Middle School Speech and Debate Teams:

The coaches at Northland Christian School in Houston, Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, and The Galloway School in Atlanta welcome ALL Middle School teams to the Southern States Middle School Speech and Debate Championship on Saturday, April 17, 2021.

All events will be synchronous, using NSDA Campus

All debate events except for Congress will have 4 rounds with no elimination rounds. Congress will have 3 sessions (2.5 hrs each) with no elimination rounds.

All speech events will have 4 rounds with no elimination rounds.

We will use NSDA rules in all events, except for Dec, Prose, Poetry where we will use CFL rules (note: prose and poetry will be two separate events). World Schools teams may be comprised of 3-5 students. If there are events we should add to the current set, please let us know. We are open to suggestions.

Students may enter up to 1 debate event and 2 speech events. Students in debate cannot cross-enter into speech, and students in speech cannot cross-enter in debate.

Eligibility:
1. Students must be in Grades 6-8
2. Students must register under the name of the school they attend or the club* of which they are a member
3. Each registered school/club must have an adult contact with whom we will communicate before, during, and after the tournament.

*club refers to something like an after school program where students who potentially attend different schools participate in speech/debate as a club-approved activity. A club leader should be the person who registers students from the club.

Events:

Debate:
Policy Debate (Topic: 2020-21 NFHS)
Lincoln Douglas Debate (Topic: Jan/Feb NSDA)
Public Forum Debate (Topic: Apr NSDA)
Congressional Debate (Legislation provided by the tournament directors and posted a few weeks prior)
Extemporaneous Debate (Topics written by the same people who write topics for the NSDA National Tournament)
World Schools Debate (Prepared motions provided by the Texas Forensic Association to be posted a few weeks prior and impromptu motions written by tournament directors or their designate)

Speech:
Extemporaneous Speaking (US and International topic areas by round to be released about a week prior to the tournament)
Informative Speaking
Original Oratory
Declamation
Impromptu Speaking (7 min total to prepare and deliver speech. Topic areas to be released about a week prior)
Humorous Interpretation
Dramatic Interpretation
Duo Interpretation (depending on whether there is a safe, equitable way to hold a synchronous event)
Program Oral Interpretation
Prose Reading (7 min max)
Poetry Reading (7 min max)
Storytelling (5 min max)

Judges:
1. Tenth grade or older
2. If in high school, they must have competed for at least two full years (including this year). If older than a high school student, they are not required to have competed but they need to be familiar with the rules and norms of the events they are potentially judging.
3. Trusted to be responsible educators when interacting with students in the virtual rooms and filling out ballots. All are required to WRITE comments that are supportive, encouraging, and constructive. They also need to understand that the young people they are judging could be as young as 11 years old. This tournament is NOT a varsity state championship, NSDA Nationals, NCFL Nationals, NDCA Championships, UK TOC, or NIETOC.

Judging obligations:
1. No hired judges will be available. Schools must provide all of their judging.
2. Judge ratios:
A. Speech - 1 judge per 5 entries
B. Policy, LD, PF Debate - 1 judge per 2 entries in each category
C. Extemp Debate -1 judge per 4 entries (PF and Extemp Debate will draw from the same judge pool)
D. Congress - 1 judge per 8 entries

Fees:
$8 per person per event (with a cap of $24 per WSD team). This is designed to cover our costs (NSDA Campus and awards to be mailed after the tournament). If fee waivers are needed, please contact us.

If a W9 is needed, please use link below:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EemM5c6AXbMdpXGlDwBrCjUQwWWJlS8A/view?usp=sharing

View the "Payment Information" page for instructions on how to pay fees.

Deadlines:
Entries due by Monday, April 12, at 3 pm (CT). Drops after 3 pm result in loss of entry fee.
Coaches may make changes to their entry through Thursday, April 15, at 3 pm. Drops after this time must be sent via email and will result in loss of entry fee plus a drop fee of $5.
Judges need to be entered by Thursday, April 15, at 3 pm

We look forward to an exciting day of Middle School competition! Please contact us via email.

Thank you,

Courtney Coffman, Northland Christian School, Houston
Chris Edmonds, The Galloway School, Atlanta
Greg Malis, Isidore Newman School, New Orleans
Alma Nicholson, Isidore Newman School, New Orleans
Tommy Sharp, The Galloway School, Atlanta