The National Tournament is headed to the state of Iowa for the first time since 1932! Our Nationals Newsletters provide key tournament info to help you maximize your experience and prepare to attend the best event of the year. Read on for this week's details!
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Using Your National Tournament Hub to Prepare
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Our Nationals website has all the info you need to prep for the week! Pop through the headers at the top to familiarize yourself with the pages. If you do nothing else, bookmark this page: speechanddebate.org/nationals.
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Get a feel for what to expect with our day-by-day breakdowns that outline what's happening each day of the week.
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For even more detail, read through the Schedule and Venues Doc (also linked from the top of the Nationals page) for round times and locations.
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Explore our FAQs for answers to commonly asked questions.
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Reminder: Check Your Registration Before Wednesday's Deadline
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The registration deadline for Nationals is Wednesday, May 15. All entries, fees, judges, and materials are due.
Please double check your registration on Tabroom.com! Issues will be flagged with a red X in the "Status" column on the "General" tab and must be resolved ASAP. For detailed instructions for how to solve registration issues, visit this document.
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Update on Nationals Hotels
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Rooms listed on the Nationals hotel booking site are what remain available in the room blocks. If you booked extra hotel rooms from the National Tournament block, please release them within the next 24 hours to ensure other teams are able to select space at the venues that work best for them as soon as possible. The booking site updates in real time as rooms are released and space becomes available.
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Free Lunch for Students » We are excited to once again offer free lunch for competitors at Nationals! This year, free lunch will be available Monday through Thursday at all competition sites for competitors, including at the Iowa Events Center for Congressional Debate! Check out the menu for more details. Please note: All lunches will have gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian substitutes available upon request.
Meals for Adults » Adults can purchase the same meals served to students at schools for $6 using cards or cash. Adults at the Iowa Events Center may purchase from various food vendors, which will only accept cards. Lunch is not provided for judges, but light continental breakfast offerings will be available for judges in the hospitality lounge and snacks will be available throughout the day.
Concessions » Concessions at all school locations will accept cards and cash. Concessions at the Iowa Events Center will only accept cards.
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Waukee High School Venue Information
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The Waukee High School venue will host HI, DI, POI, DUO, and INF on Monday and Tuesday, followed by main events Wednesday and Thursday. Events at the Waukee High School venue will take place in three adjacent, walkable buildings: Waukee High School, Waukee Middle School, and Prairieview School. Shuttling will be available between the campuses and student movement between buildings will be limited. Lunch will be served at both Prairieview and Waukee High School. The tournament office will be located in Waukee High School, but staff will be in all buildings.
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Prepare for Supplementals
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Find resources to help students prepare to compete in supplemental events!
All students who intend to compete in supplementals must be re-registered to confirm their participation between 12:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18, through Tabroom.com. Students who pre-registered but do not re-register will not be scheduled for competition. This applies to both students who compete in main events and students who are only competing in supplemental events.
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| Script Turn-In Requirements
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As part of National Tournament registration, competitors in DI, HI, DUO, POI, INF, and OO are required to upload a working copy of their speech/script by Wednesday, May 15 through the Tabroom.com registration system.
Competitors can continue to make edits and changes until Saturday, June 15, but something is due in the system by May 15. If you have students in these categories, please review the script requirements.
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Required Judge Forms and Trainings
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There are various forms and trainings that judges are required to complete on Tabroom.com for Nationals. These materials are available by logging in to Tabroom.com and selecting “National Speech and Debate Tournament” under the Judging header, and selecting “Judge Forms.”
All Judges:
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Complete the relevant required judge accreditation modules by May 15. To complete a module means that the judge has watched the video, scored 100% on the corresponding quiz, and claimed their badge in Tabroom.com. Completion will be manually reviewed and approved by the national office once a week. Judges must complete the modules and claim their badges by May 15; approval may occur after that date.
- Complete the Demographics Questionnaire by May 15.
Policy and Lincoln-Douglas Judges:
- Complete the Paradigm Form Questionnaire by May 15.
World Schools Judges:
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Nationals Emcee Announcement
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Big news! We're excited to announce that Emmy Award-winning journalist David Begnaud of CBS Mornings will be our emcee for the 2024 National Tournament!
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David's journey with speech and debate goes back to his high school days under the guidance of Hall of Fame coach Josette Surratt. His remarkable career in journalism began with the skills he honed in speech and debate. David is excited to return to the National Tournament to celebrate the achievements of this year's competitors. Join us in welcoming David back to where it all started, as we prepare for an unforgettable gathering of the nation's top speech and debate talents!
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Things to Do + Places to Eat
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We know it takes a lot of planning to bring a team to Nationals, and it's even more effort to plan both a competitive and fun experience for students. If you're looking for ideas for places to eat and things to do, visit the Catch Des Moines website to learn how you can experience the diversity of Greater Des Moines, and check out discounts!
Searching for more ideas? Our national office is in Des Moines! Explore our staff's picks.
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All rules can be found in the High School Unified Manual or World Schools Invitational Manual.
- Poetry: Selections no longer need to be cuttings from a single source; a Poetry piece may come from one or multiple sources. A Poetry piece may consist of one entire poem, a cutting of a single longer poem, or a collection of short poems or cuttings from one source or several sources arranged in a program.
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Storytelling: If a chair is used in Storytelling, students may choose the original position of the chair. Use of the chair is not considered a prop as long as: 1) Once the performance begins, all legs of the chair remain stationary on the ground and do not move from their original position, and 2) Competitors do not kneel or stand on the chair.
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World Schools: No electronic devices are permitted in World Schools rounds. This means that students will not be reading arguments off of their laptops, even in prepared rounds. The only exception is that a cell phone in airplane mode can be used for timing only. Please come prepared with your materials printed, as we will not have printers available at the competition venue.
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Debate: No outside assistance from coaches or non-competing students is permitted during a round. Competitors in World Schools may not communicate with non-competing teammates during a round.
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Internet: Use of the internet is permitted during round in Congress, debate (excluding World Schools), and Extemp prep. Please review the "Current Guidelines for Use of Internet-Enabled Devices" in the Unified Manual.
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Generative AI (ChatGPT): Please review the ruling regarding use of generative artificial intelligence sources on page 140 in the Unified Manual.
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