Showcasing Your Speech and Debate Skills on Applications
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Speech and debate gives you valuable skills that will benefit you the rest of your life. But how do you talk about it when applying to colleges, jobs, or scholarship programs? This guide will help you translate your competitive experience into clear, professional language that highlights your strengths and demonstrates real-world impact.
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Original Spoken Word Competition: Enter to Win Prize Money
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To mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Hoover Institution at Stanford University invites high school and college students to reflect on the meaning and the future of the American Experiment through an original spoken word competition. Winners in each division will receive $2,500 plus a trip to the Hoover Institution with travel and lodging expenses covered. One runner-up per division will also receive a $1,000 prize. Learn more or enter by June 1!
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Begin the Next Phase of Your Speech and Debate Journey
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Congratulations, Class of 2026! While your time as a competitor may be coming to an end, your journey doesn't have to. Extend your speech and debate experience by joining our alumni community! Gain access to alumni webinars, our LinkedIn group, volunteer opportunities, and more. Claim your free alumni membership and tell your speech and debate story »
Get Involved as a Judge or Coach: We encourage you to give back to the community next year by judging or coaching. If you're moving somewhere new, check out this map to find a team near you. Need help getting connected with a program? Please email us at info@speechanddebate.org and we'll help you get connected!
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Introducing Ginny, the Nationals 2026 Plushie!
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Each year, we release a stuffed plushie branded for that year's National Tournament, and they've become extremely popular with attendees!
Say hello to Ginny, the 2026 National Tournament plushie! Named for Virginia, she’s headed to historic Richmond, where the past was shaped and the next generation carries it forward through the power of ideas. Catch Ginny and the rest of our exclusive 2026 National Tournament items at the NSDA Store this June!
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National Tournament Topics are Live!
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Topics for Nationals are live! Start preparing if you're headed to Richmond this summer, or use the topics or themes at your final practices of the year. The Congress docket will be available May 15.
Not attending Nationals? Check out the schedule and plan to stream final rounds from home!
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Highlights from the Latest Rostrum Magazine
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Ten Years Later—Gender-Based Success Disparity Revisited: This analysis conducted by community members revisits gender-based success disparity in debate and Extemp, examines the impact of implicit bias training, and reflects on how far we've come and how far we still have to go.
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Judge Adaptation: How do assumptions about judges impact how we approach a round? Student author Brianna Zhang reflects on speaking for any audience in this opinion piece.
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South Dakota's First Unified Speech Event: This tournament brought together students with disabilities to compete alongside students without disabilities. It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding. We share the pathway to planning the event and how it impacted the community.
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Golden Gavels: Our cover feature tells the story of a retirement community that fell in love with debate after watching a demonstration, their experience trying (or revisiting) the activity, and how they're preparing to tackle the topic, Resolved: Marriage is obsolete.
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Meet the 2026-2027 Student Leadership Council Members
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Free Research Tool from the Financial Times
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Did you know your school can access the Financial Times for free? In this video, two-time International Extemporaneous Speaking champion and USA Debate Team member Anthony Babu speaks with journalist Andrew Jack about how to use the Financial Times for debate research! Check it out to learn best practices.
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Learn from NSDA National Champions
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Recorded Policy Champion Q&A: 2025 champions Jordan Yao and Dylan Liu break down what it takes to succeed at the highest level of Policy, from building and updating cases on a year-long topic to executing strategy in fast-paced rounds. Learn how they approach partner collaboration, prep, cross-examination, and in-round decision-making, along with the habits and mindsets that helped them stand out at Nationals.
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