2025 Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament

Full Invitation Link

Tentative Schedule Link

Invitation Letter

Dear Coaches,

We are delighted to invite you to attend the annual Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament, which will be held in person on Presidents' Day Weekend, Saturday, Sunday, & Monday, February 15-17, 2025. The tentative tournament schedule is available at this link: Tentative Tournament Schedule.

We will again feature in-person competitions in 2025 for most events. We will not offer any hybrid divisions, but we will offer online divisions in: Middle School Congress, Beginner Public Forum, and Open Public Forum. We will continue to use Tabroom.com as the official registration and tournament management site for all events and divisions.

We have several announcements concerning this year’s tournament.

First, contact. We will continue to use an official tournament email address. Please direct all inquiries to hst@harvarddebate.org.

Second, hospitality. We will be providing breakfast to participants in Speech, Congress, PF, and LD. (Lunch will also be provided for CX divisions). Coaches and judges will still be provided with breakfast and lunch at the lounges in CRLS and King/Putnam Schools. These hospitality costs are included in the entry fees.

Third, round robins. We are pleased to announce the return of the Policy Debate round robin, to be held prior to the tournament. We will also host an inaugural online World Schools Debate round robin. As has been the case for many years, the LD, PF, and Congress round robins will be hosted by the Debating Union, Harvard’s parliamentary debate team.

Fourth, new events. We are happy to announce that we are adding a Junior Varsity division in Congressional debate and a pilot Impromptu division in Speech (capped at 70 entries).

Lastly, registration. Once again we will not offer in-person registration on Friday before the tournament. All registration and final confirmation must be completed online. Participants will be required to confirm final entry details in lieu of traditional registration between 12pm ET and 9pm ET on Friday February 14, 2025. All fees must be received in Cambridge by noon ET on Thursday February 13, 2025.

We look forward to seeing you in Cambridge once again!

Sincerely yours,

Tripp Rebrovick, PhD

Coach of Debate, Harvard College

Director, The Harvard Debate Council

Official Tournament Email: hst@harvarddebate.org