Welcome to the 2025 SoCal Classic!

Ex Nihilo Speech and Debate Club invites you to participate in a NITOC-qualifying tournament at Concordia University in Irvine, California. This tournament is sanctioned by STOA and will include all speech and debate events.

Stoa is a national high school and junior high speech and debate organization serving the needs of privately educated, Christian homeschooling families. See StoaUSA.org for league information.

SoCal Classic Overview:

Dates: 
Feb 27 - Mar 1, 2025

Location:

Concordia University Irvine
1530 Concordia,
Irvine, CA 92612

Events offered:

Debate
Lincoln Douglas, Team Policy, Parliamentary Debate

Speech
Limited Prep: Apologetics, Extemporaneous, Impromptu, Mars Hill
Interpretation: Dramatic, Duo, Humorous, Open
Platform: Expository, Original Oratory, Persuasive
Wildcard: Slam Poetry
Junior Speech (6-12 yrs as of Sept 30, 2024): Apol, Interp (including Duo), Platform

Speech Pattern A:

• Apol
• DI
• Duo
• Mars Hill
• OI
• OO

Speech Pattern B:

• HI
• Expos
• Extemp
• Slam Poetry
• Impromptu
• Persuasive
  

Tournament schedule as posted is tentative and will be confirmed at close of registration. Competitors may enter up to six speech events, and/or up to three events in each speech pattern. 

Registration:
Registration opens December 18, 2024, 8:00am PST. Registration typically fills very quickly; we recommend registering as soon as possible! Our regular registration window closes Dec 31st, 11:59pm PST; however, we will accommodate late registrations, space permitting, Jan 1st - Jan 8th, with an additional fee of $15 per student.

Interested in receiving early registration access? Our team leads are looking for volunteers! Signing up for 12 hours of volunteer service as a part of our tournament staff will give you registration access ahead of general registration. Email us at tournament@nihilo.club for additional information.

• Debate event - $48
• Speech event - $37.50
• Juniors event - $25
• Late Registration Fee - $15 per student for registrations completed Jan 1st - Jan 8th.
• Late Payment Fee - $25 will be applied to all accounts unpaid at close of registrations (Jan 8th, 11:59pm PST)

Drop Fees and Refunds:
Refunds will be issued for changes in registration prior to Dec 31st, 11:59pm PST.
Beginning January 1st, all dropped events will be charged a drop fee of $15.
Within two weeks of the tournament, beginning Feb 13th, the additional drop fee increases to $25 per event dropped.
Drop fees must be paid prior to check-in in order to maintain eligibility for other events. On-site drop fees will be paid at student check-in prior to tournament start. Event drops can be made through the Family Registration tab (see: Competitor). Access code not needed for event drops.

Waitlist:
If an event is 'waitlist only,' please register under the waitlist and we will update via email if/when event becomes available. We will work to allocate our resources based on demand.

Registration notes:
Registration is not complete until payment has been received. 
Payment option will appear at end of registration process via Stripe. Events not paid in full at close of tournament registration window will be dropped.
A minimum of one parent judge must be registered in order to complete registration.
A team is not registered until both partners are registered.

Requirements:
Each registered family is to have a minimum of one parent judging each day of the tournament, judging a minimum of 2 rounds per registered event. These events are made possible by our parent judges. Please help us by being available and willing to judge throughout the tournament. 
Stoa Membership is required for tournament participation. 
Competitors must be ages 12 to 18 as of October 1st of the current season, must be privately home-educated, and parent members must agree with Stoa Statement of Faith (see competitor eligibility requirements).

Script Submission will be open as of 8am on Feb 11th, and will close firmly at 11:59pm on Feb 18th. Script Submission Access Link available here. Please be aware that late scripts will not be accepted.

For tournament registration questions please email tournament@nihilo.club.
For general and Ex Nihilo club questions please email info@nihilo.club.

Thank you!
Ex Nihilo Tournament Team