Check out what's new, Coach!
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Nominate Students for Leadership in the NSDA
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The Student Leadership Council (SLC) provides feedback and recommendations throughout the year to ensure the NSDA is meeting students’ needs. This is a unique way to influence the organization’s future and an excellent addition to any student’s resume. If you know a student passionate about improving speech and debate, please tell them about this program and nominate them!
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High school member students who will graduate in 2026, 2027, or 2028 are eligible for nomination for next year's Council. Coaches may submit nominations by February 15 through a standard online form, which sends a copy to both the national office and the district chair, if applicable. Each district has the opportunity to nominate one member student for consideration. District winners must be reported by the district chair by March 1. Each country or U.S. territory also has the opportunity to nominate one student. The final SLC will be selected in April.
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Explore October Resources
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The latest NSDA practice materials are now available for members! Prep for your next rounds with:
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Scouting Rule Update and CRLC Meeting Minutes
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The Competition and Rules Leadership Committee (CRLC) held their first meeting on September 17. The committee removed the line that "scouting is strongly discouraged" from the Unified Manual, meaning that scouting is no longer discouraged at NSDA events. This aligns with goals to keep debate open and educational. Additionally, the committee discussed subcommittee priorities, visual aids in Informative, and their role as a committee. Review the full minutes »
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Classroom Instruction: Lesson Plans and Online Textbooks
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NSDA membership includes access to 13 units through our Start Here series, as well as online textbooks to supplement instruction for various events. Use the lessons in class, pull activities for practices, or share materials with students for peer coaching or independent learning!
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| Policy Topic Voting and General Debate Topic FAQs
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Voting is underway for the 2025-2026 Policy Debate topic. Member students and one chapter advisor per active school are eligible to vote. Voting ends Thursday, October 10 at 4:00 p.m. CT. To vote for topics, log in to your NSDA Account and select “NSDA Voting” from the left side menu. Rank the topic areas 1 (best) through 5. The two areas receiving the lowest totals will be placed on the second ballot to select the 2025-2026 debate topic. Read a synopsis of the problem areas proposed for the resolution.
We’ve created a central hub to answer your questions about how topics are generated throughout the school year—and ways you can get involved in the process! The hub includes:
- How are potential topics, prompts, and legislation written?
- How do I suggest a debate topic/resolution for consideration by a wording committee?
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Who selects the topics, prompts, and legislation used in competition?
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Hold a Character Congress
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In this activity, students dress up and choose a character to act as while they do Congressional Debate, like Taylor Swift or Mitch McConnell. Students are ranked based on both their speeches and how well they act as the character. This ties together acting events and debate, and can interest students who might otherwise not like Congress. More team building activities »
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Latine Voices Matter: Excellence in Speech & Debate
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Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month with messages from our Latine speech and debate coaches and alumni!
For more celebratory materials, visit our website.
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