South Texas District Qualifier

for the 2026 National Tournament

Tournament Invite

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1--JfSqJ8aXIy5-njkWr9xivKmuVNitvZSCLn840e3jI/edit?usp=sharing

South Texas Invitation for Main Events

Welcome, South Texas schools, to our annual district tournament. In this document, you will find pertinent information on rules, regulations, and requirements for the tournaments. All coaches are responsible for reading this invitation in its entirety. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the District Committee.

Beneficial links:

• NSDA Unified Manual

• NSDA District Registration Guide

• Congress Bill Template

Main Events:

Debate: Cross Examination Debate, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum

Speech: United States Extemp, International Extemp, Original Oratory, Informative Speaking

Interp: Humorous Interpretation, Dramatic Interpretation, Program Oral Interpretation

Remember: for your student to be considered for the district’s World Schools Debate team, they must have entered at least one main event.

Dates:

Main Events: February 19th - February 21st

Congress/Big Questions: TBD

Locations:

Main Events: Strake Jesuit College Preparatory (8900 Bellaire Blvd., Houston, TX 77036)

Congress/Big Questions: TBD

Schedule:

Main Events

Congress/Big Questions: TBD

Topics

LD Resolved: The United States military ought to abide by the principle of non-intervention.

PF Resolved: The United States federal government should ban corporate acquisition of single-family residences.

Policy: Resolved: The United States federal government should significantly increase its exploration and/or development of the Arctic.

Fees

All schools will be responsible for a flat $100 school fee + $25 per entry. There is no judge buyout option for the district contest.

Your full fee bill will be due during registration at the start of the tournament. Please make all necessary arrangements to submit payment at that time. Students will not be allowed to compete until their full fee bill is paid.

If you are not able to provide a check at the time of registration, you will need to submit proof of payment processing (PO, signed letter from administrator/bookkeeper, etc) to the District Chair no less than one week from the start of the contest for the district committee to vote on.

Chaperones & School Sponsors Policy:

All schools are required to have an “official” school sponsor for the tournament. If this is not a coach, we will need a signed official letter from the school's administration stating who the designated person is for your school and that they are authorized to make decisions on behalf of the team.

If a school uses someone other than the coach listed on their NSDA charter status, the administrator's approval must be designated in advance, with confirmation from the district committee.

Judging Requirements

Main Events

• All schools with more than 4 entries must have two judges in the pool. There will be two different pools (school and coach).

• The coach judge is historically the head coach of the school.

• The school judge is the second judge that the school ensures is available. Most commonly, this is a co-coach and/or assistant.

• All coach/school judges are obligated 1 round past their elimination.

• We will not employ strikes, but if you believe there is an issue with a judge in the pool, you can communicate that to the committee. We can make no guarantees regarding accommodations.

Congress

• All schools with at least one entry are required to have a judge in the pool through prelims.

Big Questions

• All schools will need at least 1 judge for every 2 entries.

All judges are responsible for marking their conflicts in Tabroom prior to the start of the tournament.

Speech and Interp Documentation

NEW: All schools must submit documentation by Wednesday, February 18th, 2026, via email to Brian Darby.

Please see the unified manual linked above for documentation requirements.

Documentation will be required for the following events:

• Original Oratory

• Informative Speaking

• Program Oral Interp

• Dramatic Interp

• Humorous Interp

• Duo Interp

Judge Concerns

For the district tournament, we will not be using strikes for judges. However, if you feel as though there is an extreme circumstance involving a judge in the judge pool, you may submit a written request and justification to the District Chair, Brian Darby, to have the judge coded against your student.

Your request is not guaranteed and will be voted on by the NSDA District Committee. If the committee denies your request, the judge may still evaluate your student.

The committee will not approve requests simply based on previous voting records (example: “she always down votes my kids”).

All requests must be received no later than Tuesday, February 17th, at 4 pm.