National Speech & Debate Association

Dino and everybody at the national debate and speech association made us feel so comfortable and so welcome. They were able to help take us and the high school to another level. They were constantly warm, professional, an expert in the field. I have no idea what we do without them. Our son has become stronger and more effective because of this organization. We can’t say enough how much we appreciate the abilities and the care and concern of the folks at this group. Also shout out to their technology. The infrastructure is really easy to understand and helpful. Thank you so much!

I am a student who has been involved in a range of speech and debate events for the last five years. I attend a NSDA member and charter school and have gone to NSDA Nationals three times. There are three experiences I would highlight about the NSDA's impact in my life.

First, as a student attending a public school in a rural, high-poverty area, the NSDA has facilitated incredible opportunities that would otherwise not be available to my peers and me. At our local tournaments, the NSDA has undeniable influence, from running Tabroom.com (an organization website), suggesting best practices for equity and fairness, to literally sourcing the event rulebooks. These tournaments expose us to the world outside of our small community, as we see college campuses, interact with college-educated adults and compete against college-aspiring peers. Furthermore, NSDA Nationals takes us away from our home state and allows us to meet competitors from around the country, while also hearing about leadership and college opportunities. Through it all, we are given academic challenge that supplements our relatively weak public school curriculum, as well as a forum to learn and share what matters to us. In this way, the NSDA helps us dream bigger and gives us the skills necessary to achieve more.

Secondly, I've had the privilege to be a member of the NSDA Student Leadership Council for the past two years. The Student Leadership Council is a group of students from around the nation who give student input to the NSDA. It has shown me how unequivocally committed the NSDA is to serving its members and being responsive to student voices. The NSDA staff work tirelessly and do everything they can with the resources they have to maximize the organization's impact. The NSDA has a unique focus on prioritizing diversity, equity, and accessibility in everything it does.

Finally, I have been honored to be a two-year member of the NSDA's USA Debate program, which is the Team USA of high school debate. This team competes internationally to represent the country at various competitions and the annual World Championships. Often, the competitors on this team are the first Americans that debaters/coaches from other countries have ever met. Because of the NSDA's financial support, Team USA Debate is highly diverse and socioeconomic barriers don't inhibit participation. As such, the team is able to best represent the United States abroad. Before the NSDA's administration of the team, there was little coordination and accessibility, but in the last decade, the program has successfully sent a US delegation to the World Schools Debate Championships each year.

The NSDA is making an undeniable and irreplaceable impact on the communities it supports; from my small town to the entire globe. I strongly believe that the NSDA is playing a vital role in helping students see the world and find their place in it.

The NSDA helped me find my voice, giving me the platform to talk about issues that I care about with others. As a member of the Student Leadership Council, it has been amazing to help with projects behind the scenes and everyone who is involved with the NSDA is truly passionate about empowering young voices.

The NSDA offers an excellent opportunity to connect with students from across the nation and beyond. It introduces you to a diverse network of competitors who often become lifelong friends. Through shared experiences, you learn from one another and create lasting memories. Even after returning home, the bonds you form continue, allowing you to stay in touch with friends from all over the country.

I volunteered for the National Tournament in Des Moines and had a wonderful experience. I felt that I got to make a meaningful difference.

NSDA provides great opportunities and resources for our students to both experience and compete in speech and debate.

Membership in the National Speech and Debate Association is life-changing. Students gain significant skills, confidence and exposure to a variety of people and opinions. Coaches guide young people as they mature into thoughtful and articulate individuals.

I have been associated with this organization for over 45 years, starting out as a student member and now as a coach and volunteer. While speech and debate competition is a worthy activity alone, joining the NSDA enhances one's experience. Not only does the NSDA organize the district and national tournaments, but they provide a myriad of educational resources and support for both competitors and for classroom instruction. The NSDA is also an honorary society that is highly regarded by colleges and universities.

Over the years I have had the opportunity to work with members of the staff and board of directors. Much of the work done by the organization comes from volunteers. The NSDA does a tremendous amount of work with their budget. As a donor myself, I am convinced that the monies collected through dues and grants and donations are used wisely.

The NSDA is committed to fostering and growing the opportunities for all American middle and high school students to be a part of the speech and debate community. Each time a team forms and young people begin competing parents, friends and teachers see a noticeable change. Speech and debate participants become leaders, have better grades, learn to advocate for what they believe in and commonly become highly successful adults. In my opinion there is no other activity more valuable than speech and debate for young people and the NSDA is the premier organization devoted to the growth of this sport.

NSDA has been great to work with! I work for another national organization (also a non-profit) and I enjoy the collaboration between our two organizations. We have worked together on numerous projects and have a great partnership that puts students and programming for students and coaches and the forefront.

The mission to improve access to resources and help students harness the potential of critical communication and thinking skills always feels at the core of each worker's role and their projects. That focus on meeting students' needs is no doubt why it is the largest organization of its kind in the world and why so many students value the time they spend in the activity. I'm glad to have had a chance to give back to this activity through service to the Association.

