2026 Tournament Dates

The 2026 tournament dates will be Feb 14-16, 2026. Please check back in the fall for the full invitation.

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 14-16, 2026.

We will again feature in-person competitions in 2026 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, CX and LD. Coaches and judges will still be provided with breakfast and lunch in the lounges at CRLS and King/Putnam Schools. These hospitality costs are included in the entry fees.

Third, round robins. This year the Harvard Debate Council will resume hosting all four round robins before the tournament - in CX, Congress, PF, and LD. We would like to thank the Harvard College Debating Union, Harvard’s parliamentary debate team, for administering the PF, LD, and Congress round robins over the past several years.

Fourth, new events. We will be adding a World Schools Debate division this year. We will again offer Impromptu speaking and JV Congressional Debate.

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 13, 2026. All fees must be received in Cambridge by noon ET on Thursday February 12, 2026.

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