Requirements

Registration

• There is no cost to attend the Springboard Scrimmages. All participation is free.
• Students and schools do not need to be NSDA members to participate in the September and October Springboard Scrimmages.
• There is an entry limit of 8 entries per event per school. Entries beyond this cap will be added to a waitlist.
• Registration closes at 12:00 p.m. CT the day of competition.
• Coaches must confirm their registration by one hour prior to round 1 through Tabroom.com.
• Coaches will agree to a disclaimer prior to registration that confirms they have permission from their school to compete, that all students attend the school they are registered under, that the NSDA has permission to use photos and videos obtained from this event, and that school administrators are aware and comfortable with the safety measures taken if students are competing from the same room.
• All competitors and judges must have a linked Tabroom.com account to compete.

Judging

• All judges must be provided; no hired judging is available.
• In debate, one judge is owed per 2 entries or fraction thereof in each event.
• In speech, one judge is owed per 4 entries or fraction thereof in speech.
• In Congress, one judge is owed per 4 entries or fraction thereof. Congress judges must choose an alternate category to judge in case they do not fit in a Congress round.
• Judges in the rising stars division may be juniors or seniors in high school with at least 250 Honor Society points who have taken the required judge training course.
• Judges in the open division must have graduated from high school. All speech judges must have graduated from high school.
• Written feedback on ballots is required. Disclosure and oral feedback is optional. All judges will submit ranks and a decision at the conclusion of each round.
• All judges must complete the Cultural Competency judge training course.
• The Springboard Series is dedicated to helping students grow as speech and debate competitors and community members. Judges must be committed to providing constructive, culturally competent feedback and decisions that meet students where they are in order to create safe spaces, healthy competition, and encourage their growth in our activities.

Post-Tournament

• There will be no formal awards ceremony.
• All results will be made publicly available on Tabroom.com after the tournament.
• All students will receive a digital certificate celebrating their participation via email after the tournament.
• All coaches will receive a survey that they’ll be encouraged to share with their judges and students.