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Community Impact Report 2024

    Explore how the speech and debate community grew, connected, and celebrated in 2024.

    Inspiring Participation

    86,424 Degrees Earned: Coach and Student - 145,667 Students and Coaches - 3,730 Schools

    We are proud to see students and coaches earn recognition as they grow in their skills through speech and debate. Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, our community members competed, earned degrees, and upheld the highest standards of the NSDA Honor Code through student service and academic achievements.

    142 Coaches Earning Service Citations - 717 Speaking and Service Awards - 10,000+ Total Awards - 1,384 Academic All Americans - 289 Diamond Coach Awards
    22,540 Students Earned Service Points In The 2023-2024 School Year! - 19% Increase From Last Year!

    Student and Coach Education

    NSDA resources are like having another coach on your roster. Our highly-rated tools lightened the load for teams in 2023-2024. Grab-and-go tools from lesson plans and textbooks to student practice materials and final round videos are all included with membership.

    Speech Resources
    Debate Resources
    13 Lesson Plan Collections - 20 Videos From Student Experts - 29 On-Demand Courses - 40 New Final Round Videos - Topic Analyses + Extemp Questions + Congress Legislation + More

    National Tournament

    The National Tournament offered a week of connection, learning, and highlighting student voices. In the end, we crowned our 2024 national champions!

    June 11-16, Phoenix/Mesa, AZ - 6,896 Competitors - 1,491 Middle School and High Schools - 79,000+ Livestream Views - 889 Students Competing In Only Supplementals - 265 Students Added From The Last-Chance Qualifier

    Funding

    Keith West Memorial Fund

    The Keith West Memorial Fund provided grants to eight schools in the fall of 2024. We look forward to honoring Keith’s life and legacy by increasing access to speech and debate through these grants each year.

    Tate Road to Nationals Fund

    The Road to Nationals Fund, founded by the William Woods Tate, Jr., Memorial Fund, is designed to help students attend the high school National Speech & Debate Tournament. The Road to Nationals Fund provides financial assistance to schools who are lacking financial resources to attend the tournament.

    In 2024, the NSDA was proud to provide over $100,000 to schools to create a more equitable National Tournament experience.

    The Road To Nationals Fund: $100,000 - 257 Schools

    Creating Community

    Alumni

    We are building a community of alumni who are passionate about inspiring the next generation of public speakers. Our community is now over 8,200 members strong and growing!

    Anyone who graduated from high school and participated in speech and debate during middle school, high school, or college is eligible to join the speech and debate alumni community.

    Alumni Membership Includes: Opportunities to Inspire the Next Generation. Exclusive Alumni Webinars. Alumni LinkedIn Group, Volunteer Opportunities.
    "SPEECH AND DEBATE SAVED MY LIFE BY GIVING ME POWER AND PURPOSE. I WAS ABLE TO TELL THE STORIES THAT OFTEN GO UNTOLD, AND IN THE PROCESS, I DISCOVERED THE PARTS OF MYSELF I NEVER WOULD'VE KNOWN. I BECAME A STRONGER, MORE CONFIDENT, AND MORE SUCCESSFUL PERSON BECAUSE OF THIS ACTIVITY AND THE YEARS I SPENT COMPETING." - Paige Gonzales, Truman High School, MO - Class of 2022

    We had the pleasure of being joined by NSDA alum Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to discuss her new memoir, Lovely One, and to hear her thoughts on the benefits she believes speech and debate brought to her life and career.

    Thank you for another great year of speech and debate!

    We know 2025 will be a great year, because the NSDA is turning 100! Learn more about our Centennial and how you can celebrate alongside us.

    Share your message with

    3,500 High Schools

    600 Middle Schools

    5,200 Coaches

    140,000 Students

    Extend your reach at the Nationals

    7,000 Attendees

    6,500 Tournament Books are Distributed to Coaches and Teachers

    7,000 Access the National Tournament App from their Phone or Device

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