The George Washington Tournament 3
2026 — NSDA Campus, US
Congress (Elementary)
Event Description:
Congressional Debate is a mock legislative assembly competition where students draft bills (proposed laws) and resolutions (position statements), which they and their peers later debate and vote to pass into law and then take action on by voting for or against the legislation. While coaches aren’t always required to submit legislation to tournaments, it gives their students the right to an authorship speech, introducing the bill or resolution to the chamber. In advance of the tournament, a docket of submitted titles or full legislative text is distributed to participating schools, so students may research and prepare themselves for the debate. Many tournaments allow students to caucus in committee(s) to determine the agenda, wherein they strive to select topics that will yield even and engaging debate, as well as balancing authorship privileges among the schools participating in the chamber.
Please see the official NSDA rules here for procedure and more information:
https://www.speechanddebate.org/wp-content/uploads/2017-Congressional-Debate-Guide.pdf