Arizona District Qualifier

for the 2026 National Tournament

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Our complete invitation is here: AZ NSDA District Qualifier Invitation

Arizona District National Qualifying Tournament

March 14th: Congressional Debate at Mesa HS

March 26th-28th: All Debate & IE Events at Brophy College Preparatory

The Arizona NSDA District Committee is pleased to invite you to this year’s national qualifying tournament. We look forward to your participation in one of the most exciting and the most important tournaments of the year. We eagerly anticipate the selection of Arizona’s finest competitors to represent our state at the National Tournament, which will be held from June 14-20, 2026 in Richmond, VA.

Watch a Video Invitation Here. (It's long, but should answer most of your questions.)

Important Item #1: Read the entirety of this invitation carefully. This tournament runs differently from our regular season competitions. If you have any questions, please ask me.

It is crucial for everyone to understand that this tournament, above all others, is absolutely the most tedious to prepare and run for everyone involved. As coaches, YOU have so many details you must take care of to allow your students to be able to compete in this tournament. The committee cannot and will not allow a school to enter and compete if they don’t meet NSDA requirements.

Important Item #2: Every student who is an NSDA member should have the opportunity to be part of the qualifier, even if you don’t think your students will qualify. This tournament is like no other, and surprises happen every year. Giving students the chance to see what the tournament is like is an experience which will benefit them and your team in the coming years.

This is a time for Team AZ to start to work together. PLEASE bring as many entries as your team is allotted to both the Congress Qualifier and the District Qualifier. At the District Tournament, we automatically qualify 3 entries in each event if we meet the minimum number of entries required. If we exceed 50 entries in any event, AZ will qualify a 4th competitor in that event. This can be the most exciting of tournaments because we never know who will qualify.