Results!

Aditi Ganti - 1st Place in Original Oratory

What are Springboard Tournaments?

Thanks to the generosity of The Julia Burke Foundation, the NSDA offers the online Springboard Series. The Springboard Series offers FREE speech and debate events. These events will provide a variety of free, online opportunities including after-school scrimmages and two weekend tournaments. We are grateful to continue offering these events for the 2024-2025 school year. 

The Julia Burke Foundation was established in memory of Julia Burke, a young woman of substance with a passion for debate. We are proud to partner with The Julia Burke Foundation to offer these opportunities in Julia’s memory. 

Click here for more information about the Springboard Series

Students must fill out the NSDA Springboard Permission Form to participate.

Links

Student Sign Up - DUE November 5 (including link for recorded speeches)

Judge Sign Up - NOTE: All judges must complete the Multicultural Competency judge training course.

Tabroom Link

Students must fill out the NSDA Springboard Permission Form to participate.

Details

Debate:

• All debate will be held live on NSDA Campus - accessed through Tabroom.
• Congress, Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, Big Questions, and World Schools will be offered. No double entry is permitted.
• Each debate event will have two divisions: an open division that anyone can enter, and a rising stars division that is limited to any middle school competitor and any high school competitor in their first year of speech and debate competition.
• Congress will do one two-hour session, and all other events will do one preset preliminary round.

Speech:

• Speech events will have two divisions: an open division that anyone can enter, and a rising stars division that is limited to any middle school competitor and any high school competitor in their first year of speech and debate competition.

• Asynchronous speech scrimmages will offer Dramatic Interp, Humorous Interp, Program Oral Interp, Original Oratory, Informative Speaking, Prose, Poetry, Original Spoken Word Poetry, Pro Con Challenge, Storytelling, Declamation, and Duo Interp (competitors must record in the same physical room).

• Unlimited cross entry is permitted in asynchronous speech events.

• Prose and Poetry will have 7 minute time limits with a 30 second grace period.

• In Pro Con Challenge, students will write a 3-5 minute affirmative case and a 3-5 minute negative case on this scrimmage's topic for LD, PF, CX, or a piece of Congressional Debate legislation. Both cases must be on the same topic. They will read both of those speeches in one performance.

Asychronous Speech Recording Rules

Deadline: Video links must be added to students' Tabroom.com registration by noon on the day of competition (same as the registration deadline).

How to add video links: Students will record their performance and upload it to any site that can generate a link to the video. The link must have permissions set so that anyone with the link can view the video. Unlisted YouTube videos are the most common. Then, the coach will take that link and copy/paste it into the student's registration by clicking the "Entries" tab of their school's Tabroom.com registration, clicking the blue and white edit button next to the relevant entry, and pasting the video link where it says "Link for Performance", and saving.

Recording rules: Students competing in asynchronous events must follow these rules, used at the 2021 National Tournament, while recording their performances.

Note: Duo Interpretation entries must record their performance in the same physical room. Split-screen Duos are not permitted.

a. Professional equipment enhancements may not be used. Professional equipment includes professional lighting kits, professional grade camera recording and audio devices, and softboxes. Students are welcome to film their recording on their school’s auditorium stage, but the use of stage lighting is not permitted. Lavalier/lapel microphones and ring lights are permitted.

b. Recordings may not be edited using any software; all submissions must be non-stop footage of the entire performance.

c. Students recording split-screen Duos may not record their performances separately and edit them together.

d. Students may not trim a recording, even to remove the seconds that they walk to and from the recording device to push start/stop.

e. The length of the recording must not exceed the time limit with the grace period.

f. Competitors may not use green screens, virtual backgrounds, or on-screen text.

g. The camera being used must remain stationary throughout the entire performance, and no zooming or panning is permitted.

h. The camera must remain on throughout the duration of the performance; a student may not turn off their video at any point during their recording.

i. The use of lighting tricks like shadow puppets are not permitted.

j. Students may move closer to and further from the camera to simulate zooming, though the camera must remain stationary.

k. Students may cover the camera with their hands or body.

l. Students may move out of frame during the recording.

m. Other individuals may be present while filming, but audience interaction (laughing, applause, etc.) must not be included in the performance.

n. Competitors may determine how close or distant the camera is set up in order to maximize both verbal and nonverbal communication.

o. If possible, it is recommended that students and judges remove items that may be distracting in the background. Backdrops of a solid color with no special markings may be used by competitors and judges.