Outround

Outrounds are elimination rounds that are held at the end of a tournament which determine how the top competitors place (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.). These are called finals, semifinals, quarterfinals, octafinals and double-octafinals. Breaking into an outround requires the competitors to either win a certain number of rounds or at least do better than roughly half of the competitors in the tournament.

When a competitor/team breaks to an outround at a regional qualifier, they qualify to go to the regional invitational. Those lucky competitors/teams that break to an outround at a regional invitational qualify to go to the National Championship. In a National Open, the top 2-5 competitors (depending on how many competitors there are at the tournament) qualify directly to the National Championship.

Debate outrounds
Qualifiers and regional tournaments hold finals when there are 4-6 teams in the tournament, semifinals when there are 7-14 teams, quarterfinals when there are 15-27 teams, octafinals when there are 28-55 teams, and double-octafinals when there are 56 or more teams.

National Opens and the National Championship hold outrounds sufficient to advance all teams with winning records (won more rounds than lost). See NCFCA Debate Tabulation Guidelines for more information.

A double-octafinal round pairs 32 competitors/teams against each other to determine which competitors/teams advance to octafinals. A octafinal round pairs 16 competitors/teams against each other to determine which competitors/teams advance to quarterfinals. The quarterfinals round pairs 8 competitors/teams against each other to determine which competitors/teams advance to semifinals. The semifinals round pairs 4 competitors/teams against each other to determine which competitors/teams advance to the finals. The finals round pairs the top 2 competitors/teams against each other to determine which one will win the tournament.

If there are not enough competitors for a complete outround bracket, some tournaments hold partial outrounds.

Speech outrounds
Speech outrounds are different from debate outrounds in that there are usually no quarterfinals, octafinals, or double-octafinals. See NCFCA Individual Events Tabulation Guidelines for more information.