Get Involved
If you’re here, that means you love speech & debate as much as we do!
Whether you are interested in volunteering, advocating for speech & debate in your community, or giving financially, we need your talents and strengths. You could be the reason a student gains access to speech & debate.
Volunteer Opportunities
Are you interested in volunteering as a judge? For many tournaments, judges are the limiting factor. By volunteering to judge, you are giving more students the opportunity to compete.
Our Springboard Series offers a variety of free, online, after-school scrimmage opportunities for both member and non-member schools. Scrimmages run throughout the year, so there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer!
If you are interested in judging, but think you might need some training or more information, we have you covered!
Free Judge Training Resources »
Videos and guides on how to judge events
How to Be a Great Volunteer Judge Guide »
Find opportunities
Create your Tabroom.com and NSDA accounts
Contribute to Rostrum Magazine
Rostrum, the official magazine of the NSDA, is seeking submissions from our alumni community for publication in upcoming issues.
As a platform for news, scholarly articles, and national updates, Rostrum offers a unique opportunity to engage with fellow alumni, inspire current students, and contribute to the ongoing narrative of the speech and debate community.
What we’re looking for:
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- Insights from Your Career: Lessons learned, challenges overcome, and advice for those following in your footsteps.
- Life After Graduation: The unexpected journeys, the adventures, and the roads less traveled.
- Impact Stories: How you’re making a difference in your community or industry.
- Reflections on Current Events: Your perspective on how speech and debate shaped your understanding of the world today.
Submit your article today and be part of inspiring the future of speech and debate!
Become a Judge for Hire
Want to make yourself available as a judge for tournaments across the country? Register as a judge on our judge board and get included on our judges for hire list.
Advocate
Advocate for speech and debate in your community to help ensure all students have access to unlock their true potential.
Alumni Ambassador Program
As an alum, you now have exclusive access to our Alumni Ambassador program! As an ambassador, you become an advocate for the transformative power of speech and debate. Your mission? To ensure this incredible activity finds its place in EVERY school, creating opportunities and access for more students.
Alumni Ambassadors are also ambassadors for our alumni community, helping engage with speech and debate alumni and inviting them to claim their free alumni membership.
Advocacy Articles
We’ve curated a list of articles from journalists, columnists, educators, and others that explain the benefits of speech and debate. They may be useful in convincing administrators, parents, students, or donors to support and participate in speech and debate.
If you know of an article, or have written an article, that advocates for speech and debate and should be included on this list, please let us know at alumni@speechanddebate.org.
Letter Writing
Speech and Debate in the News
We’ve curated a list of articles from journalists, columnists, educators, and others that explain the benefits of speech and debate. They may be useful in convincing administrators, parents, students, or donors to support and participate in speech and debate.
If you know of an article, or have written an article, that advocates for speech and debate and should be included on this list, please let us know at alumni@speechanddebate.org.
Speech and Debate in the News
Letter Writing
Help get speech and debate in every school! Share how this activity impacted your life with administrators, districts, and more by sending them a personalized letter. Utilize our letter template and send to those who are in your community and beyond.
Admin Letter Template
Send a Postcard
Share with administrators, districts, and more how speech and debate impacted your life by sending a postcard with your story.
Learn how the NSDA is advocating for speech and debate by checking out our 2022 Community Impact Report.
Letter Writing
Help get speech and debate in every school! Share how this activity impacted your life with administrators, districts, and more by sending them a personalized letter. Utilize our letter template and send to those who are in your community and beyond.