How to Qualify for the Massachusetts State Speech & Debate Tournament

How does the Massachusetts Speech & Debate Circuit Work?

The Massachusetts Speech & Debate Circuit is known as the Massachusetts Speech & Debate League (MSDL). The MSDL circuit has a set of competitive tournaments that they host each year, which you can find here. 

When and Where are MSDL Tournaments?

MSDL local tournaments typically occur on the weekends (occasionally including Friday) from late October through early April and occur all throughout the state at venues, such as Shrewsbury High School, Natick High School, and Lexington High School. 

What competitive events does the Massachusetts Speech & Debate State Tournament offer?

The Massachusetts Speech & Debate State Tournament offers the following events for competition: Dramatic Performance, Duo Interpretation, Prose Reading, Poetry Reading, Program Oral Interpretation, Children’s Literature, Play Reading, Multiple Reading, Oral Interpretation, Policy Debate, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, Big Questions Debate, Congressional Debate, Group Discussion, Extemporaneous Speaking, Radio Broadcasting, Impromptu Speaking, Original Oratory, Declamation, and Informative Speaking.

How to Qualify for the MSDL State Tournament for Each Event?

How to Qualify for Speech Events

To qualify for the MSDL State Tournament in a Speech event, you must accumulate at least two (2) qualification bids in your intended event throughout the competitive season. There are two ways to earn a qualification bid in your intended event. The first way is to earn a preliminary round rank average of a 3.0 at a MSDL-sanctioned tournament. In a particular round, the judge (s) that are responsible for judging the particular round will assign ranks (placements) to the competitors participating in the round. If your average preliminary rank placement (rank) is above 3.0, then you earn a qualification bid to the MSDL state tournament.  The second way to earn a Speech qualification bid is to advance to the finals of a MSDL-sanctioned tournament. This method allows for competitors who potentially have a lower preliminary rank (placement) average to still qualify for the MSDL State Tournament.

The only exception to this system is Novice Extemporaneous Speaking. The MSDL State Tournament does not offer Novice Extemporaneous Speaking as a competitive event. Instead, Novice Extemporaneous Speaking competitors will earn “half-bids” through the aforementioned qualification method. They are then able to combine two “half-bids” into one qualification bid in Varsity Extemporaneous Speaking. If they are able to earn two more “half-bids” in Novice Extemporaneous Speaking or another qualification bid in Varsity Extemporaneous Speaking, they are able to participate in the MSDL State Tournament in Varsity Extemporaneous Speaking.

How to Qualify for Lincoln-Douglas Debate

There are three ways to qualify for the MSDL State Tournament in Lincoln-Douglas Debate. The first way is to accumulate a winning competition record at a MSDL-sanctioned tournament (i.e. winning more rounds than lost across the tournament). The second way is to participate in at least three (3) MSDL-sanctioned tournaments in your particular division. The third way is to accumulate a competition record that either matches or exceeds the competitive record of the 8th-seeded competitor at a particular MSDL-sanctioned tournament (i.e. if the 8th-seeded competitor completes the tournament with a record of 3-2, you would qualify for the MSDL state tournament if you have a record of 3-2 or better).

How to Qualify for Public Forum Debate

There are two ways to qualify for the MSDL State Tournament in Varsity Public Forum Debate. The first way is to accumulate a winning competition record at a MSDL-sanctioned tournament (i.e. winning more rounds than lost across the tournament). The second way is by qualifying to the Tournament of Champions (a qualification process you can check out here!) You can also qualify through this method if you earn a winning competition record at any Tournament of Champions bid tournament. However, if you are attempting to qualify through this method, you must attend at least four MSDL-sanctioned tournaments throughout the competitive season.

There are also two ways to qualify for the MSDL State Tournament in Novice Public Forum Debate. The first way is to accumulate a winning competition record at a MSDL-sanctioned tournament (i.e. winning more rounds than lost across the tournament). The second way is through direct participation. If a team of competitors competes together at least once and each competitor has participated in at least four (4) MSDL-sanctioned Public Forum Debate tournaments, they would be qualified to compete in Novice Public Forum Debate at the MSDL State Tournament.

How to Qualify for Congressional Debate

To qualify for the MSDL State Tournament in Congressional Debate, you must earn at least two (2) qualification bids throughout the competitive season. There are two ways to earn a qualification bid in Congressional Debate. The first way is to finish in the top half (or top six (6)) of your preliminary chamber cumulatively at a MSDL-sanctioned tournament. The second way is to advance to the Congress “Super Session” (or final round) at a MSDL-sanctioned tournament. At MSDL-sanctioned tournaments, the “Super Session” is a final round composed of the top competitors from each preliminary chamber.

How to Qualify for Big Questions Debate

Contrary to other debate events, there is only one way to qualify for the MSDL State Tournament in Big Questions Debate. To do so, you must accumulate a winning competition record at a MSDL-sanctioned tournament (i.e. winning more rounds than lost across the tournament). Doing so would directly qualify you for participating in the MSDL State Tournament.

Outside of all of these qualification procedures, each MSFL-sanctioned Speech & Debate team receives a certain amount of “wildcard” entries. The “wildcard entry” system is designed to admit students that do not qualify to the MSFL State Tournament under a previously mentioned qualification method. Each MSDL member school receives two (2) “wildcard” entries for Congressional Debate and Speech and receives four (4) “wildcard” entries for debate events and has the ability to use that at their coach’s discretion (i.e. the Speech & Debate coach at your school has the ability to decide which competitors will represent their school as a “wildcard entry”).

How to Prepare 

If you’ve read all the way until here, you have started to wonder: how do I prepare? There are multiple ways to do so, from running practice rounds with your teammates and other members of your community to spending countless hours revising your scripts to ensure that they are ready for competition. What’s important is that you remain consistent! 

Outside of working with your peers, receiving consistent coaching is key to success. A great option can be programs like Civic Debate Academy’s National Debate Club, which provides access to a team of students with similar goals, robust coaching, preparation materials, and practice rounds. If you want to learn more, click here!