2026 Patrick Henry College Challenge

Vector (VA) · Mar 5-7, 2026

Completed 5:15 PM Eastern

 

Patrick Henry College Challenge

March 5-7, 2026

AT

Patrick Henry College (PHC)

10 Patrick Henry Cir.
Purcellville, VA 20132

Registration opens 
Jan 27, 2026 at 10:00 AM (Eastern)

Registration closes
Feb 3, 2026 at 11:55 PM (Eastern)

Drops - Feb 4-17, 2026

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Parent Judges

EACH registered family is required to have a parent present and actively judging each day of the tournament, judging every other round/pattern. Every parent judge MUST have attended Judge Orientation in this school year (2025-2026). If you have not, please watch the videos below.

  • Students must have their judge physically with them at check-in and throughout the tournament.
  • Please plan on judging every other round and checking with the Ballot Push table 30-45 minutes before each round to confirm judging needs. The Ballot Push Team will be happy to see you!

Community Judge Information:

Please register via the links in the sidebar. All community judges should watch the video orientation of the events they are judging. We recommend that you watch ALL of the videos as many community judges end up staying to judge more rounds than they had planned!
 
Please arrive 30 minutes before your first round to get checked in and to confirm that you have watched the orientation(s) for the events you are judging..
If you are wanting to judge several rounds, typically it's best to sign up for every other event to give ample time to fill out your ballot 
Food and drinks will be provided in the judge's lounge.
There is no dress code requirement for judges.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions. 

Judge Orientation Videos:
(click links below):
Speech Judge Orientation
Team Policy (TP) / Lincoln-Douglas (LD) Judge Orientation
Parli Judge Orientation

This is a STOA Modeled Tournament. 
StoaUSA rules for Events, Eligibility, and Dress Code will be followed.

Stoa Events Offered (max. 4 speeches per pattern)
 Team Policy Debate
 Lincoln Douglas Debate
 Parli Debate
 All Stoa Sanctioned Speech Events

PLEASE NOTE: Speech Patterns may be changed after registration closes and will depend on numbers per event. Please check back after registration closes

Script Submission:  
 Opens on February 19. Closes on February 23. 

Also Note: Some pages are still hidden and will "appear" when certain things are decided.

For Speech Event information visit here
For Debate Event information visit here

Registration Fees
Competitor Fee - $66                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Team Policy - $20
Lincoln Douglas - $20
Parli - $20
Speech - $20 for the first event; $5 for each subsequent event

A Completed Registration Includes:
  Student Registration
  Parent Judge Registration
  Payment

Meals: 
Meals (lunch and dinner on competition days) for competitors are included in the overall registration. Please DO NOT order meals for them! Extra meal tickets may be purchased for parents and/or siblings.

PARENT PARTICIPATION
All students must have a parent or adult chaperone present to staff or judge at the tournament.
If a parent cannot attend, prior approval and an alternative contribution must be arranged with the tournament director for the student to participate. 

  • Chaperones may only cover 2 students; exception is granted to families with more than two children. Each parent will be responsible for judging at least 6 rounds. (See Parent Page for more details.)
  • Parent signatures (or the designated chaperone's signature) will be required at the student check-in for all participants. Parents are expected to remain present throughout the tournament to take ballots.
  • 2025-2026 judge training will be available online (see above) and also as needed at the tournament throughout the day.
  • Every parent should come to the ballot table 30 minutes before each round to ensure sufficient judges are balloted. Although we ask you to sign up for a specific judging time slot, please don't leave the balloting area until ALL the ballots have been distributed. You may be needed for a round outside of your scheduled time.
  • Students whose parents are not fulfilling their judging obligations may be disqualified from the tournament. Thank you for your cooperation.

TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW

Debate Events: 
Parliamentary Debate
Lincoln-Douglas, Team Policy

Speech Events (max. 4 speeches per pattern):
All Stoa Speech Events
Apologetic categories: 3, 4, 5, 6
Mars Hill topics: Current Film and Television, Literature, The Arts, Cultural Voices

Thursday: Debate only (Parli, TP, LD)
Friday: Speech and Debate
Saturday: Speech and Debate

Timers:
Debate competitors are expected to self-time their rounds. Please bring a timing device; cell phones cannot be used as timers.

Please Note: Full payment is expected by the close of registration. After the close date, there will be an added $30 late charge as long as full payment is made by February 19. If full payment is not received by February 19, the student will be dropped from all events with no opportunity to be added back in.

Refund Policy
Before registration closes - adds and drops will not incur any extra fees, and all drops will be fully refunded. 
After registration closes - no refunds will be made and drops will incur a fee of $15.00 per event.

All add, drop, and refund requests after registration closes must be submitted by e-mail to our Tournament Director, Dovey Elliott, at doveyelliott@gmail.com.

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