East Iowa District Qualifier

for the 2019 National Tournament

Requirements

The District tournament is an important event for our District, as it is the primary method for students to qualify for the National tournament.  (East Iowa will also host 2 total District events: (1) a District IE/Debate tournament, which will be held on February 8^th – 9^th at Clear Creek Amana HS and (2) a District Congress tournament, which will be held on February 18^th at Bettendorf HS.)

In order to participate, a few guidelines must be met.  I have broken down these requirements by category: school, student, and entry guidelines. I will also provide an update on our current District Status.

School Requirements

Each school must meet specific requirements to be able to compete at the District tournament.  Here is a list of the most important items:

1.  School Registration – Each school must register with the National Forensic League.  You can register by clicking on this link:

http://points.speechanddebate.org/points_application/applyschool.php

2.  School Fees – All school fees and outstanding invoices must be paid prior to the beginning of the tournament.  If outstanding fees are not paid prior to the state of the context, the school and its students are ineligible to participate. 

3.  Tournament Registration – All tournament registration must be completed a minimum of seven days (168 hours) prior to the beginning of the tournament through the Joy of Tournaments website.  This includes downloading and printing the official form and obtaining all necessary signatures on each form.  All registration material must be turned into the District Chair at tournament registration.  If registration materials are incomplete at the start of the District Tournament, the affected students will be ineligible to participate.

Student Requirements

Most of the student requirements will be handled by the head coach, but some steps may require student participation.  Here is a list of the most important items:

1.  Members Only – Students must be a member of the National Speech and Debate Association to compete, which requires a minimum of 25 NFL points.  NFL points are obtained through competitive speech/debate tournaments, as well as other speaking engagements.  For a complete list of eligible activities, click on the following link:

https://www.speechanddebate.org/competition-events/

2.  High School Students Only – Students may not have attended a secondary school more than 9 semesters and must meet the age/eligibility requirements of his/her state activities association. 

3.  Online Registration – All students must register as a member of the NSDA.  Students can do so by going to the following link:

https://www.speechanddebate.org/join/

Students should follow all on-screen guidelines and continue through the process until they are registered.  Until students complete register, they will not be allowed to compete at the District tournament and student degrees will not help increase the school’s degree strength.

Entry Guidelines

Now that schools and students are registered and eligible to compete, there are some additional guidelines on what you can enter at Districts.  Here are the most important points:

1.  Single Entry Intent Form – No student may double enter at the National Tournament.  Therefore, each student must submit a Single Entry Letter of Intent to the District Chair if they are competing in multiple events at District tournaments.  This form must be on file by the start of the District Tournament. 

This form requires the student signature, parent/guardian, coach, and principal.  Please ensure this is completed prior to the District tournament date. 

2.  Double Entry Policy – Students may enter 1 or 2 events at the District tournament.  No student may enter more than 1 Debate event, but can enter 1 Debate event and 1 Speech event.  Students can also compete in 2 Speech events.  Any student entering multiple events must fill out the Single Entry Intent form, as stated in the previous point.  Exception: Students can only triple enter if their 3^rd event is Student Congress.  All students competing in Student Congress, or believe they might compete, should fill out a Single Entry Intent form.

3.  Partner Events over Individual Events – If a student qualifies in a partnership event (Public Forum Debate, Policy Debate, or Duo Interpretation) and an individual event, the student must attend the National Tournament in the partnership event.  Exception:  If both partners qualify in individual events, they can choose to attend the National tournament in the individual events…however, this must be specified on the Single Entry Intent Form prior to the tournament.

4.  Entry Limts– Each event is capped at 4 entries per school in that particular event.  A school may enter as many entries as they can, based on their degree strength.  You can verify how many entries you are allowed by visiting:

http://points.speechanddebate.org/points_application/reports.php

Click on "District" and select "East Iowa."  You can verify how many Debate/Speech "slots" are available for your entry. 

District Status

The National Speech and Debate Association has adopted a “Level” system, to determine how many entries each District receives to the National tournament.  At this moment, East Iowa is a "Level 2" district, meaning we will automatically qualify 2 entry per event.  

In addition, we can qualify additional students with enough entries in a particular event.  Please see the chart below for further information: 

If you still have questions regarding Districts, you may download the complete District Tournament Manual at the following link:

https://www.speechanddebate.org/high-school-unified-manual/

The full text of the rulebook is 136 pages and goes into every possible scenario for the District Tournament.  The National Speech and Debate Association has taken great efforts to ensure all schools are given an equal chance at qualify students to the National tournament.