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Celebrating the Leading Chapters

Each year, the top high school chapter in accumulated members and degrees in each district receives the Leading Chapter Award. The winning school's total returns to zero and it begins a new record. Leading Chapter Awards will be shipped to district chairs to be awarded as part of the district tournament series and the coaches and administrators at winning schools will receive a letter of recognition. Congrats to the 2024-2025 Leading Chapters!

Learn About Visual Aids from a Champion Coach 

Join us TONIGHT, October 21 at 7:00 p.m. CT for an interactive workshop for coaches to learn new and fun techniques for creating impactful visual aids for Informative Speaking. Please bring three pieces of paper, a marker, clear tape, and scissors.

This session is led by Travis Rother, NSDA Membership Coordinator and expert speech coach. He has coached four national champions, 17 national finalists, and 26 state champions. In Informative Speaking alone, he coached the 2020 national champion, 2021 national runner-up, and the 2025 third place speaker. 

Explore Beginner Congress Resources

• Download middle school or high school Congress lesson plans.
• Take the Intro to Coaching Congress course.
• Watch a round introduction to learn or teach key concepts.

• Study past National Tournament final rounds to catch experts in action. 
• Access free legislation templates and practice drills.
• Explore recent Congress dockets (released monthly).

Judge Accreditation Update

New Level 3 judge accreditation modules for each of our competition events will be live on March 15, and they will go into depth about how to write constructive feedback for each event. Plus, there have been updates made to the Level 1 module about how judges can interact respectfully with different perspectives; this module is now called Level 1: Impartial Judging. Judges who have already completed the previous version of the module do not need to take the updated version. The Level 1: Impartial Judging module focuses on three key characteristics necessary for impartial judging, examines how these qualities apply in practice, and offers practical strategies for providing fair, unbiased, and constructive feedback.

Read the Fall Board Meeting Minutes

The NSDA Board of Directors met September 26-27. We invite you to read the minutes and send any feedback to board@speechanddebate.org. 

Connect Live with Fellow Coaches

The Independent, Rural, and Small School Coaches' Interest Groups are holding a general joint meeting on Monday, November 3 at 7:00 p.m. CT that brings all three groups together. Join us for this opportunity to exchange ideas, discuss concerns, and connect with fellow coaches across the community. Register to attend »

Invite Students to Learn from an Expert Presiding Officer

Learning directly from national champions is a great way for students to think about their events differently or pick up new strategies. Encourage interested students to register to attend our next Champion Q&A session with Congress champion Jordan Melamed to ask their questions directly, or explore past sessions for other events! 

Questions? We're here to help! Email info@speechanddebate.org or call (920) 748-6206.

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