The National Speech and Debate Association is an incredible organization that offers unparalleled academic opportunities for students and crucial support for teachers/staff! Offering students the opportunity to access competitive speech and debate is more important now than ever. This activity is a confidence-builder, improving research and public speaking skills and setting students up for a successful future. The staff at the NSDA is essential to keeping speech and debate accessible and available for all!

NSDA is an outstanding nonprofit organization. They do incredible work with students. They really reach all aspects of a high school student's life. Yes, the competition side of things is outstanding, but the education aspect is what really makes them stand out. Between lesson plans for teaching communication and tools to improve equity and inclusion, I am proud to me a donating member to this organization.

The National Speech & Debate Association hosts the largest annual academic competition in the world, and does so in a way that unifies and serves its membership. The NSDA also provides core supports for middle and high school programs throughout the year, normally responding to inquiries within the same business day. As a volunteer coach and tournament official, I always feel supported and nurtured.

I have been a member of the National Speech and Debate Association for nearly 40 years. Its mission to give youth a voice is critical today to ensure that students in middle and high school develop essential skills to speak truth, discuss civilly, and advocate fiercely and logically for themselves and others.

Although I am not an active high school coach any more, I annually encourage new coaches in my region to include NSDA membership as an option for their students. I describe the good that this organization can do for kids beyond just participating in speech and debate. Between our state league and other national leagues & organizations, none come close to providing their services, support, resources, and professionalism. At some point, I have been a member of every one of the organizations to which I am comparing. We have one true national organization. We have only one who can do and has done what the NSDA has accomplished.

The opportunity to represent one's school and one's state at the National Tournament is the highest honor in our activity. NSDA's National Tournament is our one true national championship, and the resources available to schools and students to get to Nationals is impressive. I proudly donate to the Billy Tate Fund each and every year.

My lifetime membership in the NSDA is the single most important professional membership in my 30+ years as a career educator.

They provide an incredible nationally unifying spirit to speech and debate. They literally bring all parts of a divided nation together for intense, relevant conversations. No other organization does this in the same thoughtful and deliberate manner. And no other organization that I know has as much of a positive impact on the future of America.

Being part of speech and debate was life changing for me. When I was asked to coach I had no idea what I was getting involved in. Within a few short weeks the wonderful skills and confidence the students were developing became visible. However, I had no idea what I was doing.

Being a completely novice coach I needed so much support and NSDA was always there. To not only help me, but these amazing kids. Whether via a phone call or speedy replies, issues were resolved quickly and allowed so many kids to compete. One cannot stress how much they do to help and involved in their success.

Plus, when one looks at how polarized the world is today, having organizations like NSDA who promote open dialogues about various topics is beyond beneficial. As a teacher, the skills I also learned are beyond helpful in the classroom to provide safe place and community for competitor and student alike. Also, must stress the promotion of inclusion, which is a vital step this nation needs.

I cannot stress enough how wonderful this organization is and all it does for our community.

The National Speech and Debate Association is a powerhouse at helping students achieve their potential. By facilitating speech and debate education, the NSDA provides students with critical thinking skills, personal empowerment, a sense of self, and access to future success. No other organization has the opportunity to make such a large impact on the future as the NSDA.

NSDA, and competitive debate in general, are among the most transformational institutions in my life. I came to debate as a 9th grader, timid and awkward, still trying to identify who I wanted to be. Once I landed in debate -- and started attending NSDA tournaments -- I found my voice. I gained confidence, learned how to advocate for myself, and found a community of like-minded students and coaches, all fostered by NSDA. By the time I graduated high school, debate became my life -- I spent 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year researching my topic area, constructing arguments, and competing at tournaments. Twenty plus years later, I incorporate the skills I learned in debate, and still remain close to many of my debate friends. NSDA continues to make a profound impact on students and teachers by bringing debate to schools across the nation.

I began competing as a sophomore in high school. Competitive speech and debate and the NSDA provided me and my teammates with skills we would never have learned in any other activity. With events in debate, public speaking, and interpretation of literature (acting), we learned how to formulate thoughts and ideas into coherent arguments; how to generate ideas in a limited time frame and convey them in a persuasive manner; and how to analyze a selection of literature and make it come alive for an audience through performance. After also competing in college, I became a high school teacher so I could continue to provide the benefits I gained to my own students. I have coached for 39 years simply because I continue to see the impacts it has on students' lives.

The National Speech & Debate Association has been an important part of my life since 1996, first as a student and then as a coach. I have seen first-hand the transformative power of participation in speech and debate for countless students. The support, advocacy, facilitation, and celebration of speech and debate activities by the NSDA allows students to find their voice, share their story, and amplify the voices and stories of others that need to be heard.

