Declamation (also known as Oratorical Declamation or Oratorical Interpretation, commonly abbreviated to "dec") is a public speaking event of the National Catholic Forensic League. One can qualify for the annual NCFL Grand National Tournament in Declamation through their local qualifying tournament. The category is almost always open to freshmen and sophomores only; it is often used as a "starter" event to get underclassmen used to the speech and debate activity in general and to prepare them for other categories such as Dramatic Performance or Original Oratory.