2026 Light the TORCH
TORCH (VA) · Nov 21, 2026
Closed
11:43 PM Eastern
Dress Code
Competition
During competition and awards ceremony, students must dress in modest, professional business attire.
Professional business attire for Gentlemen:
Suit, or slacks and blazer jacket. Collared shirt and tie. Professional dress shoes and socks.
Professional business attire for Ladies:
Skirt suit or pant suit; or professional slacks, skirt or dress with a blazer jacket. Leggings and tights are not to be worn as pants. Dress/skirt hemlines and slits should be no higher than the middle of the knee. Hose are not required. Business professional dress shoes.
Tournament Events
Speech
- Apologetics Qual
- Expository Qual
- Impromptu Qual
- Literary Interpretation Qual
- Open Interpretation Qual
- Original Oratory Qual
- Slam Poetry Qual
- Storytelling Qual
LD
- Lincoln Douglas Qual
Tournament Timetable
- Community Judge registration will open at 9:00 pm Fri 10/02/2026 (Eastern)
- Tournament Status will update to Drops only at 12:00 am Mon 10/26/2026 (Eastern)
- Tournament Status will update to Open at 3:30 pm Sat 11/07/2026 (Eastern)
- Tournament Status will update to Closed at 4:30 pm Sat 11/07/2026 (Eastern)
- Script submission will open at 6:45 pm Tue 11/10/2026 (Eastern)
- Script submission will close at 10:46 am Wed 11/11/2026 (Eastern)
- Meal registration will close at 12:00 am Sun 11/15/2026 (Eastern)
- Community Judge registration will close at 12:00 am Sat 11/21/2026 (Eastern)
What the statuses mean
- Setup
- The tournament is still being set up.
- Open
- Registration is open — families can register for the tournament.
- Drops Only
- No new entries are allowed, but families can drop existing ones.
- Closed
- Registration is closed — no adds or drops. Contact the tournament director with questions.
- Completed
- The tournament is finished.