Dear Texas Middle School Speech and Debate Coaches:

We would like to invite you to the Second Annual Texas Middle School Speech and Debate State Tournament. This year's Middle School State Tournament will be virtual.

Eligibility

This tournament is open to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders who reside in the state of Texas.

Club-Based Entries

For this year's tournament, we will allow entries from enrichment schools or programs. However, if a student's official school (the school they attend for compulsory attendance purposes) is participating in the tournament, the student must compete for that school. 

Events

Section A (Students may enter 2 events in this pattern, but they may not enter debate events.)

Extemporaneous Speaking, Duo Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Original Oratory, Prose Interpretation, Program Oral Interpretation, Original Spoken Word Poetry

Section B (Students may enter 2 events in this pattern, but they may not enter debate events.)

Impromptu Speaking, Duet Improvisation, Declamation, Dramatic Interpretation, Poetry Interpretation, Storytelling, Informative Speaking

Debate (Students may enter 1 event in this pattern, but they may not enter section A or B.)

Congressional Debate, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, World Schools Debate, Policy Debate

Please note: We do not plan to break brackets in debate.

Rules for each event can be found by clicking on Events & Divisions to the right of your screen. You can also find information about our schedule, tournament rules, recording guidelines, and entry fees.

NSDA Campus

We will be using the NSDA Campus platform for all synchronous events. To guarantee a smooth tournament experience, please have your students test their ability to connect to NSDA Campus at https://campus.speechanddebate.org/. They should practice entering NSDA campus rooms from the device and location they will be using on the day of the tournament.

The majority of problems with NSDA Campus occur when students try to access it from their school buildings. If your students will be accessing Tabroom from your school building (or another restricted network), please read over the IT specifics and frequently asked questions at https://www.speechanddebate.org/campus-tech/. Make sure that your district IT department has opened the necessary ports and whitelisted the necessary domains.

Entry Fees

Individual Events: $20 per entry

Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, World Schools Debate, Policy Debate: $40 per entry

Congress: $20 per entry

School Fee: $50 per school 

These entry fees will be used to cover the cost of NSDA Campus, awards, and shipping for awards. Entry fees will also be used to supplement school-provided judges with hired judges.

Payment Information

Judging

To make sure we have enough judges, we are asking that each school provide judges for the categories they are competing in:

Individual Events: 1 judge for every 6 entries

LD/PF Debate: 1 judge for every 2 entries

World Schools Debate: 1 judge for every 2 entries

Policy Debate: 1 judge for every 2 entries

Congressional Debate: 1 judge if you have Congressional Debate entries (Congressional Debate judges may be pulled into the LD or PF pool if necessary.)

If you are using high school judges, they need to be in the 10th grade or higher. No 9th grade judges, please.

Entry Limits

Registration will open on Monday, February 28. When registration opens, each school will be initially limited to 6 entries per event. On March 11, we will begin to take entries off of the waiting list as space allows, up to a limit of 8 entries per school. You will have the ability to prioritize your waitlisted entries.

Deadlines

The deadline for entries and judges is 6:00 pm on Friday, March 25.

Awards

The following entries will receive awards:

Individual Events: Quarterfinalists, Semifinalists, and Finalists

Congressional Debate: Semifinalists and Finalists

Lincoln-Douglas and Public Forum Debate: Octofinalists, Quarterfinalists, Semifinalists, and Finalists

World Schools Debate: Quarterfinalists, Semifinalists, and Finalists 

The top five schools will be recognized as Schools of Excellence. 

To help us ship your awards, please include your mailing address in Tabroom under Refund Contact Info.

Questions

If you have any questions, you may contact George Tennison at gttennis@ga.aliefisd.net. We look forward to seeing you in April.

Sincerely,

Your State Tournament Coordinating Committee

George Tennison, TSCA Interest Group Chair for Middle School Instructional Development (E. A. Olle Middle School)

Christopher Arnold (Albright Middle School)

Lyn Esquivel (Tuloso-Midway Middle School)

Franz Hill (Lanier Middle School)

Heather Huffman (The Village School)

Rachel Warnecke (Saint Mary's Hall)