As a member coach for close to 30 years, the benefit of the NSDA is immeasurable. From hosting the largest academic competition each year to the outstanding curriculum offered to members and non-members, the NSDA has it covered. The unique thing about the NSDA is that they (I say they because it's more than a non-profit, it's a community) truly listen to the member coaches and students. As an educator of 34 years, I can think no other extra/co-curricular activity that builds so much in young people. It helps with the obvious, public speaking skills and performing but it also teaches critical thinking, the ability to lose with grace, social skills, how to think on their feet and so much more. I can't imagine my career being as long as it has been without the existence of the NSDA. Truly a top notch organization geared toward the growth of youth.

The National Speech and Debate Association provides amazing opportunities for students to showcase their talents on a local, state and national level. After watching the competition this spring at the National Tournament, I am completely convinced that NSDA provides a crucial service for students. Our future leaders are among these competitors and I know we will be in good hands because of the experience they have been provided through speech and debate.

This organization has advocated and supported opportunities for youth to develop and use their voices for nearly a century, and as the NSDA heads toward its second century, the value of its work and the importance of opportunities for students in the next generation to discover their voice and develop agency in their futures has never been greater. Every student deserves and needs the opportunity to participate in speech and debate activities that are equitable, meaningful, and fun. These opportunities reflect the very center of what equitable educational opportunity is all about, and the NSDA is leaning into the collaborative work of creating opportunities for all students, especially those whose voices are too often excluded and marginalized.

I've been involved with this organization for over 40 years. It is the organization that best supports speech and debate. The organization continues to fulfill its mission of helping students find their voice. The honor society recognizes students who have outstanding achievement in speech and debate competitions. The NSDA has had a profound impact on countless students. It can count as its alum leaders in private industry, government, and other public entities. Being a member of the NSDA has been the best and smartest personal investment I have made in my teaching career.

Speech and Debate continue to be activities that help promote civic participation and healthy competition for middle and high school students throughout the country. However, it is the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) that continues to make sure that all stakeholders in the speech and debate community - coaches, administrators, tournament officials, and most importantly students - are able to thrive and maximize their talents.

The NSDA caters to the needs of the speech and debate community in insurmountable ways. It provides resources for coaches to be able to engage in professional development and pedagogical improvement, and helps make teachers better. It provides resources for students to feel a sense of belonging, including the maintenance of one of the largest honor membership systems in the United States (and throughout the world), and the development of a district tournament series that culminates in the largest academic competition in the world each June. It provides student and coach recognition via press releases, awards, and announcements to local school districts. And, it provides a model for how discourse, debate, and public advocacy can and should look; a model that is greatly needed in 2021.

Without a doubt, the National Speech and Debate Association is the premier organization that helps made both middle school and high school speech and debate programs and individuals succeed, and I am proud to be a lifetime member of the organization.

NSDA is the preeminent organization in the United States advancing the arts of oral communication and deliberative engagement. Their work not only safeguards our nation's inspiring history of transformative public address but is imbued with a relentless commitment to cultivating critical thinking, persuasive speaking, and democratic deliberation in every school, bar none. At a time, when we desperately need new strategies and avenues to formulate community and improved decision-making across our differences, I am thankful that we have the NSDA to help the youngest members of our society develop the skills they need to do that.

I appreciate my many opportunities to work with the NSDA as it rethinks its responses to dynamic social issues and demographic changes in the makeup of its participants. With every interaction, I am impressed by the organization’s commitment to seek out a myriad of stakeholders impacted by the pending change. With a board comprised of the world’s most renowned forensics educators and leadership team focused on maximizing access while rewarding excellence, NSDA will remain one of our nation’s preeminent speech and debate organizations.

I have been involved with this organization in some capacity since 1981 serving on the Board of Directors since 2018. I have personally benefitted from the mission of this organization as a student competitor and then had an opportunity to share it with hundreds of my own students as I coached debate. As a member of the Board of Directors I am most proud of our work to create a space where our commitment to diversity, equity and belonging is evident and is the lens through which we make decisions.

The NSDA has been part of my life since 1998. As a student, I was motivated by the seals that were on older students certificates. Their advancement in the honor society gave me faith that I could too. As a coach, I received professional development and resources to support my students grow. As an administrator, I see how the organization recognizes the incredible work of educators. In all phases of my life, the NSDA has been there for me. Now I try and be there for them with donations from time to time.

The NSDA changed my life. The skills that it teaches our future leaders are critical and the impact they make on students is lifelong. Our world needs more critical thinkers and the NSDA is committed to making that a reality.

The NSDA works to support and empower all students to cultivate their voices. From those just beginning to explore the world of speech and debate to those that are striving to compete among the best speakers, the NSDA provides materials, guidance, and opportunities. They also support new and veteran coaches and programs, which has been invaluable particularly during the last couple of tumultuous years. As a former student, college professor, high school teacher, and coach for almost 40 years, there is no more important organization that supports middle school and high school speech and debate. And, given the our current political and social environment, there is no more important time than now to support the NSDA in this very important work.

I have been involved with this organization for over forty years. They are absolutely the best way for students to learn communication, critical thinking and research skills!