Main

TCFL Congress State Qualifier

Saturday, February 28th, 2026

Arroyo Grande High School

495 Valley Rd.

Arroyo Grande, CA 93420

Tentative Schedule

09:00am - 09:30am - Registration (Coaches and judges need to check in)

09:30am - 10:15am - Judges Orientation and General Assembly

10:15am -11:45am - Session 1

11:45am - 12:15pm - Lunch Break

12:15pm - 01:45pm - Session 2

02:15pm - 03:45pm - Finals

Awards will happen as soon as possible after finals!

Entries Deadline, Limits, & Restrictions

All entries must be entered in Tabroom no later than Friday, February 20th, 2026 at 11:55pm. No exceptions will be made for this deadline. Coaches may drop entries until Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 at 01:00pm. Schools will still owe entry fees and judges for all drops made after this deadline.

Only schools who submitted a piece of legislation by Friday, January 30th, 2026 at 5:00pm, will be permitted to register entries at the Congress State Qualifier Tournament. There will be no exceptions to this rule or deadline. Legislation may be submitted via e-mail to TCFL President Brandon Batham (brandonbatham@gmail.com), TCFL Treasurer Eleanor Tinio (etinio@hartdistrict.org), and TCFL Co-Secretary Chris Ryan (chris.ryan@lmusd.org).

Schools are limited to enter a number of entries that is no more than one number above the TCFL's 2025-2026 Allocation for each event. This means that schools may enter no more than 9 Congressional Debate entries and 2 Presiding Officer entries (although schools will only be guaranteed 1 Presiding Officer entry).

Registration is limited to students who have competed at a TCFL Open Tournament or Congress during the 2025-2026 Season. Coaches must submit the list of eligible students via the Qualifier Eligibility Form, which must be completed by Friday, February 13th, 2026 at 11:55pm. Additionally, only schools who were fully registered and paid members of the California High School Speech Association as of Friday, February 6th, 2026 will be permitted to register entries. All entries will be waitlisted until reviewed and approved by a TCFL Officer to verify these requirements.

All entries must have submitted a completed and signed Event Preference Form prior to the start of Round 1. Coaches must e-mail their forms to TCFL President Brandon Batham at brandonbatham@gmail.com, or submit the physical forms for their students at Registration.

School Fee and Entry Fees

There is a mandatory $50 School Fee for our TCFL Congress State Qualifier, which will be added to each school's balance on Tabroom. Entry fees are $20 for each entry. Please make checks payable to "Tri-County Forensic League". Alternatively, entry fees may be paid via PayPal. All PayPal payments will be assessed a 4% processing fee.

Judges

Each school is obligated to provide one experienced judge for each four entries or fraction thereof. A judge may only count towards a school's obligation if they have no more than 2 conflicts in the entry pool. All judges must be available to judge one round beyond their school's elimination in each event. Schools who do not meet their judging obligation will be required to drop entries until their entry numbers match the judging obligation that they have met.

Because of the differences that exist in human perception, a subjective quality is present in the scoring of Speech and Debate rounds. Even with rules and evaluation criteria for guidance, judges will not evaluate the same performance in an identical manner. While we do everything possible to maintain consistency in scoring, winning results are not guaranteed.

Upon entering, you agree to the following:
In consideration for my participation in events sponsored or run by TCFL, I hereby expressly and irrevocably grant TCFL and its assigns, successors, licensees, affiliates, and designees (collectively the “Association”) the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right, license, and permission to use my name, image, likeness, voice, appearance, biographical information, statements, performance, and/or testimonials (collectively, the “Appearance”) in all forms and media including composite or modified representations for all purposes, including advertising, promotion, trade, or any commercial or non-commercial purpose throughout the world in perpetuity. The foregoing right and license extends to my Appearance in any video or audio recordings, photos, and any other media, how known or later developed, that are created in connection with any Association events and/or activities in which I participate, whether in person or virtually. I waive the right to inspect or approve versions of my Appearance used for publication or the written copy that may be used in connection with the Appearance or such publication.