, Global Campus

internationalforensics@gmail.com

+1 (480) 370-0294

Dear Colleagues,

We cordially invite your students and coaches to join us in South Korea next year from 7-12 March 2025 to participate in the International Forensics Association’s 35th Annual Speech & Debate Tournament and Conference.

The tournament will officially be hosted on March 8-9 (Saturday/Sunday) and a formal invitation with complete details will be published over the Summer. The competition will be conducted in English and consist of team debates in National Parliamentary Debate Association and British Parliamentary formats; individual debates in International Public Debate Association format; five interpretation of literature events, four platform speaking events, two limited preparation speaking events, two online events, and a nuance event designed to honor our host nation. All competition rounds will be hosted on the University of Utah’s Asia campus in Incheon, South Korea.

We recognize that the cost of airfare is often the reason programs are unable to attend, but we hope that by identifying the dates at an early juncture; keeping our registration fees low; and securing hotel blocks ($189 at the Sheraton Grand and $149 at the Oakwood Premiere) will help your program participate. Moreover, since the tournament will be hosted on a campus, teams will have the additional option of choosing their own accommodations.

Should you have any questions regarding our organization or the registration process to compete, please consult our website (www.intlforensics.org) or contact one of our officers directly.  We look forward to the prospect of seeing your team in South Korea for the experience of a lifetime!

Kind Regards,

Nicholas Butler, Ph.D.

President, International Forensics Association

University of Maryland, Global Campus

internationalforensics@gmail.com

+1 (480) 370-0294

Dear Colleagues,

If you plan on attending IFA in Dublin this March, please note two important changes to our invitation:

1) We’ve changed the business meeting to after registration instead of awards based on feedback from our NCA meeting

2) The registration deadline has moved to Friday Feb 2nd at midnight because we need to know how many competition rooms we will require ASAP

We apologize for any stress this may cause trying to figure out your entry sooner than usual, but the tournament is going to be quite large and our primary concern is having enough rooms.

If you haven’t made hotel reservations yet, there are still rooms at the Hyatt Centric with king size beds. Unfortunately, our reduced fare is no longer available, but our travel agent Jill Kraatz (jill.kraatz@maritzselect.com) will do her best to assist with any questions your program might have.

Additional updates will be posted to our social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram as well as our website (intlforensics.org), so please follow us to stay informed.

Invitation materials are located here: IFA 2024 Invitation – Update

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in Dublin!

Nick Butler, PhD

IFA President

The 34th Annual International Speech and Debate Tournament will be hosted at the Hyatt Centric Dublin, Ireland from 8-13 March, 2024.

Invitation materials are available here: https://ifa.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2024-ifa-invite-dublin.pdf

We are proud to announce that the 33rd International Speech & Debate Tournament and Conference will be hosted in Tokyo, Japan from 10-15 March 2023.

A detailed invitation for the tournament is located here: Invitation

Updated 1/10/22: Please note that this year’s tournament has shifted from an in-person event to a virtual environment for the health and safety of participants.

Full details are outlined here: