A lot of things! There are 13 events across Debate, Congress, and Speech (rhetorical and interpretation) categories.
It is standing up and defending an argument, and then standing up to argue the opposite later. It is assembling a poetry program to move an audience. It is researching and presenting your solutions for government policy or social ills. It is becoming a character (or two, or five) and transporting the audience to a different place. It is an essential life skill that just happens to come with trophies.
It is as educational as an AP class, as competitive as a varsity sport, and as rewarding as anything kids will ever try to do. And it looks like that on a college application, too.
You can see the full schedule here (with more links on the home page).
Our tournament schedule runs from September to June. However, unlike a sport, Speech and Debate is commitment-flexible. From September to February, anyone can compete whenever and as often as they like. Beginning in March, open opportunities are more limited (the Speech and Debate "postseason"), though there are still some.
Commitment flexible also means that unless they've promised something to a partner, students can skip a tournament without affecting anyone else.
We travel as a team, but each entry at a tournament competes separately. It is more fun to have a larger group, so we encourage everyone to compete as often as they can! Whether you finish in first place or last place, it doesn't hurt anyone else's experience. Teammates won't compete against each other when it can be avoided, so we always help each other!
At a tournament, everyone competes at the same time in different rooms across the site. That way, everyone who goes to the tournament will compete several times. What "compete" means depends on the event: in Speech, a room of 4-6 competitors will perform for a judge, who will then rank the competitors; in Debate, two teams/debaters will debate in front of a judge, who will pick a winner; in Congress, 12-20 competitors will give speeches in front of judges, who will then rank the competitors.
The rounds where everyone competes are called preliminary rounds. At our local tournaments, everyone will compete a few times, then we get some food, and then we head home with ballots - essentially the score sheets from the judges that give feedback on the performance/debate. At larger tournaments, the top competitors will advance (or "break) to elimination rounds, which will narrow down the field to a final round and declare a champion. Those are great opportunities to earn trophies or to get to watch and learn from the best.
And then the next weekend, we do it all again! The only time past performance influences a tournament is at Nationals, where you must qualify at a previous tournament. Otherwise, last week's performance means nothing when the new tournament starts!
See this list describing the events and who would like each of them. Most students try more than one event before finding their favorite!
There is no upfront cost to begin competing. However, as a student becomes more involved, the following costs may arise:
NSDA Membership fee: $20. Lifetime membership in the National Speech and Debate Association looks great on a college application! It is also a benefit to our team to help us accumulate points and degrees while the student does as well, so any competitor that continues past 25 points will be asked to purchase their membership. See more information here.
Clothes and computers: competition dress is necessary, and larger tournaments have more days so more outfits! Laptops with Microsoft Word (so not a Chromebook, though Apples are OK) are essential to modern LD or CX.
Travel: no one is ever forced to travel, but we hope every student can have the opportunity to attend an overnight trip at some point in their careers. The trips are fun, and the tournament experience is usually completely different from a local tournament. However, the trips can be costly.
Camp: Students who want to be champions of big tournaments will find their path to that level of success greatly aided by going to camp. While attending Speech or Debate summer camp is not necessary, it is incredibly beneficial (and fun). It is also incredibly expensive.
Judging: in order to bring competitors to tournaments, we must also supply judges. Judges can be any high school graduate; parents can learn to be the best judges! We ask every family to participate as judges throughout the year, or to make a donation to the team's funds for hiring judges.
SHHS will never let lack of funds prevent a student from participating in the activity. Please contact Mr. Kahn if needed.