Louisiana District Qualifier

for the 2018 National Tournament

Special Awards

Student of the Year

We are accepting nominations for Louisiana District Student of the Year. The student must be a graduating senior. Coaches may nominate their own student or any other student in our District. This student should represent the highest ideals of the Association, live its honor code, and be a role model for all other students in the Louisiana speech and debate community.

The District Committee will evaluate all nominees and select the winner. It will be announced at the Awards Assembly at the District Tournament. The winner's name will be in competition for National Student of the Year, as each District is invited to submit one student as its representative.

Applications are due to Greg by the end of registration on Friday, March 9. There is a process to submit electronically. See the link below.

For more information about the award and how to submit a nomination is available at: https://www.speechanddebate.org/student-recognition/


Top Five Point Earner

For many years, we have honored students in our district who have earned the most points in the Association. The top five (as of the beginning of the District Tournament) will be recognized at the Awards Assembly.


Leading Chapter Award

Each year, one active chapter is chosen as the Leading Chapter in our district. The number of members and degrees earned in an academic year is added to the previous total. The school with the high total at the end of the previous year is named the Leading Chapter for this year. Once schools earn the award, their total is reset to zero, and they start all over again. It represents years of commitment to the activity by the institution, teachers/coaches, and its students. This year's winner will be announced at the Awards Assembly.


Sweepstakes

Based solely on the results of the District Tournament, we will present sweepstakes awards to the outstanding school in Debate, Speech, and Overall. There are specific rules to be eligible for the award. For example, to be eligible for the Overall award, a school must submit at least 3 entries in debate events and at least 3 entries in speech events. A school's top five individual entries in debate events and top five individual entries in speech events will count. For the speech sweepstakes award, a school's top eight individual entries will count. For the debate sweepstakes, a school's top six individual entries will count. For more details, please see page 80-81 of the Unified Manual.


Morris S. Block Revolving Trophy

The number of rounds in which students participated at Districts is added to each school's previous total of rounds from past years. The school with the highest accumulated number of rounds is awarded with a trophy that revolves each year. Once schools win the award, their total is reset to zero. Winning the award represents years of significant and sustained success at the District Tournament. The winning school is expected to add its name to the next plate on the trophy and return it next year. 

Our trophy is named after Morris S. Block, the former speech and debate coach at Riverdale High School in Jefferson, LA. Morris was an outstanding coach for many years, a leader in our activity, and was loved by students and colleagues. Sadly, Morris passed away in October 2002, and we honor his memory by awarding the Morris S. Block Trophy to one school each year.