Dear Coach:

You are cordially invited to participate in the 31^st Annual KESDA Senior State Tournament, February 15-20, 2021.  The tournament will be held virtually using NSDA’s Tabroom Campus. 

KESDA, the Kentucky Educational Speech and Drama Association, gives senior high students a competitive arena where they can apply the effective communication skills acquired in the classroom and coaching sessions. You’ve worked hard all year, and the KESDA Tournament is the ideal place for your entire team to share their best work with judges and competitors from across the state.  For students hoping to compete nationally, KESDA’s live final rounds will provide good training for Kentucky speech competitors getting ready for KHSSL State, CFL, and NSDA district competitions.

In addition to the traditional individual events KY students expect, your students can also compete in Congressional Debate, Group Interp, submit an original video shout-out to the state, and participate in a written essay contest.  The John Edwards Pentathalon and the Bruce Florence Scholarship both carry scholarship awards. 

At KESDA, there are no prequalification requirements; your entire team may compete. Entries are unlimited, but only the top three entries in each event count towards team sweepstakes.  A student may enter a maximum of 5 events.

Individual awards will be presented for 1st-6th place in each event as well as Pentathlon. The Pentathlon winner will win a one-time college scholarship. In addition to recognizing the top, non-advancing novice in each event, as well as the non-advancing quarter and semifinalists, we will be offering at least one final round for non-advancing novices.  There are several opportunities for teams to take home team hardware.  In addition to the overall team sweepstakes, up to three team awards will be given for the “Greynolds Sweepstakes,” open to schools with twenty or fewer entries.  The traveling trophy based on team efficiency is also awarded.

If you have any questions, please reach out to us, as we're glad to answer any questions.  We do hope you’ll join us for the 2021 KESDA Tournament!

Sincerely,

Dr. Edward B. Smith & Betsy B. Smith

Executive Directors, KESDA

Georgetown College, 400 East College Street, Georgetown, KY 40324

1-859-492-9163; 1-859-588-4019

edwardbetsy@bellsouth.net; ed_smith@georgetowncollege.edu