Nanke Invitational Forensics Tournament

Greetings Speech and Debate coaches, Judges and Participants!  

It is our utmost pleasure, on behalf of the International Bilingual School at Tainan Science Park (IBST), to invite you to 2026 Nanke Invitational Forensics Tournament (NIFTy).

We hope you will join us on Saturday March 7th and Sunday March 8th for a weekend of great debate, speech, food, and fun! 

This year’s tournament will include multiple individual and partner speech events, as well as Modified World School Parliamentary Debate. Schools may submit teams of students competing from middle school and above.

Speech participants must pay a tournament fee of $1100 NT while Debate participants must pay a tournament fee of $1300 NT which will cover the cost of Lunch on both Saturday and Sunday, as well as all trophies, medals, and judges’ appreciation. While teams can be submitted through online application form as soon as possible, fee payment can be made in cash after arriving at IBST on Saturday, March 7th. 

In addition, schools must provide one judge for two debate teams or one judge for every team of 5 speech competitors (See Section C for Judge requirements). Otherwise, schools must provide an additional fee of 1000NT per missing judge. 

 

Speech competitors will NOT be able to compete in Debate due to schedule conflicts. ALL SPEECHES AND PERFORMANCES MUST BE ORIGINAL WORKS. Speech events include Duo Interpretation, Impromptu Speaking, and Editorial Commentary. Grade 7-9 will be considered as Junior Varsity (JV) and Grade 10-12 will be considered as Varsity. (see Attachment 1)

Debate: If the participant is competing in Debate, then the participant can NOT compete in speech events due to schedule conflicts. Debate will be divided into Novice and Open debaters. (see Attachment 2)

More information can be found at ibst_nifty at instagram.

A. Tentative schedule:

Saturday March 7
9:30-9:50 am	Registration –3rd F Auditorium
9:50-10:00 am	Welcome and Briefing –3rd F Auditorium
10:00-11:00 am	Round 1 Speech Varsity	10:00-12:00 pm Round 1 Debate
11:00-12:00 pm	Round 1 Speech JV
12:00-1:00 pm	Lunch – 1st Floor Assembly Area
1:00-2:00 pm	Round 2 Speech Varsity	1:00-3:00 pm Round 2 Debate
2:00-3:00 pm	Round 2 Speech JV
3:00-4:00 pm	Round 3 Speech Varsity	3:00-5:00 pm Round 3 Debate
4:00-5:00 pm	Round 3 Speech JV
Sunday March 8
8:30-9:00am	Arrival
9:00-11:00am	Round 4 Debate
11:00-11:30am	Break Announcement
11:30-12:30pm	Lunch – 1st Floor Assembly Area
12:30-2:30pm	Novice and Open Semi-Finals
2:30-4:30pm	Novice and Open Finals
4:30-5:00pm	Awards Ceremony - 3rd F Auditorium

B. Team Entry

The registration deadline is February 24th. By February 24th, all participants must have registered for their chosen events.

(a) To register teams or individual students for Speech, please fill in the online application form: https://forms.gle/a13T2Yc9LrDMRQ9u6

(b) To register teams or judges for Debate, please fill in the Phase 1 form (https://forms.gle/vhbYbaUGmN5y5N9b9). For teams, only the institution representative or team captains need to fill it in. Note that Phase 1 form is due February 14th!!! Once your team representative has filled out form 1, please proceed to fill out Phase 2 form(due Feburary 24th) (https://forms.gle/eBUe3QiE8dSjHRMo8).

Speech	Debate Phase 1	Debate Phase 2

                                

C. Judge Requirements 

   

Speech: 

Each school must supply an adult qualified to judge for the tournament. Schools bringing more than 5 contestants must supply 2 judges. Any school bringing more than 10 participants, must supply 3 judges, etc. Judges need not have judged events previously.

Debate:

Judges must be an adult.

 

1 team - one judge

2 teams - one judge per 2 teams

3 teams- 2 judges

4 teams- 2 judges

5 teams- 3 judges

etc.

Every odd number requires an additional judge.

[odd number teams round up (ex. 3 teams 2 judges, 5 teams 3 judges...)]

 

If schools don't have enough judges, judge fee 1000 NT per judge (same number of judges apply as mentioned above i.e. 3 teams 2000NT, 5 teams 3000 NT)

Judges please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/kAtfdXTzzTAhwA9c7 by February 14th.

 

D. Registration Fee and Payment

Each student must pay a fee of $1100NT(speech)/ $1300NT(debate) in order to complete. This fee will cover the cost of lunch on both Saturday and Sunday, as well as all tournament expenses.

Team fees may be paid upon registration on Saturday, March 7th.

 

E. Food and Accommodation

We will provide a list (see Attachment 3) of nearby accommodations which can accommodate all participants within a quick drive of IBST. For questions regarding booking accommodation, please contact Alvis Lin at activity3@ms.nnkieh.tn.edu.tw for assistance. If preferred, participants can also find lodging in Tainan, and commute to IBST.

NIFTy will provide, as part of the registration fee, lunch for all judges and contestants on Saturday and Sunday. Within walking distance of the school, there is a 7-11 as well as several tea shops at the nearby Life Hub.

 

F. Getting to Nanke

Schools can arrive at Nanke in several ways. If they choose to take a bus, the Science Park and school offer ample parking. Schools can also take the HSR rail to Tainan (Shalun Station) and transfer to the local train headed toward Nanke (the train terminates at Nanke). Schools can also take the fast train or a bus to Tainan. A local train north goes to Nanke. From the Nanke train station, you can take a taxi, UBike, or simply walk the 15 minutes to IBST.

 

G. Awards

ALL participants will receive participation certificates. In addition, the tournament will award trophies and medals to forensics winners and top debaters.

 

For more information regarding debate, please send email to ibstnifty@gmail.com. Any other questions like the tournament schedule, or on specifics for the different speech events can be directed to Alvis Lin at activity3@ms.nnkieh.tn.edu.tw or at (06)505-2916#7102.

 

We thank you again for your continued time and support, and look forward to seeing you all in March!