The River Valley Speech and Debate League welcomes you....

With a quick glance to your right, as you cross the bridge into Dardanelle, you can see what my children used to call “the cloud maker.”

Now, they know that it is steam instead of clouds rising from the cooling towers of Arkansas Nuclear One Unit 1.

Affectionately known by its nickname “Nuke 1,” it is a huge part of the local communities in both Russellville and Dardanelle. Located on Lake Dardanelle, it is owned by Entergy Arkansas and operated by Entergy Nuclear. It is the only nuclear power facility in Arkansas.

Arkansas Nuclear One has been in continuous operation for 50 years as of December 17, 2024. This makes the power plant even older than Coach Gamble. That longevity is not just a local point of pride. Nuclear power plays an important role in our nation’s energy infrastructure as a whole. As of late 2024 and early 2025, the United States has 54 operating commercial nuclear power plants, with a total of 94 reactors across 28 states, providing nearly 20 percent of the nation’s electricity. Arkansas Nuclear One stands as part of that broader system while remaining deeply rooted in the River Valley.

Here at home, Arkansas Nuclear One has provided clean power, boosted the local economy, and proven itself to be a reliable, long-term energy source for Arkansas, with recent license renewals allowing operation well into the 2030s.

The River Valley Speech and Debate League is aimed at schools in this same local area, and as one of the most visible and important human creations along the river, it only seemed appropriate to draw inspiration from it for our mid-year tournament.

We hope this tournament does what Arkansas Nuclear One has done for decades by providing a reliable, long-term, and dependable recharge for our judges, students, and coaches.

After a long fall semester, it is necessary to recharge.

It is important to focus on topics, words, thoughts, and ideas that are not only positive but forward-thinking.

Just like the nuclear energy created just across the lake, we want to create something special with the first Arkansas Speech and Debate tournament of the year.

The River Valley Speech and Debate League was created to give more competition and opportunity to schools in the River Valley. Summer of 2025 ACTAA changed the rules of tournaments that count as state qualifiers to mandate that all tournaments be 'open' to all schools in Arkansas. As such, this tournament is open but we do have very limited space and judge numbers and must vigorously enforced. If you cannot supply the needed judges per entry (one judge per two debate entries) and (one judge per six individual event entries) then your entries will be removed. Your judges must be able to judge, if you have a judge entered into the system who cannot judge any round then they will not count toward your judge quota. In addition, because the tournament is much smaller we have to respect our judges time and rounds will not be held late for any reason unless it is the tournaments fault. (*like a judge didn't show up on time)

A failure to provide a clean judge who is able to judge for the entirety of each day per slate will see those entries be pulled and fees assessed. We do not have the luxury of selling judge spots and do not have the capacity to cover missed required judges. Our apologies, we are attempting to work within the logistics of a small league while also being responsive to the new rule. This tournament flexibility is backed up by the ACTAA rule

“Qualifying Tournament Standards:

• Judging
  • Schools will bring the number of qualified judges required to cover entries.
  • Directors may either assess a judging fee or reduce the number of entries a school may bring if judging requirement is not met. “

Entries will be reduced if your judging quota is not met.