Welcome to the 2026 SoCal Sweetheart Classic!

Ex Nihilo Speech and Debate Club invites you to participate in a NITOC-qualifying tournament in Escondido, 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 Sweetheart Classic Overview:

Dates: 
Feb 12-14, 2026

Location:
Escondido First Church of the Nazarene (Feb 12)
1555 S Redwood St, Escondido, CA 92025

Grace Lutheran Church of Escondido (Feb 13-14)
643 W 13th Ave, Escondido, CA 92025

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

Speech Pattern A:

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

Speech Pattern B:

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

Tournament schedule is tentative. Competitors may enter up to six speech events, and/or up to three events in each speech pattern. A waiver for additional events may be granted upon request. A Juniors Tournament will be held if space permits.  

Registration:
Registration opens December 15, 2025, 8:00am PST. Registration is available as space permits, and we anticipate many events will fill quickly! We recommend registering as soon as possible. Our regular registration window will close Dec 20th at 11:59pm PST; however, we will accommodate late registrations and changes, space permitting, with an additional fee.

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. (Please note our orignal save-the-date email had a typo in the tournament contact email -- if you wrote in and didn't get a reply, that would be why! Correct email: tournament@nihilo.club)

• Debate event - $45
• Speech event - $35
  
  Late Registration Fee - late registration fees apply for all events submitted or altered after Dec 20th. Late fees increase after January 31st.
  Balance Overdue Fee - a $25 balance-overdue fee will be applied to all accounts unpaid at close of registrations (Dec 20th, 11:59pm PST). Accounts with fees overdue may be dropped to accomodate waitlisted competitors. 

Late Fees and Refunds:
Dec 10-Dec 20: FULL REFUND. Full refunds will be issued for changes or drops in registration through Dec 20th,11:59pm PST.
Dec 21-Jan15th: $20 late fee. Beginning December 21st, all changes to registration (to include late registrations, altered registrations, and dropped events) will be charged a $20 change fee.
Jan16th-Feb 14th: $30 late fee. Beginning Jan 16th, all changes to registration (to include late registrations, altered registrations, and dropped events) will be charged a $30 late fee.

Fees must be paid prior to check-in in order to maintain competition eligibility. On-site drop fees will be paid at student check-in prior to tournament start. 

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

Event Drops:
Event drops may be made through the Family Registration tab (see: Competitor). An access code is not needed for event drops. Event drops after Dec 20th are a late change in registration and will be assessed late registration fees. 

Registration notes:
Registration is not complete until payment has been received. 
Payment option will appear at end of registration process via Stripe. 
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:

• Parent participation:
  Each registered family is required to have a minimum of one parent present each day of the tournament (excluding Thursday, if not participating in the Parli-only day), and judging or volunteering the equivalent of every other round throughout each day (typically that translates to judging 3-4 rounds each day (dependent on daily schedule), or volunteering 6-8 hours each day, or a combination of the two!). You help each competitor and allow the tournament to run smoothly and on time by being available and willing to judge throughout the tournament as stated. The SoCal Sweetheart Classic reserves the right to remove competitor eligibility if parent volunteer support is not in compliance with tournament requirements. 
• Stoa Membership is required for tournament participation. 
• Parent members must be in agreement with Stoa Statement of Faith (see competitor eligibility requirements)
• Competitors must be ages 12 to 18 as of October 1st of the current season.
• Competitors must be privately home-educated (see competitor eligibility requirements).
  
  

Script Submission: 
Script Submission will be open February 1st-9th through StoaHub, and will close firmly at 11:59pm on Feb 9th. Please be aware that late scripts will not be accepted. The SoCal Sweetheart Classic is not responsible for your scripts' compliance with event and league rules or guidelines. All submitted scripts must include one parent signature and one additional club coach signature stating the script has been reviewed and is approved as within Stoa guidelines for competition. For those in independent clubs, a parent coach may sign as both parent and coach to authorize each script approval.

Stoa script guidelines are found on StoaHub. See: StoaHub>Stoa Member Resources>Speech, Debate, & Tournament Resource Docs>Speech Submission Forms and Resources. 

Student Meals:
Student meals will be available for pre-purchase in January. 

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

Thank you!
Ex Nihilo Tournament Team