NFL Points System

The National Forensic League is the national organization that OHS debaters belong to. Within this organization, our students are given the opportunity to earn points through the speaking opportunities (such as debate tournaments) they take advantage of. Here is how to check to see how many NFL points you have.


Step One: Open the NFL website at http://www.nflonline.org/.

Step Two: Click first on "Resources", then on "Membership Reports" (circled in the image below)




Step Three: Type in all or part of your name in the box that will appear. No need to put in your graduation year or merit number.



Step Four: Choose the appropriate student from the names listed (in this case, only one option is given).





Step Five: You will now see a page with all kinds of information about this student's speaking history. The information includes total points earned and what rank that student has acheived (more on ranks later).





Step Six: If you would like to see more detail, click on any of the speaking categories to get information about the tournaments this student has attended, who coached them, how many debates they won, what their score was in their round, etc, etc. (This example is Mama Cole's old record, and since I'm kind of old, the information is archived from before we used the internet to record points. Not much information is given here, but you can see that I received a total of 89 points by the time I graduated, in speaking events only. Your records will have much better information since it's all kept online now.)




Degrees of Membership (from the NFL bylaws):


Merit. Eligible persons who have 25 credit points, 10 of which were earned in competitive speaking, shall upon election, receive the Degree of Merit.

Honor. Members who have the Degree of Merit and a total of 75 credit points shall receive the Degree of Honor.

Excellence. Members who have a total of 150 credit points shall receive the Degree of Excellence.

Distinction. Members who have a total of 250 credit points shall receive the Degree of Distinction.

Special Distinction. Members who have a total of 500 credit points shall receive the Degree of Special Distinction.

Superior Distinction. Members who have a total of 750 credit points shall receive the Degree of Superior Distinction.

Outstanding Distinction. Members who have a total of 1000 credit points shall receive the Degree of Outstanding Distinction.

Premier Distinction. Members who have a total of 1500 credit points shall receive the Degree of Premier Distinction.


Try looking yourself up now and see what you learn! Then, I recommend looking up your friends. Good luck!