TEAM PUGET SOUND SELECTION PROCESS!

Hello!

As explained earlier in the season, the Puget Sound NSDA District will be implementing a new, competitive procedure for choosing the ten debaters that get to represent our area as Team Puget Sound at the NSDA National Championships in Richmond, Virginia! To register, please go here: PS NSDA Worlds Tournament

The Worlds rounds will be held at the same time as the main Puget Sound NSDA tournament– Friday and Saturday, 3/6-7 at Overlake HS. The Worlds rounds will take place during the same time slots as LD, PF, and Policy. Here is the official SCHEDULE!

The following factors were prioritized by the PSNSDA Board when creating this system:

- Overall competitiveness of the Puget Sound teams.

- Representation and equity among Puget Sound NSDA teams.

- Acknowledgement of student commitment to the Worlds School event.

1. An Team Puget Sound NSDA Worlds Team application will be created by the Puget Sound NSDA Board. This application will be sent to all schools by 2/5/2026. Applications must be returned to the Puget Sound NSDA Board by 2/15/2026. Here is the APPLICATION!

2. All students who are interested in representing Team Puget Sound as a member of the Worlds Team must also compete in another approved Puget Sound NSDA National Qualifying event. This will ensure that all students meet the expectations of the NSDA. Those events can include: Big Questions, Congress, HI, DI, POI, USX, IX, or DUO. (Students will NOT be able to compete in LD, PF, or Policy because Worlds rounds to determine the team will be held concurrently at the Puget Sound NSDA Nat Quals on 3/6-7/2026.)

3. Students will compete in a modified Worlds tournament during the Puget Sound NSDA Nat Quals.

- Students will compete in 5 impromptu rounds. Elim rounds may occur if the board believes that it will lead to clearer decisions. This decision and the rationale will be emailed to all concerned coaches when the decision is made.

- Students will be mixed into random teams by the Puget Sound Board.

- Students will compete as teams but will be evaluated as individual competitors, much like in a speech round. At the end of the round, the judge will rank each competitor 1-6.

- At the end of the rounds, student ranks will be totaled. Based on these totals, a list of the top 20 students will be formed.

4. No school will be allowed more than three spots (out of the 10 available) on Team Puget Sound.

5. All students are required by the NSDA to turn in their event preferences before they compete at any Nat Quals event. These event preferences will be strictly enforced when creating the Worlds teams.

6. The Puget Sound NSDA Board will provide the most neutral judging possible by hiring judges from out of the state, teaming with the Western WA NSDA to exchange judges, and other methods deemed necessary. It will be the Board's goal to have as many rounds as possible judged by neutral judges.

7. The Puget Sound NSDA Board will use the applications as a tie breaker if deemed necessary.

8. The Puget Sound NSDA Board will act in good faith to follow these guidelines but reserves the right to modify procedures as necessary if problems arise with this inaugural effort. If modifications need to be made, the Board will contact all coaches with entries in the event with an email explaining the issue. Coaches will have 30 minutes to bring concerns to the Board after the mail is sent. The Board will then discuss the concerns and announce the outcome if this situation arises.

9. Entries are due by FRIDAY, 2/27!

10. Please provide one judge per every 5 students entered. Please attempt to provide NEUTRAL judges who have plenty of Worlds School Debate judging experience. Judges need to have completed the NSDA judge training and ideally will have judged at least three times this season. This is not the tournament for training judges. (It is also helpful if your judges are able to help judge in LD or PF when they are not being used in the Worlds division… please include this in your registration notes if they can help in this way– and thank you!)