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Community Impact Report 2023

    Group of students posing for a photo in a large room

    Explore how the speech and debate community grew, connected, learned, and celebrated in 2023.

    Three students standing outside, each with their right hand up.

    Inspiring Participation

    Honor society - Degrees, earned 85,291 (coach and student), 141,756 coaches and students, 3,553 Schools.

    We are proud to see students and coaches earn recognition as they grow in their skills through speech and debate. Throughout the 2022-2023 school year, our community members competed, earned degrees, and upheld the highest standards of the NSDA Honor Code through student service and academic achievements.

    524 Speaking and Service Awards, 151 Coaches Earning Service Citations 241 Diamond Coach Awards, 1,381 Academic All Americans
    18,947 students earned service points in the 2022-2023 school year! 26% increase since last year. (14,982 students earned service points in 2021-2022)

    Student and Coach Education

    NSDA resources are like having another coach on your roster. Our highly-rated tools lightened the load for teams in 2022-2023. 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
    10 Lesson Plan Collections, 23 on-demand courses, 41 NEW final round videos, topic analysis + extemp questions + congress legislation.

    National Tournament

    National Speech & Debate Tournament 2023 - June 11-16, Phoenix/Mesa, AZ: 6,716 competitors, 1,489 Middle and High Schools, 79,000 livestream views, More ways to compete: 902 students competing in only supplementals, 275 students added from the Last-Chance Qualifier.

    Increasing Access

    Last-Chance Qualifier

    The Last-Chance Qualifier once again offered students who did not qualify through their district tournament series a chance to make it to the National Tournament in their main event. Schools took advantage of the opportunity to bring students for supplemental events as well. 

    Speech and debate activities are so important for our students because they empower students to learn so much about themselves and the world. My team had a blast hanging out at our school between rounds, competing online at the Last-Chance Qualifier, and getting one more opportunity to qualify for Nationals. It was a great way for us to finish the regular season, and my students are inspired to begin working on speeches for next year.
    Coach from Colorado

    Springboard Series

    Our Springboard Series offered free, online access to speech and debate scrimmages throughout the 2022-2023 school year. Thanks to The Julia Burke Foundation for making this opportunity possible!

    Springboard 2022-2023: 24 free online competitions, 2,620 student participants, 404 schools

    We are indebted to the NSDA and The Julia Burke Foundation for this series that has helped us significantly grow participation in our middle school program. Both the synchronous and asynchronous opportunities allow for students with varying needs or obstacles to compete in speech and debate where they may not have been able to do so in traditional formats and tournament structures.

    Coach from Pennsylvania

    The Springboard Scrimmages remove the common barriers that prevent access to the extracurricular across the board. The most common barriers programs face are travel, tournament expenses, and (the most difficult to combat) a rigorous pool of peers who will help make them competitive at larger tournaments. Springboard has begun to level that playing field.
    Coach from Arizona

    Funding

    Keith West Memorial Fund

    The Keith West Memorial Fund provided grants to eight schools in the fall of 2023. 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 2023, the NSDA was proud to provide over $100,000 to schools to create a more equitable National Tournament experience.

    Tate Road to Nationals Fund. $112,000, 250 Schools

    Membership Grants

    New and under-resourced programs are eligible for free or reduced memberships through our grant program. Hundreds of schools have gained access to Honor Society membership and NSDA resources thanks to grants, including The Pay It Forward Fund. The Pay It Forward Fund was founded in 2022 with inaugural donations from Joe and Pam Wycoff and the alumni of Apple Valley High School, MN who believe speech and debate is one of the most influential experiences a student can have. In this spirit, the Pay It Forward Fund has provided hundreds of new schools access to speech and debate.

    Number of Schools Receiving Free or Discounted Memberships

    205

    SCHOOL MEMBERSHIPS

    281

    STUDENT MEMBERSHIPS

    1,509

    RESOURCE PACKAGES

    Learn More About Grants

    We remain committed to increasing access to speech and debate and providing safe, welcoming environments for all participants. Check out our Equity Commitments for the 2022-2023 school year to track our progress!

    2022-2023 Equity Commitments: Infrastructure, climate, short term commitments, long term projects.
    Read the Full Report

    Creating Community

    Highlighting Student Voices

    We introduced the Student Leadership Council this year! The inaugural class, composed of 24 high school student members from across the country, provides feedback on NSDA offerings and develops resources for the community. 

    Meet the SLC
    NSDA Student Leadership Council

    The Student Leadership Council has provided the opportunity to learn about the inner workings of the NSDA, collaborate with peers, and develop solutions facing our community. Working with the people on the council has not only made us co-conspirators for mutual goals, but also made us a group of friends spanning across regions.

    Taite Kirkpatrick, SLC member

    Alumni

    We are building a community of alumni who are passionate about inspiring the next generation of public speakers. Our community is now over 6,500 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
    The Teacher Who Changed David Begnaud's Life
    Notable alum and CBS Lead National Correspondent, David Begnaud, wowed us this year with his Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech at the National Tournament and his feature on CBS Mornings honoring his high school speech coach, Josette Surratt.

    Customer Service

    When you have questions throughout the year, we are here to provide the support your team needs. 

    4.2 Hours full resolution time, 12, 698 total calls, 15,267 total emails, 93.8% customer satisfaction.
    Ever since I took over as director of my program last year, I’ve found myself leaning on the NSDA resources more and more and have continuously been surprised by how in-depth, frequently updated, and driven toward impact/success they are. I would not at all be the coach/program director I am today without them. I can also think of few professional communities I’ve ever been a part of that are so consistently genuine in listening to and processing feedback as well as in quickly implementing changes with care and research/reflection. I’m proud to be a part of this network and am grateful to the support they give. They’ve never been anything but helpful, kind, and responsive any time I’ve had to email with a question. Thank you for relaying your gratitude to them on behalf of all of us coaches!
    Elise Matton

    Thank you for another great year of speech and debate!

    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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