The Baltimore Catholic Forensic League (BCFL) is a speech and debate league that is apart of the Catholic Forensic League. BCFL offers a variety of speech events alongside policy debate to catholic schools in Maryland. In recent years however, due to the creation of the Baltimore Urban Debate League, a lot more urban students from Baltimore City have been able to compete in the league.

History

For the past 40 years, the BCFL has had a competitive venue for public and private high school students in speech, debate, and student congress. The students who participate come from communities around the Baltimore metropolitan area and a wide area of Maryland from Frederick to the Chesapeake Bay

The league is also the largest member of the National Catholic Forensic League.

Member Schools

As a member school, each one must pay dues to be apart of the league and participate in it's tournaments.

Differences between BUDL and BCFL

While the leagues do compete interchangeably between each other, (the Baltimore Urban Debate League and BCFL), there are stark differences between the missions and goals of the two organizations.

BUDL is only offers policy debate because, as mentioned on its website, its mission is to educate urban youth in Baltimore City through debate, and does not require that any school pay to be a member to it, but it does cover the dues of all the high schools in it so that they may participate in their tournaments.

The BCFL requires that each school pay dues to be apart of it, and since the school is apart of the NFL and CFL, they are often more likely to participate in those tournaments than others students in urban debate.

BUDL is often hailed for its awards and recognition that it gives to its debaters at every tournament, and its coaching staff that helps students before and after tournaments.

Reactions to the BCFL's awards are subjective, but the league only offers paper certificates instead of trophies and medals, which, at some tournaments, seem to stifle participation.

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