2026 Carry the TORCH

Registration Opens February 23rd, 2026 at 9 am EST

**Community judges - register by clicking on the community & alumni judge registration link on the left hand side of this page!**

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

Important Dates

Registration Opens -- Feb 23rd at 9am EST

Registratin Closes -- March 2nd at 11pm EST

Please note: Events are subject to change based on registration. Students are limited to 5 speech events since we don't have patterns. If you choose to compete in 5 speech events, you must agree to get to each room on time and not delay. Students in 5 events have permission to cut the line. The tournament director will be emailing the families registered in 5 speech events after registration to confirm they can handle it. If one of the 5 events is Duo Interp, your partner can ONLY be registered for Duo. No exceptions! 

Registration Fees
Lincoln Douglas - $45
Speech - $30 for the first event; $15 for each subsequent event

Student meals of lunch and dinner plus snacks are INCLUDED with registration fees!

Waitlist

If there is a waitlist for an event, please go ahead and add your student to the waitlist. We will do our best to clear each waitlist. You will be notified when you get off the waitlist via an email from StoaHub. 

A Completed Registration Includes:
  Student Registration
  Parent Judge Registration
  Payment

Registration is not complete until it has been finalized and you see confetti!

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. 

• 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.
• 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.
• Parent judge requirement: Flat rate of 3 speech rounds regardless of the number of speech entries per family. Flat rate of 1 debate round regardless of the number of debate entries per family. This means you must be available to judge ALL THREE SPEECH ROUNDS plus possibly finals. We will do our best to recruit community judges, but we still need YOU (parent) and your friends or family members over 18. Our goal is to get your child as many ballots as possible. We aim to ballot three judges in each speech room and more for finals. Please help us make this happen by being available throughout the day. If you need an override code because your job at the tournament prevents you from judging the required rounds, please email our judge coordinator and lead ballot push, Margery at margerybonafede@gmail.com. 

Please Note: Full payment is expected by the close of registration on March 2nd. If full payment is not received by one full week after registration closes, there will be a fine of $25 added to your balance.

Refund Policy
Before registration closes on March 2nd at 11pm - adds and drops will not incur any extra fees, and all drops will be fully refunded. 
After registration closes - no refunds will be made. No drop fee but you must request a drop via the tournament staff at torchtournaments@gmail.com. 

TORCH​ stands for Together On the Road for Christ's Honor

All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,

for they have heard the words of your mouth,

and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,

for great is the glory of the Lord.

Psalm 138: 4-5

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