Our History
The New York Catholic Forensic League was founded in its earliest form in 1947, originally for Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of New York in order that their students might grow in eloquentia perfecta – “perfected eloquence”: good men and women with something worthwhile to say who could, having applied right reason to the problems of society, express themselves precisely, effectively, responsibly, and gracefully for the common good.
In short, the league was to be a place where the students could become, “leaders through speech.”
We have been affiliated with the National Catholic Forensic League since its inception.
“Forensics”
“Forensics” comes from the Latin forensis, “things belonging to the forum,” the forum, of course, being the public square of ancient Rome. Forensics therefore refers to that which is meant to persuade an audience – a public meeting, auditors of a debate, a jury in a court of law. Our league, therefore, provides a competitive space for students to practice persuading by argumentation (Policy Debate, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, and Student Congress), convincing by explanation and appeal (Extemporaneous Speaking and Original Oratory), or moving hearts and minds (Dramatic Performance, Duo Performance, Declamatory Speaking, and Oral Interpretation of Literature).
Expansion
Over the years, we have expanded our membership to include not just Catholic schools but any bona fide public, charter or private school located within the boundaries of the Archdiocese of New York (Staten Island, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Ulster, Rockland, Orange, and Sullivan Counties) chartered by the New York State Board of Regents to grant diplomas of high school graduation. We now have some thirty-seven schools as members. Through our newest subsidiary organization, the Online Debate League program – which hosts virtual tournaments – we have been able to give students from ninety-five schools (everywhere from Massachusetts to Florida, from Maryland to California) a chance to debate with our own league members to expand their experiences.
Our impact
Each year we host as many as eighteen tournaments, with a total of over 4,800 student- entries across those tournaments, and have built a community of dozens of volunteers to facilitate the development of our young people as leaders through speech.
Our league also offers two scholarships to graduating seniors who have exemplified, over the course of a full four years of competition, good sportsmanship and a healthy attitude toward competition, an awareness of working toward team as well as individual goals, an understanding of the educational value of forensics, and who have gained the respect of teammates as well as that of students from other schools, and finally have experienced the most personal growth and development among their peers as a direct result of participation in forensics.
Legal information
The New York Catholic Forensic League is incorporated as a charitable, not-for-profit organization as, "New York Catholic Forensic League, Inc.," under the laws of the State of New York with our principal office in Richmond County, New York (NYS Department of State number 7158844).
We are registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization (Employer Identification Number is 47-3844584) under section 509(a)2 of the Internal Revenue Code, identifying us as a Youth Development organization that receives less than one-third of our support from donations and more than two-thirds of our support from dues or fees charged for services.
"Fees for services" (such as speaker registration fees) are not tax-deductible for individuals or for-profit businesses, but donations ("non-compensated gifts") are tax- deductible to the extent permitted by law.
No director, no officer, no official of the New York Catholic Forensic League receives any salary, wage, stipend, fee, or honorarium. We have no employees: ours is an all- volunteer organization.
We are also registered with the New York State Attorney General's Charities Bureau (registration number 46-76-18). This allows the League to receive contributions, but we may not solicit contributions in excess of $25,000 from the public.
Our New York State sales tax exemption certificate number is 198998.
Our official physical address for mailing is
New York Catholic Forensic League
614 Bard Avenue
Staten Island, NY 10310
Our email is treasurer@nycfl.org