National Speech & Debate Tournament. Albuquerque. 2020.

Dear Coach,

We're approaching peak district tournament series season! As you and your students prepare for districts and Nationals, check out the tips and references below. Have a question about the district tournament? We cover the most frequently asked questions on qualification and entries here.

**Watch our All About Districts Videos**

In this collection of videos, we introduce the district tournament series, take you behind the scenes, and answer frequently asked questions about eligibility, requirements, and more. Watch some of the videos now or bookmark the page for future reference!

Ensure Students are Eligible to Compete

Remember, among other qualifications, students must be NSDA members to compete at the district tournament. Log in to purchase student memberships now or save the instructions for later!

Register for Districts on Tabroom.com

If your district tournament series is being hosted on Tabroom.com, check out our guide with step-by-step instructions for registering!

Acquire Liability Insurance Coverage

Ensure you're protected as you travel with your team by purchasing liability insurance coverage from our partners at the National Federation of State High School Associations. Insurance can be added from the School Purchases tab of your NSDA account.

We're Alternates! What's Next?

When entries are rejected by coaches of qualified students beginning on March 1, Tabroom.com will email the coach of the alternate that they have a qualifier and have seven days to go in and accept or reject the entry. Alternates move up until June 1.

We Qualified! What's Next?

Congratulations! We can't wait to welcome you to Nationals in Albuquerque. Below are the most important things to keep in mind as you prepare for the tournament.

Registration: How and When

Online registration for Nationals opens March 1 on Tabroom.com. In order for registration to open for your district, your results must be uploaded by the district chair. You will receive an email when registration opens.

Through the registration process on Tabroom.com, coaches accept or reject entries, upload required media release forms, add judge information, attach scripts, and indicate how fees will be paid. You can accept or reject an entry without completing the whole registration process. Please accept or reject your entries right away to allow alternates to be notified ASAP. You can fill the rest of the info in before the May 1 deadline.

Teams will also pick up a registration packet in person on Sunday, June 14, with student codes, judge information, student certificates, coach name badges, student ribbons, tournament books, and other materials.

Important Deadlines

April 1: National Congress Legislation due.

May 1: All fees and paperwork due. Debate topics released.

Competition Venues and Tentative Schedule

Registration and final rounds will take place at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Seven venues will be used for preliminary competition Monday and Tuesday between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Events will be tentatively held in the following locations:

Congress: Downtown Hyatt Regency and Albuquerque Convention Center
LD, PF, and Big Questions: Sandia HS and Comanche Elementary
Policy: Eldorado HS
World Schools: Manzano HS
HI, DI, Duo, and POI: Albuquerque HS
USX, IX, OO, Info: Highland HS

Competition sites for the rest of the week and additional logistical details are available here.

Lodging and Transportation

The National Tournament hotel block is now open. If your team stays within the National Tournament hotel block, you will receive a $25 discount off the current year’s main event entry fee per student. All coaches must use the online booking site. Please do NOT call the hotels directly to book your hotel rooms. If you expect your students to qualify, we recommend booking rooms early!

Book Rooms

Entry Fees and Judging Requirements

Entry fees are between $75-100 per student. All schools are required to provide judges based on their entries and judge information is entered as part of tournament registration on Tabroom.com. Each school will pay a $200 judge bond that will be returned after the tournament if all judges fulfill their obligation.

Supplemental Events

Eliminated students can compete in Supplemental events (Supps) beginning on Wednesday, June 17. There is an additional fee for Supplemental events and coaches must re-register students to confirm their entries during the tournament on Tuesday, June 16. There are 4 guaranteed prelims on Wednesday and Thursday, with a single elim round bracket on Thursday. Events include:

Expository
Impromptu
Poetry Reading
Prose Reading
Storytelling
Brother Rene Sterner Commentary
Extemporaneous Debate

If you're new to these events, an overview of all Supplemental events is available in our Competition Events Guide.

Spanish Debate Event

The New Mexico NSDA District and Albuquerque Public Schools are hosting a special all-Spanish language invitational in tandem with Nationals! This is not a Supplemental event and students need not be NSDA members to attend. Events are open to native and non-native speakers. Details and registration information will be available in February.

Fundraising Tips

Fundraise with EdCo » EdCo provides an online fundraising software platform for K-12 schools that empowers teachers and students to raise money from family, friends, and other members of their community. Through our partnership with EdCo, NSDA teams have raised more than $410,000 in donations. Set up a fundraiser today!

Get the Guide » Our joint fundraising guide with EdCo features template messages for approaching businesses for donations, social media campaign tips, and much more!

Apply for the William Woods Tate, Jr., Memorial Fund » The William Woods Tate, Jr., Memorial Fund is designed to help schools and students attending the National Speech & Debate Tournament for the first time, as well as schools with demonstrated financial need. We will accept applications April 15-30. April coach newsletters will have further details!

Sign Up for More Info

Sign up for our Nationals newsletter to have the latest tournament information delivered to your inbox every Tuesday in May, including our forthcoming National Tournament app, special event details, award winner profiles, and more.

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