New Jersey District Tournament
Information & Registration
Due to New Jersey’s small geographic size, our League and our NSDA District are one and the same. The League sponsors and helps run the District Qualifying Tournament each year, typically held immediately after the State Championship (except for Congress, which occurs in late February). All schools/students interested in competing for a chance to represent New Jersey at NSDA Nationals must complete the following before the District Tournament:
- Schools must be fully-paid NSDA members in good standing
- Schools must not owe any outstanding balances to the NSDA
- Students must be members of the NSDA, having achieved 25 merit points
Each District is limited to a certain number of qualifying spots, depending on overall district “strength” from the past three years, and the number of entries in each event at the tournament. Each NSDA member school is encouraged to input their students’ points early and often, in order to ensure we can continue to send as many students to Nationals as possible. Typically, New Jersey is able to send three entries in each event, plus a total of ten students to form our World School Debate teams.
Schools are limited to a certain number of total entries at Districts, depending on their “strength” as a school. Additionally, no school may register more than four entries in any event, regardless of their strength. Students in speech events may double-enter, but cannot qualify in multiple events, and must indicate their preference of event before the tournament, in the event they qualify in both. All students are permitted to double-enter between Congress and other events, since they are held on different dates.
As a District, New Jersey is able to send two teams of five students from any District schools to Nationals in World Schools Debate. This is a relatively new format in the U.S., and our teams from previous years have done quite well. If your team has students who would work well with students from other schools in an interesting format, consider applying for the team. The District Committee selects ten students, and they are announced at the District awards ceremony with the other qualifiers. Information about World Schools is communicated via email as Districts draws closer.
There may be changes in store this year to how the tournament is run – stay tuned for more information. This year, the tournament will be held on March 22-23, 2019 at Delbarton School.
All schools that are NSDA members in good standing as detailed above receive an invitation to Districts via Tabroom a few weeks before the tournament. If you have questions about qualifications, finances, invitations, or NSDA membership status, please contact: